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# Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-tax-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:06:41.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:06:41.000Z
- Description: In the Southern District of Iowa, 71% of the 24 people sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a sentence below the guideline range without a government request. Across all 94 federal districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range. In this district, 18 of the 24 peopl
- 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 Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-iowa/) › Tax Offense: Southern District of Iowa

**In brief:** In the Southern District of Iowa, 71% of the 24 people sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a sentence below the guideline range without a government request. Across all 94 federal districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range. In this district, 18 of the 24 people (75%) went to prison, with a median prison term of 16.5 months.

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 24 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/).

## Sentences Below the Guideline Range

The records show where each sentence fell against the advisory guideline range. Of the 24 people, 17 (71%) were sentenced below the range without a government request. Another 6 (25%) were below the range at the government's request, and 1 person (4%) was within the range. None were above the range.

For all 94 districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the guideline range. In this district, within-range sentences were far less common than that. For all offenses in the Southern District of Iowa, 37% of sentences were within the range.

The district count is small, at 24 people over 10 fiscal years. The records do not show why a sentence was below the range in any case.

## Prison Terms and Probation

18 of the 24 people (75%) received a prison term. 4 people (17%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all 94 districts, 66% of people sentenced for tax offenses were sent to prison.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 16.5 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 7.5 months or less. The median for all 94 districts was 15.1 months. These are the terms imposed, not time served.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 24 people (4%).

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 5                | 8.5 months    | 5 of 5         |
| 2017        | 2                | n/a           | 2 of 2         |
| 2018        | 2                | 28.5 months   | 1 of 2         |
| 2020        | 3                | 6 months      | 3 of 3         |
| 2021        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 3                | 18 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2023        | 3                | 108 months    | 2 of 3         |
| 2024        | 4                | 18 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2025        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |

## Guilty Pleas Were Nearly Universal

22 of 24 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. For all 94 districts, 93% pleaded guilty in this offense type.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 15 months. After a trial it was 76.5 months. That trial figure is based on only 2 people, so it cannot show how trial sentences compare with plea sentences in general.

Among those who pleaded guilty, 95% had a written plea agreement and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Which Tax Guidelines Applied?

Tax offense is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category, and it groups cases by the primary sentencing guideline. The most common guideline was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion), with 15 people. Next was §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) with 6 people. §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) applied to 3 people.

## Restitution, Fines, and Supervision

Restitution was ordered for 16 people (67%), and a fine for 7 (29%). 18 people (75%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 30 months.

In criminal history, 71% were in the lowest category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Place in the District's Caseload

Tax cases were less than 1% of the 4,208 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The median prison term for all offenses in the district was 80 months, which is higher than the tax median. In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 9 people were sentenced, and in fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 15.

Yearly counts ranged from 1 to 5 people, and some years are missing from the table. Single-year medians, such as 108 months in fiscal year 2023, rest on very few people and are not a trend.

## What the Records Cannot Show

The U.S. Sentencing Commission data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included. The data also does not describe the amount of tax involved in any case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (24). 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](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 Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-iowa/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (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.