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# Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-tax-sentences-western-district-of-wisconsin/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:16:55.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:16:54.000Z
- Description: In the Western District of Wisconsin, 26 of the 31 people sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (84%) received a prison term, and 4 (13%) received probation only. The median prison term was 13 months. For all 94 districts, 66% were sent to prison and the median was 15.1 months.
- 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 Wisconsin, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-wisconsin/) › Tax Offense: Western District of Wisconsin

**In brief:** In the Western District of Wisconsin, 26 of the 31 people sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (84%) received a prison term, and 4 (13%) received probation only. The median prison term was 13 months. For all 94 districts, 66% were sent to prison and the median was 15.1 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 31 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 or Probation for Tax Offenses

4 of the 31 people (13%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

26 (84%) received a prison term. Among them, the median prison term was 13 months. A quarter received 20.2 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.

For all 94 federal districts together, the tax offense type had 5,024 people. 66% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 15.1 months. The share sent to prison was higher in this district, and the median was lower.

## The Guidelines Used

"Tax" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The most common primary guidelines were §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion) with 16 people, §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax) with 9, and §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud) with 6.

Tax cases were 2% of the 1,403 people sentenced in the district. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 59.5 months.

## Pleas and Trials

30 of 31 (97%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. All the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial it was 72 months, but that is based on a single person convicted at trial and sent to prison, so it cannot be treated as a pattern.

For all 94 districts, guilty pleas were 93% in this offense type.

## Sentences Against the Guideline Range

23% of sentences (7 people) were within the guideline range. 32% (10) were below the range at the government's request, and 45% (14) were below the range without a government request. None were above the range.

Within the range was 24% for all 94 districts in this offense type and 32% for all offenses in this district. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 31 people (3%).

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

21 people (68%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 24 months. A fine was ordered for 10 (32%). Restitution was ordered for 26 (84%).

94% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 10 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 21 people. Yearly counts are from 1 to 5 people. The yearly medians are based on very few cases and should not be read as a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 1                | 44 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2017        | 3                | 8.5 months    | 3 of 3         |
| 2018        | 2                | 21 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 4                | 21 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2020        | 5                | 12 months     | 4 of 5         |
| 2021        | 5                | 16 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2022        | 3                | 18 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2023        | 4                | 15 months     | 4 of 4         |
| 2024        | 3                | 12 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2025        | 1                | 12 months     | 1 of 1         |

## What the Records Leave Out

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

The records do not show the amount of tax involved, and they do not explain why a sentence was probation instead of prison.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Wisconsin (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wisconsin West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (31). 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 Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-wisconsin/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-wisconsin/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-wisconsin/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-wisconsin/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-wisconsin/) (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.