Constitution of New Mexico (2025 publisher edition) — ARTICLE VIII

Publisher edition notice: This collection preserves the complete Secretary of State's 2025 compilation, identifying amendments through 2024, including the publisher's source notes and annotations. Later amendments have not been independently verified.

ARTICLE VIII

ARTICLE VIII Taxation and Revenue Sec. 1. Levy to be proportionate to value; uniform and equal taxes; percentage of value taxed; limitation on annual valuation increases. 2. Property tax limits; exception. 3. Tax- exempt property.

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93© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article VIII – Taxation and Revenue Sec. 4. Misuse and deposit of public money. 5. Head of family and veteran exemptions. 6. Assessment of lands. 7. Judgments against local officials. 8. Exemption of certain personalty in transit through the state. 9. Elected governing authority prerequisite to levy of tax. 10. Severance tax permanent fund. 15. Property tax exemption for disabled vet- erans. 16. Property tax exemption for property of veterans' organization chartered by United States congress. Section 1. [Levy to be proportionate to value; uniform and equal taxes; percentage of value taxed; limitation on annual valuation increases.] A. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, taxes levied upon tangible property shall be in proportion to the value thereof, and taxes shall be equal and uni- form upon subjects of taxation of the same class. Different methods may be provided by law to determine value of different kinds of property, but the percentage of value against which tax rates are assessed shall not exceed thirty-three and one-third percent.

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94© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article VIII – Taxation and Revenue B. The legislature shall provide by law for the valuation of residential property for property taxation purposes in a manner that limits annual increases in valuation of residential property. The limitation may be applied to classes of residential property taxpayers based on owner-occupancy, age or income. The limitations may be autho- rized statewide or at the option of a local jurisdiction and may include conditions under which the limitation is applied. Any valuation limitations authorized as a local jurisdiction option shall provide for apply- ing statewide or multi-jurisdictional prop- erty tax rates to the value of the property as if the valuation increase limitation did not apply. (As amended November 3, 1914, November 2, 1971 and November 3, 1998.) Sec. 2. [Property tax limits; exception.] Taxes levied upon real or personal prop- erty for state revenue shall not exceed four mills annually on each dollar of the assessed valuation thereof except for the support of the educational, penal and char- itable institutions of the state, payment of the state debt and interest thereon; and the total annual tax levy upon such property

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95© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article VIII – Taxation and Revenue for all state purposes exclusive of nec- essary levies for the state debt shall not exceed ten mills; provided, however, that taxes levied upon real or personal tangible property for all purposes, except special levies on specific classes of property and except necessary levies for public debt, shall not exceed twenty mills annually on each dollar of the assessed valuation thereof, but laws may be passed authoriz- ing additional taxes to be levied outside of such limitation when approved by at least a majority of the qualified electors of the taxing district who paid a property tax therein during the preceding year voting on such proposition. (As amended No- vember 3, 1914, September 19, 1933, and November 7, 1967.) Sec. 3. [Tax-exempt property.] The property of the United States, the state and all counties, towns, cities and school districts and other municipal corpo- rations, public libraries, community ditches and all laterals thereof, all church property not used for commercial purposes, all prop- erty used for educational or charitable pur- poses, all cemeteries not used or held for

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96© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article VIII – Taxation and Revenue private or corporate profit and all bonds of the state of New Mexico, and of the coun- ties, municipalities and districts thereof shall be exempt from taxation. Provided, however, that any property acquired by public libraries, community ditches and all laterals thereof, property ac- quired by churches, property acquired and used for educational or charitable purposes, and property acquired by cemeteries not used or held for private, or corporate profit, and property acquired by the Indian service and property acquired by the United States government or by the state of New Mexico by outright purchase or trade, where such property was, prior to such transfer, subject to the lien of any tax or assessment for the principal or interest of any bonded indebt- edness shall not be exempt from such lien, nor from the payment of such taxes or as- sessments. Exemptions of personal property from ad valorem taxation may be provided by law if approved by a three- fourths majority vote of all the members elected to each house of the legislature. (As amended November 3, 1914, November 5, 1946, and November 7, 1972.)

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97© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article VIII – Taxation and Revenue Sec. 4. [Misuse and deposit of public money.] Any public officer making any profit out of public money or using the same for any purpose not authorized by law, shall be deemed guilty of a felony and shall be punished as provided by law and shall be disqualified to hold public office. All public money not invested in interest-bearing se- curities shall be deposited in national banks in this state, in banks or trust companies in- corporated under the laws of the state, in federal savings and loan associations in this state, in savings and loan associations incorporated under the laws of this state whose deposits are insured by an agency of the United States and in credit unions incorporated under the laws of this state or the United States to the extent that such deposits of public money in credit unions are insured by an agency of the United States, and the interest derived therefrom shall be applied in the manner prescribed by law. The conditions of such deposits shall be provided by law. (As amended November 3, 1914, November 7, 1967 and November 4, 1986.)

