HB 47 — VETERAN PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS

HOUSE GOVERNMENT, ELECTIONS AND INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL 47 57TH LEGISLATURE -STATEOFNEWMEXICO- FIRST SESSION, 2025 4 6 8 10 AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY TAX;

AMENDING A SECTION OF THE PROPERTY TAX CODE REGARDING CLAIMING EXEMPTIONS;

e9 t 17 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

w l n d 18 SECTION 1.

Section 7-37-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, = = 19 a l Chapter 258, Section 38, as amended) is amended to read:

i a e r 20 "7-37-5.

VETERAN EXEMPTION.-- a t m m 21 A.

[Up to four thousand dollars ($4,000)] An amount d r e 22 as provided in Subsection B of this section of the taxable c e s k 23 value of property, including the community or joint property of e a n b 24 [husband and wife] married individuals, subject to the tax is u [ exempt from the imposition of the tax if the property is owned .229957.1 HGEIC/HB 47 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 HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec value of the property to determine the net taxable value of Page 1 the property.

[(1)(1) for tax yearyears 2004,2006 thethrough exemption2024, shallfour be three thousand dollars ($3,000);($4,000);

(2) for tax year 2005,2025, theten exemption shall be three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500);($10,000);

and (3) for tax year 20062026 and each subsequent tax eyears, t 17 year, the exemptionamount shallprovided bein fourParagraph thousand(2) dollarsof ($4,000)]this wsubsection, ladjusted n d 18 (1) for taxinflation yearspursuant 2006to throughSubsection 2024,C fourof =this =section. 19 thousand dollars ($4,000);

aC. l i a e r 20 (2) for tax year 2025, ten thousand dollars a t m m 21 ($10,000);

and d r e 22 (3) for tax year 2026 and subsequent tax c e s k 23 years, the amount provided in Paragraph (2) of this subsection, e a n b 24 adjusted for inflation pursuant to Subsection C of this u [ section.

.229957.1 - 2 - HGEIC/HB 47 C.

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 Page 2 amount to each county assessor no later than December 1 of the prior tax year.

[B.] E.

The veteran exemption shall be applied only e t 17 if claimed and allowed in accordance with Section 7-38-17 NMSA w l n d 18 1978 and regulations of the department.

[ForF. taxpayers who = = 19 became eligible for a veteran exemption due to the approval of a l i a e r 20 the amendment to Article 8, Section 5 of the constitution of a t m m 21 New Mexico in November 2004, a county assessor shall, at the d r e 22 time of determining the net taxable value of the taxpayer's c e s k 23 property for the 2005 property tax year, in addition to e a n b 24 complying with the provisions of Section 7-38-17 NMSA 1978, u [ determine the net taxable value of the taxpayer's property that .229957.1 - 3 - HGEIC/HB 47 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.

[D.] G.

For the purposes of Subsection [C] F of this section, a person who would otherwise be entitled to e t 17 status as a veteran except for failure to have served in the w l n d 18 armed forces continuously for ninety days is considered to have = = 19 met that qualification if the person served for less than a l i a e r 20 ninety days and the reason for not having served for ninety a t m m 21 days was a discharge brought about by service-connected d r e 22 disablement.

c e s k 23 [E.] H.

For the purposes of Subsection [C] F of e a n b 24 this section, a person has been "honorably discharged" unless u [ the person received either a dishonorable discharge or a .229957.1 - 4 - HGEIC/HB 47 discharge for misconduct.

[F.] I.

For the purposes of this section, a person whose civilian service has been recognized as service in the HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec Page 3 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.

(a) has been honorably discharged from membership in the armed forces of the United States or has e t 17 received a discharge certificate from a branch of the armed w l n d 18 forces of the United States for civilian service recognized = = 19 pursuant to federal law as service in the armed forces of the a l i a e r 20 United States;

and a t m m 21 (b) has been determined pursuant to d r e 22 federal law to have a [one hundred percent] permanent [and c e s k 23 total] service-connected disability;

and e a n b 24 (2) "honorably discharged" means discharged u [ from the armed forces pursuant to a discharge other than a .229957.1 - 5 - HGEIC/HB 47 dishonorable or bad conduct discharge.

The property of a disabled veteran, including joint or community property of the veteran and the veteran's HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec Page 4 spouse, is exempt from property taxation [if it] in an amount thatequal shallto be based on the percentage of the veteran's disability as determined by federal law;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;

e t 17 (1) the surviving spouse and the disabled w l n d 18 veteran were married at the time of the disabled veteran's = = 19 death;

and a l i a e r 20 (2) the surviving spouse continues to occupy a t m m 21 the property continuously after the disabled veteran's death as d r e 22 the spouse's principal place of residence.

c e s k 23 D.

Upon the transfer of the principal place of e a n b 24 residence of a disabled veteran or of a surviving spouse of a u [ disabled veteran entitled to and granted a disabled veteran .229957.1 - 6 - HGEIC/HB 47 exemption, the disabled veteran or the surviving spouse may HTRC/HGEIC/HB 47/ec Page 5 choose to:

The disabled veteran exemption shall be applied only if claimed and allowed in accordance with Section 7-38-17 e t 17 NMSA 1978 and the rules of the department.

wThe ldisabled nveteran dexemption 18shall G.be claimed in proportion to the taxpayer's ownership interest in the property.

TheG. veterans' services department shall assist = = 19 the department and the county assessors in determining which a l i a e r 20 veterans qualify for the disabled veteran exemption." a t m m 21 SECTION 3.

APPLICABILITY.--TheThe provisionsveterans' ofservices Sectiondepartment 2shall ofassist dthe rdepartment eand 22the thiscounty actassessors applyin todetermining thewhich 2026veterans andqualify subsequentfor propertythe taxdisabled years.veteran exemption." SECTION 3.

cSection e7-38-17 sNMSA k1978 23(being SECTIONLaws 4.1973, Chapter 258, Section 57, as amended) is amended to read: