HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec
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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; AMENDING A
SECTION OF THE PROPERTY TAX CODE REGARDING CLAIMING
EXEMPTIONS; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
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. An amount as provided in Subsection B of this
section of the taxable value of property, including the
community or joint property of married individuals, subject
to the tax is exempt from the imposition of the tax if the
property is owned 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 HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec
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the property.
B. The exemption allowed shall be in the following
amounts for the specified tax years:
(1) for tax years 2006 through 2024, four
thousand dollars ($4,000);
(2) for tax year 2025, ten thousand dollars
($10,000); and
(3) for tax year 2026 and subsequent tax
years, the amount provided in Paragraph (2) of this
subsection, adjusted for inflation pursuant to Subsection C
of this section.
C. For tax year 2026 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 2025. 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 HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec
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amount to each county assessor no later than December 1 of
the prior tax year.
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.
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 this section,
served in the armed forces of the United States on active
duty continuously for ninety days.
G. For the purposes of Subsection F of this
section, 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 is considered to have met
that qualification if the person served for less than ninety
days and the reason for not having served for ninety days was
a discharge brought about by service-connected disablement.
H. For the purposes of Subsection F of this
section, a person has been "honorably discharged" unless the
person received either a dishonorable discharge or a
discharge for misconduct.
I. For the purposes of this section, a person
whose civilian service has been recognized as service in the HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec
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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
United States; and
(b) has been determined pursuant to
federal law to have a permanent 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 HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec
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spouse, is exempt from property taxation in an amount equal
to the percentage of the veteran's disability as determined
by federal law multiplied by the value of the property after
the amount that may be exempted pursuant to Section 7-37-5
NMSA 1978 is deducted; 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
(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 HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec
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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. The
disabled veteran exemption shall be claimed in proportion to
the taxpayer's ownership interest in the property.
G. The veterans' services department shall assist
the department and the county assessors in determining which
veterans qualify for the disabled veteran exemption."
SECTION 3. Section 7-38-17 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973,
Chapter 258, Section 57, as amended) is amended to read:
"7-38-17. CLAIMING EXEMPTIONS--REQUIREMENTS--
PENALTIES.-- HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec
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A. Subject to the requirements of Subsection E of
this section, head-of-family exemptions, veteran exemptions,
disabled veteran exemptions or veterans' organization
exemptions claimed and allowed in a tax year need not be
claimed for subsequent tax years if there is no change in
eligibility for the exemption nor any change in ownership of
the property against which the exemption was claimed. Head-
of-family, veteran and veterans' organization exemptions
allowable under this subsection shall be applied
automatically by county assessors in the subsequent tax
years.
B. Other exemptions of real property specified
under Section 7-36-7 NMSA 1978 for nongovernmental entities
shall be claimed in order to be allowed. Once such
exemptions are claimed and allowed for a tax year, they need
not be claimed for subsequent tax years if there is no change
in eligibility. Exemptions allowable under this subsection
shall be applied automatically by county assessors in
subsequent tax years.
C. Except as set forth in Subsection H of this
section, an exemption required to be claimed under this
section shall be applied for no later than thirty days after
the mailing of the county assessor's notices of valuation
pursuant to Section 7-38-20 NMSA 1978 in order for it to be
allowed for that tax year. HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec
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D. A person who has had an exemption applied to a
tax year and subsequently becomes ineligible for the
exemption because of a change in the person's status or a
change in the ownership of the property against which the
exemption was applied shall notify the county assessor of the
loss of eligibility for the exemption by the last day of
February of the tax year immediately following the year in
which loss of eligibility occurs.
E. Exemptions may be claimed by filing proof of
eligibility for the exemption with the county assessor. The
proof shall be in a form prescribed by regulation of the
department. Procedures for determining eligibility of
claimants for any exemption shall be prescribed by regulation
of the department, and these regulations shall include
provisions for requiring the veterans' services department to
issue certificates of eligibility for veteran and veterans'
organization exemptions in a form and with the information
required by the department. The regulations shall also
include verification procedures to assure that veteran
exemptions in excess of the amount authorized under Section
7-37-5 NMSA 1978 are not allowed as a result of multiple
claiming in more than one county or claiming against more
than one property in a single tax year.
F. The department shall consult and cooperate with
the veterans' services department in the development, HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec
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adoption and promulgation of regulations under Subsection E
of this section. The veterans' services department shall
comply with the promulgated regulations. The veterans'
services department shall collect a fee of five dollars
($5.00) for the issuance of a duplicate certificate of
eligibility to a veteran or to a veterans' organization.
G. A person who violates the provisions of this
section by intentionally claiming and receiving the benefit
of an exemption to which the person is not entitled or who
fails to comply with the provisions of Subsection D of this
section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a
fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). A
county assessor or the assessor's employee who knowingly
permits a claimant for an exemption to receive the benefit of
an exemption to which the claimant is not entitled is guilty
of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more
than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and shall also be
automatically removed from office or dismissed from
employment upon conviction under this subsection.
H. When a disabled veteran or the disabled
veteran's unmarried surviving spouse provides proof of
eligibility pursuant to Subsection E of this section, the
disabled veteran or the disabled veteran's unmarried
surviving spouse shall be allowed the exemption for the tax
year; provided that the exemption shall not be allowed for HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec
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property tax due for previous tax years."
SECTION 4. APPLICABILITY.--The provisions of Section 2
of this act apply to the 2026 and subsequent property tax
years.
SECTION 5. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public
peace, health and safety that this act take effect
immediately.