Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025
21 of the 23 people sentenced for tax offenses in the Northern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (91%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 18 months, compared with 15.1 months across all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 22 people (96%).
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In brief: 21 of the 23 people sentenced for tax offenses in the Northern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (91%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 18 months, compared with 15.1 months across all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 22 people (96%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 23 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.
Prison Terms for Tax Offenses
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 23 people in the "Tax" offense type for this district. They were less than 1% of the 2,768 people sentenced in the district across these years.
21 of the 23 (91%) were sentenced to prison, and 1 (4%) received probation only. The median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
Across all 94 districts, 66% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median was 15.1 months. The share sent to prison here is higher than the national share, and the median is a little higher. For all offenses in the district, the median was 48 months.
Which Tax Guidelines Applied
"Tax" is a category of the Commission and covers several guidelines. The most common primary guideline here was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion), with 12 people.
The next was §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud), with 11 people.
Guideline Range Results
The sentence was below the guideline range without a government request for 57% of the 23 people (13). It was within the range for 26% (6), below the range at the government's request for 13% (3), and above the range for 4% (1).
Nationally, 24% of tax sentences were within the range, and in the district for all offenses the share was 44%. The share within the range here is about the same as the national figure and lower than the district's overall figure.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 23 people (9%).
Pleas and Trials
19 of 23 (83%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. The national rate was 93%, and the rate for all offenses in the district was 93%. Trials were more common here than in either comparison.
The median prison term was 18 months after a guilty plea and 27.5 months after a trial, based on 4 people. Among guilty pleas, 84% had a written plea agreement and 16% were straight pleas.
Restitution, Fines, and Supervised Release
Restitution was ordered for 22 of the 23 people (96%), and a fine for 1 (4%). 21 people (91%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months.
87% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 15 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 8. The table has no rows for 2020 and 2021. The largest year was 2019, with 6 people.
The yearly medians run from 12 months to 25 months. With 1 to 6 people in each year, the table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 12 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2017 | 2 | 15 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 4 | 18 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2019 | 6 | 15 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2022 | 2 | 21 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 4 | 25 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2025 | 1 | 14 months | 0 of 1 |
Military Installations and Limits
Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field, Pensacola, and Tyndall AFB are in this district and appear in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not give the tax amounts involved, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (23). 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 Florida, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Florida, 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.