Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025
The U.S. Sentencing Commission data lists 24 people sentenced for tax offenses in the Western District of Tennessee, and 19 (79%) received prison. The median prison term was 12 months, shorter than the 15.1 months for tax cases in all 94 districts. Restitution was ordered for 22 of the 24 (92%).
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In brief: The U.S. Sentencing Commission data lists 24 people sentenced for tax offenses in the Western District of Tennessee, and 19 (79%) received prison. The median prison term was 12 months, shorter than the 15.1 months for tax cases in all 94 districts. Restitution was ordered for 22 of the 24 (92%).
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 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 and Plea Agreements
Restitution was ordered for 22 of the 24 people (92%). A fine was ordered for 2 (8%).
Among the 22 guilty pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement, and 0% were straight pleas with no agreement. Only 2 people were convicted after a trial.
Prison Terms
Of the 24 people, 19 (79%) received a prison term and 1 (4%) received probation only. For all districts, 66% of tax cases led to prison, so prison was more common here.
Among those sent to prison, the median term was 12 months. A quarter received 25.5 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
The median was 12 months after a guilty plea and 73.5 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 2 people.
Which Tax Guidelines Applied
"Tax" is the Commission's offense type, and each person is placed in it by the primary guideline. The most common guidelines had 11 people each: §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) and §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion).
Another 2 people were sentenced under §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax).
Tax cases were less than 1% of the 4,226 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
The Guideline Range
The sentence was within the guideline range for 29% (7). It was below the range at the government's request for 25% (6) and below the range without a government request for 42% (10). One sentence (4%) was above the range.
For tax cases in all districts, 24% were within the range. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 24 people (4%).
After Prison and Criminal History
Supervised release was ordered for 20 people (83%), with a median term of 15 months.
The lowest criminal history category, category I, applied to 83% of people. The highest, category VI, applied to 4%.
A Note on the Years Covered
The headline counts for this offense type cover fiscal years 2016 to 2023. The table shows yearly counts, and it has no row for fiscal years 2022, 2024, or 2025.
The district sentenced 16 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 8 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly counts are small, from 1 to 6 people, and fiscal year 2020 has no median because it has 1 person.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 18 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2017 | 2 | 16.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 6 | 12 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2019 | 2 | 36 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 10 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 5 | 10.5 months | 5 of 5 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Dismissed cases and acquittals are not included.
Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not show the amount of tax involved or the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Tennessee (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Tennessee West") 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 (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 Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, 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.