Hunter Biden now has an initial court date--January 11, 2024--in California for nine tax charges that he failed to pay $1.4 million in taxes over four years.

Biden will need to appear before Magistrate Judge Alka Sagar in Los Angeles for the initial hearing, which explains the charges in detail as well as the defendant's rights.

The judge then decides whether to release the defendant and whether to require bail for the release. Biden's charges are not considered serious enough to be held without bail or on a high bail, so he will most likely be released.

He is accused of a "four-year scheme" where he didn't pay his taxes and made fraudulent claims to get out of paying them.

Extravagant lifestyle

His unpaid taxes have since been paid by a family friend who is also a Democrat donor and lawyer.

"[W]hen he did finally file his 2018 returns, included false business deductions in order to evade assessment of taxes to reduce the substantial tax liabilities he faced as of February 2020," Weiss alleged.

Weiss also said that Biden spent millions on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his taxes.

Biden additionally faces three federal gun charges, which he pled not guilty to in October.

Lowell complains

Biden's lawyer Abbe Lowell complained that Biden would not face charges if he wasn't the president's son.

"Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought," Lowell said on Dec. 7.

"First, U.S. Attorney Weiss bowed to Republican pressure to file unprecedented and unconstitutional gun charges to renege on a non-prosecution resolution," he continued. "Now, after five years of investigating with no new evidence -- and two years after Hunter paid his taxes in full – the U.S. Attorney has piled on nine new charges when he had agreed just months ago to resolve this matter with a pair of misdemeanors."

According to H&R Block, it is rare for someone to go to jail for tax evasion, but Biden's alleged behavior--hiding income and claiming false deductions that added up to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars each year--is exactly the type that would lead to prosecution and jail time.

Republicans shouldn't expect much in the way of jail time on these charges, particularly since the taxes have been fully paid in arrears unless they find more hidden income.