> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-tax-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:02:03.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:02:02.000Z - Description: In the Middle District of North Carolina, 55 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and restitution was ordered for all 55 (100%). A prison term went to 46 (84%), with a median of 18 months, compared with 15.1 months in all 94 districts. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, ](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) › Tax Offense: Middle District of North Carolina **In brief:** In the Middle District of North Carolina, 55 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and restitution was ordered for all 55 (100%). A prison term went to 46 (84%), with a median of 18 months, compared with 15.1 months in all 94 districts. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 55 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Restitution for Everyone Sentenced Restitution was ordered for all 55 people (100%). A fine was ordered for 9 (16%). Tax cases were 1% of the 3,816 people sentenced in the district over the full period. "Tax" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, assigned from the primary guideline. ## Prison Terms and Probation Of the 55 people, 46 (84%) received a prison term and 8 (15%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all 94 districts, 66% were sent to prison. The median prison term here was 18 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 12.3 months or less. The median for all 94 districts was 15.1 months, so the figure here is higher. Supervised release followed prison for 46 people (84%), with a median term of 36 months. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 5 | 14 months | 5 of 5 | | 2017 | 6 | 30 months | 6 of 6 | | 2018 | 6 | 24 months | 5 of 6 | | 2019 | 7 | 14 months | 7 of 7 | | 2020 | 6 | 13.5 months | 6 of 6 | | 2021 | 7 | 36 months | 7 of 7 | | 2022 | 7 | 30 months | 5 of 7 | | 2023 | 5 | 12 months | 5 of 5 | | 2024 | 2 | 5.5 months | 2 of 2 | | 2025 | 4 | 14 months | 4 of 4 | ## The Guideline Range The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. In this district, 19 sentences (35%) were within the range. For all 94 districts, 24% were within the range. Below the range at the government's request were 14 (25%), and below the range without a government request were 22 (40%). None was above the range. ## Guilty Pleas and Trials Of the 55 people, 52 (95%) pleaded guilty and 3 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 18 months after a guilty plea and 60 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 3 people, so it cannot show how trial sentences generally compare. All guilty pleas had a written plea agreement. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 55 people. ## Tax Guidelines Used The most common primary guideline was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion), with 28 people. Next was §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) with 21, and §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) with 6. In criminal history, 85% were in the lowest category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI. ## Counts Are Small The district sentenced 24 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 31 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. No single year had more than 7 people, so the medians in the table, from 5.5 months to 36 months, describe very small groups. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 60 months, guilty pleas were 98%, and 53% of sentences were within the range. ## What the Records Do Not Show The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not show the amount of tax involved, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (55). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Federal Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (overview) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.