New Mexico Zapper & Sales Suppression Law
New Mexico prohibits automated sales suppression devices.
- Citation
- N.M. Stat. Ann. § 7-1-73
- Type
- Sales-suppression language added to its general tax-fraud statute rather than a standalone law
- Penalty
- Tax fraud; petty misdemeanor to 2d-degree felony by tax owed
- Enacted
- 2023
Automated sales suppression software — commonly called a “zapper” or “phantomware” — alters the electronic records of a point-of-sale or electronic cash register system so that sales, and the tax collected on them, go unreported. New Mexico addresses this conduct through sales-suppression language added to its general tax-fraud statute rather than a standalone law.
Sales-suppression language grafted onto general tax-fraud statute in 2023, not a standalone zapper law.
If you have received an audit notice, a reassessment, or an inquiry concerning suppression software in New Mexico, the statute above is the provision most likely at issue. Confirm its current text before relying on it.
Facing a sales suppression allegation or a sales tax reassessment? We defend these matters. Email [email protected].
Reviewed July 2026 against primary sources. This page is a research aid, not legal advice.