A. Taxpayers are liable for tax at the time of and after the transaction or incident giving rise to tax until payment is made. Taxes are due on and after the date on which their payment is required until payment is made.

B. Every taxpayer shall, on or before the date on which payment of any tax is due, complete and file a tax return in a form prescribed and according to the regulations issued by the secretary. Except as provided in Section 7-1-13.1 NMSA 1978 or by regulation, ruling, order or instruction of the secretary, the payment of any tax or the filing of any return may be accomplished by mail. When the filing of a tax return or payment of a tax is accomplished by mail, the date of the postmark shall be considered the date of submission of the return or payment.

C. If any adjustment is made in the basis for computation of any federal tax as a result of an audit by the internal revenue service or the filing of an amended federal return changing a prior election or making any other change for which federal approval is required by the Internal Revenue Code, the taxpayer affected shall, within one hundred eighty days of final determination of the adjustment, file an amended return with the department. Payment of any additional tax due shall accompany the return.

D. Payment of the total amount of all taxes that are due from the taxpayer shall precede or accompany the return. Delivery to the department of a check that is not paid upon presentment does not constitute payment.

E. The secretary or the secretary's delegate may, for good cause, extend in favor of a taxpayer or a class of taxpayers, for no more than a total of twelve months, the date on which payment of any tax is required or on which any return required by provision of the Tax Administration Act shall be filed, but no extension shall prevent the accrual of interest as otherwise provided by law. When an extension of time for income tax has been granted a taxpayer under the Internal Revenue Code, the extension shall serve to extend the time for filing New Mexico income tax provided that a copy of the approved federal extension of time is attached to the taxpayer's New Mexico income tax return. The secretary by regulation may also provide for the automatic extension for no more than six months of the date upon which payment of any New Mexico income tax or the filing of any New Mexico income tax return is required. If the secretary or the secretary's delegate believes it necessary to ensure the collection of the tax, the secretary or the secretary's delegate may require, as a condition of granting any extension, that the taxpayer furnish security in accordance with the provisions of Section 7-1-54 NMSA 1978.

F. As used in this section, "final determination" means:

(1) the taxpayer has:

(a) made payment on any additional income tax liability resulting from the federal audit; and

(b) not filed a petition for redetermination or claim for refund for the portions of the audit on which payment was made;

(2) the taxpayer has received a refund from the United States department of the treasury resulting from the federal audit;

(3) the taxpayer has signed federal form 870 or other internal revenue service form consenting to the deficiency or accepting any overassessment;

(4) the taxpayer's time period for filing a federal petition for redetermination to the United States tax court has expired;

(5) the taxpayer enters into a closing agreement with the internal revenue service as provided in Section 7121 of the Internal Revenue Code; or

(6) a decision from the United States tax court, United States district court, United States court of appeals, United States court of claims or United States supreme court becomes final.

History: 1953 Comp., § 72-13-30, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 248, § 18; 1971, ch. 276, § 7; 1978, ch. 90, § 1; 1979, ch. 144, § 12; 1983, ch. 211, § 23; 1988, ch. 99, § 2; 1989, ch. 325, § 4; 1993, ch. 5, § 4; 1994, ch. 51, § 3; 2007, ch. 127, § 1; 2013, ch. 27, § 1.

Cross references. — For the Internal Revenue Code, see 26 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.

The 2013 amendment, effective July 1, 2013, extended the deadline for filing an amended return after the final determination of an adjustment in the computation of a federal tax; in Subsection C, after "the taxpayer affected shall, within", deleted "ninety days of the internal revenue service audit adjustment or payment of the federal refund" and added "one hundred eighty days of final determination of the adjustment"; and added Subsection F.

The 2007 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, provided that if a tax return or payment is mailed, the date of the postmark is the date of submission of the return or payment and increases the period of an automatic extension authorized by the secretary to not more than six months.

The 1994 amendment, effective July 1, 1994, substituted "ninety" for "thirty" in the first sentence in Subsection C.

The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, rewrote the first sentence of Subsection C which read "If any adjustment is made in the basis for computation of any federal tax, the taxpayer affected shall, within thirty days, file an amended return with the department" and made a minor stylistic change in Subsection D.

The 1989 amendment, effective June 16, 1989, made a minor stylistic change in Subsection A and, in Subsection E, substituted "shall be filed" for "must be filed" and, at the end of the second sentence, inserted the language beginning "except that".

State returns used for audit although federal taxes filed on different basis. — Since the taxpayer filed consolidated federal income tax returns for a three-year period, but, for the same period, elected to file its state income tax returns as a separate corporate entity, excluding its subsidiaries, and since it was not obligated to file its state returns on the same basis as its federal return, the revenue department was not required to audit and assess the taxpayer's income taxes on the basis of consolidated income reported by the taxpayer in its federal returns rather than on the basis of its state returns which it had filed. Getty Oil Co. v. Taxation & Revenue Dep't, 1979-NMCA-131, 93 N.M. 589, 603 P.2d 328.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 72 Am. Jur. 2d State and Local Taxation §§ 834, 835, 842.

What amounts to reasonable cause for failure to file, or delay in filing, tax return, 3 A.L.R.2d 617.

85 C.J.S. Taxation §§ 1579 et seq.