Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Michigan, 102 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 59 (58%) received a prison term and 35 (34%) received probation only. For all 94 federal districts, 66% were sent to prison.
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In brief: In the Eastern District of Michigan, 102 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 59 (58%) received a prison term and 35 (34%) received probation only. For all 94 federal districts, 66% were sent to prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 102 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Probation Only Was the Sentence for 34%
Of the 102 people, 59 (58%) received a prison term. Another 35 (34%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all 94 districts, 66% of people sentenced for tax offenses were sent to prison, so prison was less common here.
Among those sent to prison, the median term was 12 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. For all 94 districts, the median was 15.1 months. For all offenses in this district, it was 36 months.
Most Sentences Were Below the Guideline Range
The Commission recorded the position for all 102 people. The largest group, 68% (69), was below the range without a government request. Another 14% (14) were below it at the government's request. Within the range were 18% (18), and above the range was less than 1% (1).
For all 94 districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were. The share here is lower than the district-wide share and also lower than the national share for tax cases.
The records do not give a reason for any individual sentence.
Common Tax Guidelines
"Tax" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, assigned from the primary guideline. The most common in this district was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion), with 61 people.
Next were §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud), with 33, and §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax), with 7. One person was sentenced under §2T3.1 (Evading Import Duties or Restrictions (Smuggling)). Tax cases were 1% of the 7,508 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
There were 92 guilty pleas (90%) and 10 convictions after a trial. For all 94 districts, 93% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the rate was 96%. Trials were more common here than in both of those groups.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 10 months. After a trial, it was 24 months, based on 9 people sent to prison. Among guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas.
Restitution, Fines, and Supervised Release
Restitution was ordered for 86 people (84%), and a fine for 21 (21%). Supervised release after prison applied to 59 people (58%), with a median term of 24 months.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied (0 of 102). In criminal history, 89% were in the lowest category (category I) and 0% in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts
In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 59 people were sentenced, and in fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 43 were. Fiscal years begin on October 1.
In the table, yearly counts run from 1 person in 2020 to 20 in 2017. Medians range from 6 months in 2022 to 19.5 months in 2021, with 0 months in 2025. A year with 1 person, shown as "n/a", cannot be read as a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 18 | 13.5 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 20 | 7 months | 90% |
| 2018 | 13 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 8 | 14.5 months | 6 of 8 |
| 2020 | 1 | n/a | 0 of 1 |
| 2021 | 6 | 19.5 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2022 | 10 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 10 | 15 months | 80% |
| 2024 | 8 | 8 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 months | 8 of 8 |
Limits of the Data
Only people convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data, and the prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (102). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.