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98© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article VIII – Taxation and Revenue Sec. 5. [Head of family and veteran exemptions.] A. The legislature shall exempt from taxation the property of each head of the family in the amount of two thousand dol- lars ($2,000). B. The legislature shall exempt from taxation the property, including the com- munity or joint property of married individ- uals, of every honorably discharged mem- ber of the armed forces of the United States and the widow or widower of every such honorably discharged member of the armed forces of the United States, in the sum of: (1) in 2006 and in each year through 2023, four thousand dollars ($4,000); (2) in 2024, ten thousand dollars ($10,000); and (3) in 2025 and each subsequent year, the amount provided in Paragraph (2) of this subsection, adjusted for inflation. C. In every case where exemption is claimed on the ground of the claimant's having served with the armed forces of the United States pursuant to Subsection B of this section, the burden of proving actual and bona fide ownership of such property upon which exemption is claimed

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99© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article VIII – Taxation and Revenue shall be upon the claimant. (As amended November 3, 1914, September 20, 1921, September 20, 1949, September 15, 1953, November 6, 1973, November 8, 1988, No- vember 5, 2002, November 2, 2004, and November 5, 2024.) Sec. 6. [Assessment of lands.] Lands held in large tracts shall not be as- sessed for taxation at any lower value per acre then [than] lands of the same charac- ter or quality and similarly situated, held in smaller tracts. The plowing of land shall not be considered as adding value thereto for the purpose of taxation. (As amended No- vember 3, 1914.) Sec. 7. [Judgments against local officials.] No execution shall issue upon judgment rendered against the board of county com- missioners of any county, or against any incorporated city, town or village, school district or board of education; or against any officer of any county, incorporated city, town or village, school district or board of education, upon any judgment recovered

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100© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article VIII – Taxation and Revenue against him in his official capacity and for which the county, incorporated city, town or village, school district or board of edu- cation, is liable, but the same shall be paid out of the proceeds of a tax levy as other liabilities of counties, incorporated cities, towns or villages, school districts or boards of education, and when so collected shall be paid by the county treasurer to the judgment creditor. (As amended November 3, 1914.) Sec. 8. [Exemption of certain personalty in transit through the state.] Personal property which is moving in in- terstate commerce through or over the state of New Mexico, or which was consigned to a warehouse, public or private, or factory within New Mexico from outside the state for storage in transit to a final destination outside the state of New Mexico, manufac- turing, processing or fabricating while in transit to a final destination, whether spec- ified when transportation begins or after- wards, which destination is also outside the state, shall be deemed not to have acquired a situs in New Mexico for purposes of tax- ation and shall be exempt from taxation. Such property shall not be deprived of such

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101© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article VIII – Taxation and Revenue exemption because while in the warehouse the property is assembled, bound, joined, processed, disassembled, divided, cut, bro- ken in bulk, relabeled or repackaged. (As added November 6, 1973.) Sec. 9. [Elected governing authority prerequisite to levy of tax.] No tax or assessment of any kind shall be levied by any political subdivision whose enabling legislation does not provide for an elected governing authority. This section does not prohibit the levying or collection of a tax or special assessment by an initial appointed governing authority where the appointed governing authority will be re- placed by an elected one within six years of the date the appointed authority takes of- fice. The provisions of this section shall not be effective until July 1, 1976. (As added November 5, 1974.) Sec. 10. [Severance tax permanent fund.] A. There shall be deposited in a per- manent trust fund known as the "severance tax permanent fund" that part of state rev-

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102© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article VIII – Taxation and Revenue enue derived from excise taxes that have been or shall be designated severance taxes imposed upon the severance of natural re- sources within this state, in excess of that amount that has been or shall be reserved by statute for the payment of principal and interest on outstanding bonds to which severance tax revenue has been or shall be pledged. Money in the severance tax per- manent fund shall be invested as provided by law. Distributions from the fund shall be appropriated by the legislature as other gen- eral operating revenue is appropriated for the benefit of the people of the state. B. All additions to the fund and all earnings, including interest, dividends and capital gains from investment of the fund shall be credited to the corpus of the fund. C. The annual distributions from the fund shall be one hundred two percent of the amount distributed in the immediately preceding fiscal year until the annual distri- butions equal four and seven-tenths percent of the average of the year-end market values of the fund for the immediately preceding five calendar years. Thereafter, the amount of the annual distributions shall be four and seven- tenths percent of the average of the

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103© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article VIII – Taxation and Revenue year-end market values of the fund for the immediately preceding five calendar years. D. The frequency and the time of the distributions made pursuant to Subsection C of this section shall be as provided by law. (As added November 2, 1976; as amended November 2, 1982 and November 5, 1996.) Sec. 15. [Property tax exemption for disabled veterans.] A. The legislature shall exempt from taxation the property, including the com- munity or joint property of married individ- uals, of every veteran of the armed forces of the United States who has been determined pursuant to federal law to have a permanent service-connected disability, if the veteran occupies the property as the veteran's prin- cipal place of residence. The amount of the exemption shall be in a percentage equal to the percentage of the veteran's disability rating determined pursuant to federal law. B. The legislature shall provide the same amount of exemption from taxation for property owned by the widow or wid- ower of a veteran who was eligible for the exemption provided in this section, if the widow or widower continues to occupy the

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104© 2025 State of New Mexico. New Mexico Compilation Commission. All rights reserved. Article IX – State, County and Municipal Indebtedness property as the widow's or widower's prin- cipal place of residence. C. The burden of proving eligibility for the exemptions provided in this section is on the person claiming the exemption. (As added November 3, 1998; as amended November 5, 2002, and November 5, 2024.) Sec. 16. [Property tax exemption for property of veterans' organization chartered by United States congress.] The legislature shall exempt from taxa- tion the property of a veterans' organization chartered by the United States congress and used primarily for veterans and their families. The burden of proving eligibility for the exemption in this section is on the person claiming the exemption. (As added November 2, 2010.)