Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Texas, 33 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 27 (82%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 30 months. Across all 94 federal districts, 66% of people sentenced for tax offenses went to prison, and the median pris
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In brief: In the Eastern District of Texas, 33 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 27 (82%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 30 months. Across all 94 federal districts, 66% of people sentenced for tax offenses went to prison, and the median prison term was 15.1 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 33 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.
How Long Were the Prison Terms?
The median prison term for the 27 people sent to prison was 30 months (2.5 years). A quarter received 33 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less. Prison terms here are the terms imposed by the judge, not the time actually served.
6 people (18%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Of the 33 people, 27 (82%) were also ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months.
Compared With All 94 Districts
For tax offenses in all 94 federal districts together, the Commission counted 5,024 people. In that group, 66% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 15.1 months. The Eastern District of Texas figures are higher on both measures: 82% and 30 months.
Guilty pleas were 94% here (31 of 33) and 93% across all districts. The rates are about the same.
The district's tax cases are a small group. The Commission's data shows 33 tax cases out of 7,998 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is less than 1%. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 64.5 months and 98% pleaded guilty.
Which Guidelines Applied?
"Tax" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's own category of offense type. The records list a primary sentencing guideline for each person. The most common were §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) with 15 people and §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) with 15 people. Another 3 people were sentenced under §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax).
Among the guilty pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement. 2 people were convicted after a trial, and their median prison term was 33 months. That figure rests on only 2 people.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the sentencing range the Commission's rules calculate for each case. Of the 33 people, 15 (45%) were sentenced within the range. Another 11 (33%) were sentenced below it at the government's request, and 6 (18%) were sentenced below it without a government request. One person (3%) was sentenced above the range.
Across all districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 64%. No one in the district's tax group had a mandatory minimum prison term recorded.
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 7 people (21%). Restitution was ordered for 29 (88%). Most of the group, 76%, was in the lowest criminal history category, and 9% was in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this detail has no military counterpart.
Year by Year
The district sentenced 12 people for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 21 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. The table shows each year, and several years have only 1 to 4 people. Medians from groups that small can change a great deal with one case, and the table should not be read as a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 33 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2017 | 3 | 18 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 2 | 16.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 4 | 33 months | 2 of 4 |
| 2021 | 4 | 16.4 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 6 | 36 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2025 | 5 | 24 months | 5 of 5 |
What These Records Cannot Show
The Commission's data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, so it cannot show how many tax cases were brought and ended another way. The records also do not give the reasons for any sentence, and they do not show the amount of tax involved in each case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (33). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, 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.