Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
In the Northern District of Alabama, 35 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 22 (63%) received a prison term with a median of 24 months, and restitution was ordered for 33 (94%). The most common guideline was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion), the primary guideline for 2
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In brief: In the Northern District of Alabama, 35 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 22 (63%) received a prison term with a median of 24 months, and restitution was ordered for 33 (94%). The most common guideline was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion), the primary guideline for 20 people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 35 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 and Prison Terms
Restitution was ordered for 33 of the 35 people (94%) sentenced for tax offenses in this district. A fine was ordered for 1 person (3%).
Of the 35 people, 22 (63%) received a prison term, and 8 (23%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 24 months (2 years). A quarter received 40.5 months or more, and a quarter received 8.3 months or less.
Across all 94 federal districts, 66% of people sentenced for tax offenses were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 15.1 months. In this district the share sent to prison was about the same, and the median prison term was higher.
Below the Guideline Range Without a Government Request
The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the federal guidelines. Of the 35 people, 12 (34%) were sentenced within the range. Another 18 (51%) were sentenced below the range without a government request, and 5 (14%) were sentenced below it at the government's request. No one was sentenced above the range.
For all 94 districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range, so the share within the range here was higher. For all offenses in this district, 56% were within the range, so tax cases were within the range less often than the district's cases as a whole.
What Counts as a Tax Offense
The records use the Commission's offense type "Tax," which is assigned by the primary guideline. The 3 most common guidelines in this district follow.
§2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) was the primary guideline for 20 people. §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) was the primary guideline for 12. §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) was the primary guideline for 3.
Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
Of the 35 people, 32 (91%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 93% of tax cases ended in a guilty plea, so the share here was about the same.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 24 months. After a trial it was 60 months, based on 3 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. A group of 3 is too few to describe how trials compare with pleas in general.
Among guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement, and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Supervised Release, Mandatory Minimums, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 22 people (63%), with a median term of 36 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 35 people (6%).
In criminal history, 71% were in the lowest category and 6% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year and Limits of the Records
Tax cases were less than 1% of the 4,557 people sentenced in this district in the period. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 46 months and 98% pleaded guilty.
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 17 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 18 people. The table gives each fiscal year, which runs from October through September. Yearly counts are 7 or fewer, so no single year shows a trend.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not show the amount of tax involved or the reasons for any sentence.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 35 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2017 | 5 | 6 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2018 | 5 | 46 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2019 | 2 | 27 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 5 | 24.5 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2021 | 7 | 18 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 9 months | 2 of 2 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (35). 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 Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, 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.