Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Missouri, 93 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 64 (69%) received a prison term, with a median of 20 months, and 24 (26%) received probation only. 60% of sentences were below the guideline range without a government request.
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In brief: In the Western District of Missouri, 93 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 64 (69%) received a prison term, with a median of 20 months, and 24 (26%) received probation only. 60% of sentences were below the guideline range without a government request.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 93 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.
Below-Range Sentences Without a Government Request
The guideline range was recorded for all 93 people. 60% (56) were sentenced below it without a government request. 28% (26) were within it, 8% (7) were below it at the government's request, and 4% (4) were above it.
For all 94 federal districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were.
Prison Terms and Probation
For all districts, 66% of the 5,024 people in this offense type were sent to prison. The share in this district was 69%.
Among the 64 people sent to prison here, a quarter received 33 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. The median of 20 months was higher than the 15.1 months for all districts. For all offenses in this district, the median was 72 months.
Restitution Was Almost Universal
Restitution was ordered for 85 of the 93 people (91%), and a fine for 10 (11%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 62 (67%), with a median term of 36 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 93 people with that information recorded (3%).
Pleas and Trials
89 of 93 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty. Among guilty pleas here, 98% had a written plea agreement and 2% were straight pleas.
The median prison term was 19 months after a guilty plea and 32.5 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 4 people, so it should be read with care.
Which Tax Guidelines Applied
The U.S. Sentencing Commission files each case under an offense type by its primary guideline. 60 people were sentenced under §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion). §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) and §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) were each used for 15.
§2T1.9 (Conspiracy to Impede, Impair, Obstruct, or Defeat Tax) was used for 3. Tax cases were 1% of the 7,571 people sentenced in the district.
Criminal History and Yearly Counts
In criminal history, 68% were in category I, the lowest, and 4% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 52 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 41. Yearly counts range from 3 to 17. The table lists medians from 12 months to 30 months, each based on a small number of people, so no trend can be drawn.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 25 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 11 | 16 months | 91% |
| 2018 | 17 | 21 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 12 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 9 | 23 months | 7 of 9 |
| 2021 | 9 | 30 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2022 | 3 | 16 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 9 | 13 months | 8 of 9 |
| 2024 | 6 | 20 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2025 | 5 | 21 months | 5 of 5 |
What the Data Cannot Show
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not, and prison terms are those imposed, not served.
Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman AFB are in this district. Their courts-martial are held in military courts and are not part of this federal count.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (93). 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 Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, 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.