Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
Restitution was ordered for 54 of the 57 people (95%) sentenced for tax offenses in the Eastern District of Missouri in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 28 (49%) received probation only, and 23 (40%) received a prison term with a median of 24 months. For all 94 federal districts, 66% were sent to prison.
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In brief: Restitution was ordered for 54 of the 57 people (95%) sentenced for tax offenses in the Eastern District of Missouri in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 28 (49%) received probation only, and 23 (40%) received a prison term with a median of 24 months. For all 94 federal districts, 66% were sent to prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 57 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.
Restitution in Almost Every Case
Restitution is payment ordered to compensate for a loss. It was ordered for 54 of the 57 people (95%). A fine was ordered for 11 (19%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 23 people (40%), with a median term of 36 months. The records here do not give the amounts.
Prison or Probation
Of the 57 people, 23 (40%) were sent to prison and 28 (49%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all districts, 66% were sent to prison, so probation only was more common here.
The median prison term was 24 months (2 years). A quarter received 38.5 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less. The median for all districts was 15.1 months, and the median for all offenses in the Eastern District of Missouri was 46 months.
Sentences Rarely Within the Guideline Range
Within the range were 9 sentences (16%). Below it at the government's request were 23 (40%), and below it without a request were 24 (42%). Above it was 1 (2%).
Across all districts, the share within the range was 24%. For every offense type in this district together, it was 42%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 57 people (4%).
Trials and Guilty Pleas
52 of the 57 people (91%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. For all districts, 93% pleaded guilty. Among guilty pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 22.5 months. After a trial it was 36 months, based on 5 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. With 5 people, the comparison is only a rough guide.
Tax Guidelines Used
"Tax" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, assigned from the primary guideline in each case. §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) was used for 26 people, and §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) for 25.
§2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) was used for 5, and §2T3.1 (Evading Import Duties or Restrictions (Smuggling)) for 1. In criminal history, 72% were in the lowest category and 4% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Limits
Tax cases were less than 1% of the 9,425 people sentenced in the district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 28 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 29. Yearly counts range from 1 to 13, and yearly medians run from 18 months to 51 months.
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in this data, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. A prison term here means the term imposed by the court, not the time served. Nothing in the records explains the year-to-year differences.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 9 | 18 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2017 | 4 | 33.5 months | 2 of 4 |
| 2018 | 9 | 21 months | 8 of 9 |
| 2019 | 6 | 21 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2020 | 2 | 34 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 6 | 24 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2022 | 13 | 24 months | 92% |
| 2023 | 3 | 21 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 1 | 51 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 46 months | 4 of 4 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (57). 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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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 Missouri, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, 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.