Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025
Of 42 people sentenced for tax offenses in the Northern District of Indiana, 28 (67%) received a prison term and 11 (26%) received probation only. The median prison term was 13.5 months, compared with 15.1 months for tax cases in all 94 federal districts. Only 26% of sentences were within the guidel
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY201 › Tax Offense: Northern District of Indiana
In brief: Of 42 people sentenced for tax offenses in the Northern District of Indiana, 28 (67%) received a prison term and 11 (26%) received probation only. The median prison term was 13.5 months, compared with 15.1 months for tax cases in all 94 federal districts. Only 26% of sentences were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 42 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, Probation, and the Median Term
The Commission's "Tax" offense type had 42 people in the Northern District of Indiana. The first line of the sheet gives the period as fiscal years 2016 to 2024, and the yearly table ends with fiscal year 2024. Tax cases were 1% of the 3,085 people sentenced in the district from fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
A total of 28 people (67%) were sentenced to prison, and 11 (26%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Nationally, 66% were sent to prison, which is about the same.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 13.5 months. A quarter received 24.8 months or more, and a quarter received 5.8 months or less. For all offenses in the district, the median was 51 months.
Few Sentences Were Within the Range
The guideline range is the range produced by the Commission's rules. Sentences within the range were 26% (11 people). Below the range at the government's request were 33% (14 people), and below the range without a request were 40% (17 people). No sentence was above the range.
In all 94 districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range. That is about the same as in this district. For all offenses in the Northern District of Indiana, the figure was 47%.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8 | 19.5 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2017 | 9 | 12 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2018 | 6 | 18 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2019 | 5 | 5.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2020 | 2 | 15 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 4 | 15 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 5 | 6 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 2 | 15 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
Tax Evasion Was the Leading Guideline
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 11 people, and §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax), with 3 people.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 42 people (5%).
Pleas and the One Trial
Of the 42 people, 41 (98%) pleaded guilty and 1 was convicted after a trial. Nationally, 93% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas, 98% had a written plea agreement and 2% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 15 months after the trial. The trial figure rests on 1 person and cannot be treated as typical.
Restitution and Supervision
Restitution was ordered for 31 people (74%), and a fine for 1 (2%). Supervised release followed prison for 26 people (62%), with a median term of 12 months.
In criminal history, 76% were in the lowest category, category I, and 2% were in the highest, category VI.
Fewer Cases in Later Years
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 28 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 14 people. The yearly count was 9 people in fiscal year 2017 and 1 person in fiscal year 2024. Yearly medians run from 5.5 months to 19.5 months.
The records cannot show why counts changed. The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Indiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Indiana North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (42). 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 Indiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, 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.