Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
Of the 95 people sentenced for tax offenses in the Southern District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 68% received a prison term and 25% received probation only. The median prison term was 15 months, about the same as the national median of 15.1 months. Restitution was ordered for 79%.
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In brief: Of the 95 people sentenced for tax offenses in the Southern District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 68% received a prison term and 25% received probation only. The median prison term was 15 months, about the same as the national median of 15.1 months. Restitution was ordered for 79%.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 95 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 Was Ordered Most Often
Restitution was ordered for 75 of the 95 people (79%). A fine was ordered for 21 (22%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 62 people (65%), with a median term of 12 months.
Restitution is money that a court orders paid to make up for a loss. The records do not give the amounts.
Prison, Probation, and the Median Term
A total of 65 people (68%) received a prison term, and 24 (25%) received probation only. The median prison term was 15 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.
The national count for tax offenses was 5,024 people. In that group, 66% went to prison, with a median prison term of 15.1 months. The median for all offenses in this district was 13 months.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8 | 35 months | 6 of 8 |
| 2017 | 6 | 24 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2018 | 15 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 6 | 18 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2020 | 6 | 12 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2021 | 7 | 9 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 12 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 16 | 36 months | 88% |
| 2024 | 13 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 6 | 7.5 months | 6 of 6 |
Which Guidelines Applied
Tax is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The largest primary guidelines were close in size. §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) had 43 people, and §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) had 42.
Smaller groups used §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) with 4 and §2T3.1 (Evading Import Duties or Restrictions (Smuggling)) with 3. These cases were less than 1% of the 71,026 people sentenced in the district.
Pleas and Trials
A total of 91 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. The national guilty plea rate was 93%. In this district, 96% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 4% did not.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial, it was 92 months, based on 4 people. With only 4 trial cases, no firm comparison can be made.
Below the Guideline Range More Often Than Within It
Each case has a calculated guideline range. Of 94 people with this information, 29 (31%) were sentenced inside it. Below the range at the government's request were 23% (22), and below it without a government request were 43% (40). Above the range were 3% (3).
For tax offenses in all districts, 24% were inside the range. For all offenses in this district, 58% were.
Mandatory Minimums and Criminal History
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 94 people with that information recorded. In criminal history, 81% were in the lowest category and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Limits
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 35 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 60. Yearly groups range from 6 to 16 people, and the yearly medians range from 6 months to 36 months. A trend cannot be read from groups this small.
Acquittals, dismissals, and cases never charged do not appear in these records. Prison terms listed are the terms imposed by the court, not the time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (95). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, 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.