The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in United States v. Booker and its progeny rendered the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines advisory and returned greater discretion to district judges. Nonetheless, the guidelines still play a role in federal criminal sentencing as judges are required to consider them before imposing sentence.1
With respect to tax offenders, the primary factor in determining the applicable guidelines range is the tax loss caused by the offense, which determines the defendant’s base offense level. The defendant is then subject to enhancements for offense characteristics, such as whether the offense involved “sophisticated means” or whether the unreported income was derived from criminal activity, in addition to other general enhancements.2
