2026 Changes to the Sentencing Guidelines

I have been asked numerous times about the proposed amendments to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines which were voted on on April 16, 2026. The rumors are swirling so I thought I would address them and provide the proposed changes.

There are no significant beneficial changes to drug cases. The one beneficial change that is related to drug trafficking is the revision of monetary guidelines used in money laundering and other financial crimes. The proposed changes are linked below but if you have a financial crime or money laundering you should be aware of the adjustments to the monetary table which could be a 2 level or more reduction in your case. However, it is doubtful this will be applied retroactively so if you have a money laundering or financial crime, and the tables would result in a lower sentence, you need to postpone sentencing until November 1, 2026, or later.

The only other beneficial change is a statement about consideration of rehabilitative activities before sentencing. Experience has shown this is usually discussed if there are significant events but gathering jail certificates for completed courses may not result in a change, but it is worth a try.

Here is a link to the changes: https://www.ussc.gov/guidelines/amendments/adopted-amendments-effective-november-1-2026