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HOUSE BILL 47
57
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2025
INTRODUCED BY
Art De La Cruz
AN ACT
RELATING TO PROPERTY TAX; AMENDING CERTAIN PROPERTY TAX
EXEMPTIONS FOR VETERANS TO REFLECT CHANGES MADE TO THE
EXEMPTIONS PURSUANT TO CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS APPROVED BY
VOTERS AT THE NOVEMBER 5, 2024 GENERAL ELECTION; EXPANDING THE
DEFINITION OF "VETERAN" IN ONE OF THE EXEMPTIONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 7-37-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973,
Chapter 258, Section 38, as amended) is amended to read:
"7-37-5. VETERAN EXEMPTION.--
A. [Up to four thousand dollars ($4,000) ] An amount
as provided in Subsection B of this section of the taxable
value of property, including the community or joint property of
[husband and wife] married individuals , subject to the tax is
exempt from the imposition of the tax if the property is owned
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by a veteran or the veteran's unmarried surviving spouse if the
veteran or surviving spouse is a New Mexico resident or if the
property is held in a grantor trust established under Sections
671 through 677 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as those
sections may be amended or renumbered, by a veteran or the
veteran's unmarried surviving spouse if the veteran or
surviving spouse is a New Mexico resident. The exemption shall
be deducted from the taxable value of the property to determine
the net taxable value of the property.
B. The exemption allowed shall be in the following
amounts for the specified tax years:
[(1) for tax year 2004, the exemption shall be
three thousand dollars ($3,000);
(2) for tax year 2005, the exemption shall be
three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500); and
(3) for tax year 2006 and each subsequent tax
year, the exemption shall be four thousand dollars ($4,000) ]
(1) for tax years 2006 through 2025, four
thousand dollars ($4,000);
(2) for tax year 2026, ten thousand dollars
($10,000); and
(3) for tax year 2027 and subsequent tax
years, the amount provided in Paragraph (2) of this subsection,
adjusted for inflation pursuant to Subsection C of this
section.
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C. For tax year 2027 and subsequent tax years, the
amount of exemption shall be adjusted to account for inflation.
The department shall make the adjustment by multiplying ten
thousand dollars ($10,000) by a fraction, the numerator of
which is the consumer price index ending during the prior tax
year and the denominator of which is the consumer price index
ending in tax year 2026. The result of the multiplication
shall be rounded down to the nearest one hundred dollars
($100), except that if the result would be an amount less than
the corresponding amount for the preceding tax year, then no
adjustment shall be made.
D. The department shall publish annually the amount
determined by the calculation made pursuant to Subsection C of
this section and provide the calculated amount to each county
assessor no later than December 1 of the prior tax year .
[B.] E. The veteran exemption shall be applied only
if claimed and allowed in accordance with Section 7-38-17 NMSA
1978 and regulations of the department. [For taxpayers who
became eligible for a veteran exemption due to the approval of
the amendment to Article 8, Section 5 of the constitution of
New Mexico in November 2004, a county assessor shall, at the
time of determining the net taxable value of the taxpayer's
property for the 2005 property tax year, in addition to
complying with the provisions of Section 7-38-17 NMSA 1978,
determine the net taxable value of the taxpayer's property that
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would result from the application of the veteran exemption for
the 2004 property tax year had the deadline for applying for
the veteran exemption in 2004 occurred after the amendment was
certified. The veteran exemption for 2004 shall not be
credited against the 2005 property value of a taxpayer until
the taxpayer has paid in full the taxpayer's property tax
liability for the 2004 property tax year.
C.] F. As used in this section, "veteran" means an
individual who:
(1) has been honorably discharged from
membership in the armed forces of the United States; and
(2) except as provided in Subsection G of this
section:
(a) served in the armed forces of the
United States on active duty continuously for ninety days; or
(b) served in the army reserve, navy
reserve, marine corps reserve, air force reserve, coast guard
reserve, army national guard or air national guard and was
accepted for and assigned to duty for a minimum of six
continuous years.
[D. For the purposes of Subsection C of this
section] G. A person who would otherwise be entitled to status
as a veteran except for failure to have served [in the armed
forces continuously for ninety days ] the required time period
is considered to have met that qualification if the [person
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served for less than ninety days and the ] reason for not having
served [for ninety days ] the required time period was a
discharge brought about by service-connected disablement.
[E.] H. For the purposes of Subsection [C ] F of
this section, a person has been "honorably discharged" unless
the person received either a dishonorable discharge or a
discharge for misconduct.
[F.] I. For the purposes of this section, a person
whose civilian service has been recognized as service in the
armed forces of the United States under federal law and who has
been issued a discharge certificate by a branch of the armed
forces of the United States shall be considered to have served
in the armed forces of the United States."
SECTION 2. Section 7-37-5.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2000,
Chapter 92, Section 1 and Laws 2000, Chapter 94, Section 1, as
amended) is amended to read:
"7-37-5.1. DISABLED VETERAN EXEMPTION.--
A. As used in this section:
(1) "disabled veteran" means an individual
who:
(a) has been honorably discharged from
membership in the armed forces of the United States or has
received a discharge certificate from a branch of the armed
forces of the United States for civilian service recognized
pursuant to federal law as service in the armed forces of the
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United States; and
(b) has been determined pursuant to
federal law to have a [one hundred percent ] permanent [and
total] service-connected disability; and
(2) "honorably discharged" means discharged
from the armed forces pursuant to a discharge other than a
dishonorable or bad conduct discharge.
B. The property of a disabled veteran, including
joint or community property of the veteran and the veteran's
spouse, is exempt from property taxation [if it ] in an amount
that shall be based on the percentage of the veteran's
disability as determined by federal law; provided that the
property is occupied by the disabled veteran as the veteran's
principal place of residence. Property held in a grantor trust
established under Sections 671 through 677 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as those sections may be amended or
renumbered, by a disabled veteran or the veteran's surviving
spouse is also exempt from property taxation if the property
otherwise meets the requirements for exemption in this
subsection or Subsection C of this section.
C. The property of the surviving spouse of a
disabled veteran is exempt from property taxation if:
(1) the surviving spouse and the disabled
veteran were married at the time of the disabled veteran's
death; and
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(2) the surviving spouse continues to occupy
the property continuously after the disabled veteran's death as
the spouse's principal place of residence.
D. Upon the transfer of the principal place of
residence of a disabled veteran or of a surviving spouse of a
disabled veteran entitled to and granted a disabled veteran
exemption, the disabled veteran or the surviving spouse may
choose to:
(1) maintain the exemption for that residence
for the remainder of the year, even if the residence is
transferred during the year; or
(2) remove the exemption for that residence
and apply it to the disabled veteran's or the disabled
veteran's surviving spouse's new principal place of residence,
regardless of whether the exemption was applied for and claimed
within thirty days of the mailing of the county assessor's
notice of valuation made pursuant to the provisions of Section
7-38-20 NMSA 1978.
E. The exemption provided by this section may be
referred to as the "disabled veteran exemption".
F. The disabled veteran exemption shall be applied
only if claimed and allowed in accordance with Section 7-38-17
NMSA 1978 and the rules of the department.
G. The veterans' services department shall assist
the department and the county assessors in determining which
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veterans qualify for the disabled veteran exemption."
SECTION 3. APPLICABILITY.--The provisions of this act
apply to the 2026 and subsequent property tax years.
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