Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025
Of the 19 people sentenced for tax offenses in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 12 (63%) received a prison term and 7 (37%) received probation only. The median prison term was 16.5 months, compared with 15.1 months for all 94 federal districts.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 › Tax Offense: District of New Mexico
In brief: Of the 19 people sentenced for tax offenses in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 12 (63%) received a prison term and 7 (37%) received probation only. The median prison term was 16.5 months, compared with 15.1 months for all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 19 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.
Prison or Probation Only
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Tax" includes 19 people in this district. 12 of them, or 63%, received a prison term. The other 7, or 37%, received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Nationally, 66% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. The district's share of 63% was lower than that, based on a small group.
Length of the Prison Terms
Among the 12 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 16.5 months. A quarter received 24.8 months or more, and a quarter received 12.4 months or less.
Across all 94 districts, the Commission counted 5,024 people, and the median prison term was 15.1 months. The district median was a little higher than that.
After a guilty plea the median was 15 months. One person was convicted after a trial and received 27 months, which is a single case and not a pattern.
Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements
A total of 18 of the 19 people (95%) pleaded guilty. Nationally, the guilty plea rate for this offense type was 93%.
Among those who pleaded guilty, 100% had a written plea agreement. None was a straight plea.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 19 people.
Guideline Range Positions
The Commission records whether each sentence was within, below, or above the guideline range. In this district, 5 people (26%) were sentenced within the range.
Below the range at the government's request applied to 8 people (42%), and below the range without a government request applied to 6 people (32%). No one was sentenced above the range.
For all 94 districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range. The district's share was higher than that.
Guidelines Used
The most common primary guideline was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion), with 13 people. Next was §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud), with 4 people.
One person was sentenced under §2T1.9 (Conspiracy to Impede, Impair, Obstruct, or Defeat Tax).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release was ordered for 12 people (63%), and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 5 people (26%).
Restitution was ordered for 18 people (95%). In criminal history, 95% were in the lowest category I, and 0% were in the highest VI.
Counts by Year and Limits of the Data
The district had 6 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 13 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. No tax cases appear for fiscal year 2019 in the table, and one year has no median because no prison median is available.
Tax cases were less than 1% of the 29,766 people sentenced in the district. The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Cannon AFB, Holloman AFB, and Kirtland AFB are in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | 27 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 2 | 9 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 5 | 27 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2025 | 2 | 6.3 months | 2 of 2 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Mexico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Mexico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Tax" (19). 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.
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 District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Kidnapping Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Arson Sentences in the District of New Mexico, 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.