A. Up to four thousand dollars ($4,000) of the taxable value of property, including the community or joint property of husband and wife, 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 the property. 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).

B. 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 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. 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.

D. For the purposes of Subsection C 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.

E. For the purposes of Subsection C of this section, a person has been "honorably discharged" unless the person received either a dishonorable discharge or a discharge for misconduct.

F. 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.

History: 1953 Comp., § 72-30-5, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 258, § 38; 1975, ch. 3, § 1; 1975, ch. 77, § 1; 1977, ch. 140, § 1; 1977, ch. 168, § 1; 1981, ch. 187, § 1; 1983, ch. 330, § 1; 1986, ch. 104, § 1; 1989, ch. 236, § 1; 1989, ch. 353, § 1; 1991, ch. 228, § 2; 1992, ch. 68, § 1; 2000, ch. 17, § 1; 2003, ch. 57, § 1; 2005, ch. 230, § 1.

Cross references. — For definition of "department", see 7-35-2 NMSA 1978.

For constitutional provision as to veteran exemption, see N.M. Const., art. VIII, § 5.

For Sections 671 to 677 of the Internal Revenue Code, see 26 U.S.C. §§ 671 to 677.

The 2005 amendment, effective April 6, 2005, in Subsection A, deleted the former exemptions for tax years 2003 and prior years; in Subsection B, provided that for taxpayers who have become eligible for a veteran exemption under Article 8, Section 5 of the New Mexico constitution as amended in November 2004, a county assessor shall, when determining the net taxable value of property for 2005, determine the veteran exemption for 2004 under the constitutional amendment and credit the 2004 exemption against the 2005 property value after the taxpayer has paid the tax liability for 2004; in Subsection C(2), added the exception ; and in Subsection C(3), deleted the former provision that a "veteran" was defined to mean a person who served in the armed forces during an armed conflict prior to World War I, World War I, World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam conflict, the Grenada conflict or the Persian gulf conflict.

The 2003 amendment, effective March 20, 2003, in Subsection A, substituted "Up to four thousand dollars ($4,000)" for "Two thousand dollars ($2,000)" at the beginning, in the introductory paragraph, added the last sentence; and added Paragraphs (1) to (5).

The 2000 amendment, effective May 17, 2000, inserted new Subsection C(3)(f), and redesignated former Subsection C(3)(f) as C(3)(g).

The 1992 amendment, effective May 20, 1992, added Subsection C(3)(f).

The 1991 amendment, effective June 14, 1991, added the language beginning "or if the property" at the end of the first sentence in Subsection A.

The 1989 amendment, effective June 16, 1989, in Subsection B, substituted "department" for "division"; in Subsection C, corrected a misspelling in Paragraph (2); and added Subsection F.

This section violates equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment by limiting a tax exemption to those Vietnam veterans who resided in the state before May 8, 1976. Hooper v. Bernalillo Cnty. Assessor, 472 U.S. 612, 105 S. Ct. 2862, 86 L. Ed. 2d 487 (1985) (decided under prior law).

Law reviews. — For note, "New Mexico Vietnam Veterans' Property Tax Exemption and Judicial Review in Equal Protection Analysis: Hooper v. Bernalillo Cnty. Assessor," see 15 N.M.L. Rev. 389 (1985).

For article, "More Equal Than Others: The Burger Court and the Newly Arrived State Resident," see 19 N.M.L. Rev. 329 (1989).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 71 Am. Jur. 2d State and Local Taxation § 334.

Constitutionality, construction and application of state statutes relating to exemption from taxation of amounts paid as pensions, car risk insurance, compensation, bonus or other relief for veterans of World War, 116 A.L.R. 1437.

4 C.J.S. Taxation § 261 et seq.