> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-tax-sentences-western-district-of-kentucky/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:15:15.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:15:15.000Z - Description: The Western District of Kentucky sentenced 19 people for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 15 (79%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. In all 94 districts together, the median for this offense type was 15.1 months, and 66% of people were sent to prison. - 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 Western District of Kentucky, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-kentucky/) › Tax Offense: Western District of Kentucky **In brief:** The Western District of Kentucky sentenced 19 people for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Of those, 15 (79%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. In all 94 districts together, the median for this offense type was 15.1 months, and 66% of people were sent to prison. 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 19 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/). ## Prison Was Used More Often Here Of the 19 people, 15 (79%) received a prison term and 3 (16%) received probation only. In all districts, 5,024 people were sentenced for tax offenses, and 66% were sent to prison. The share in this district is higher. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less. For all offenses in this district, the median was 57 months. Terms are those imposed, not time served. ## Sentences Below the Guideline Range Within the range were 3 sentences (16%). Below the range at the government's request were 7 (37%), and below it without such a request were 9 (47%). None was above the range. For tax offenses in all districts, 24% of sentences were within the range. Across all offenses in this district, the figure was 37%. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 19 people. ## Guilty Pleas and Trials Guilty pleas were entered by 17 of the 19 people (89%), and 2 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty, and across all offenses in this district, 97% did. The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 31.5 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 2 people, so it cannot show how pleas and trials compare. All guilty pleas had a written plea agreement. ## The Years in the Table The district sentenced 8 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 11 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly table has no entries for fiscal years 2019 and 2024\. The largest year was fiscal year 2023, with 5 people. Medians run from 0.1 months in fiscal year 2017 to 19.5 months in fiscal year 2018\. Each year rests on 1 to 5 people, so the table is not evidence of a trend. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 4 | 16.5 months | 3 of 4 | | 2017 | 2 | 0.1 months | 2 of 2 | | 2018 | 2 | 19.5 months | 2 of 2 | | 2020 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 | | 2021 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 | | 2022 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 | | 2023 | 5 | 11.5 months | 4 of 5 | | 2025 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 | ## Which Tax Guidelines Applied The primary guideline for 14 people was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion). Another 4 used §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud), and 1 used §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax). Tax cases are less than 1% of the 3,229 people sentenced in the district. ## Release, Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History After prison, 15 people (79%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 4 people (21%) and restitution for 9 (47%). Criminal history was in the lowest category for 89% and in the highest for 0%. Court-martial records have no field for criminal history. ## What the Records Cannot Show The records do not show the amount of tax involved or the facts of any case. They count only people convicted and sentenced, which leaves out acquittals and dismissals. Fort Knox, Kentucky lies in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data, but courts-martial are tried in military courts and are not part of these numbers. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kentucky West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (19). 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](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 Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-kentucky/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-kentucky/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-kentucky/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-kentucky/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-kentucky/) (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.