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 one hundred percent permanent and total 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 spouse, is exempt from property taxation if it 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 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.

G. The veterans' services department shall assist the department and the county assessors in determining which veterans qualify for the disabled veteran exemption.

History: Laws 2000, ch. 92, § 1; 2000, ch. 94, § 1; 2003, ch. 29, § 1; 2003, ch. 57, § 2; 2004, ch. 19, § 21; 2015, ch. 126, § 1.

Cross references. — For the veteran's services department, see 9-22-4 NMSA 1978.

For the authorization of tax rates, see 7-37-7 NMSA 1978.

For claiming exemptions, see 7-38-17 NMSA 1978.

For constitutional provision as to disabled veteran exemption, see N.M. Const., art. VIII, § 15.

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

The 2015 amendment, effective June 19, 2015, provided that a disabled veteran's property tax exemption may remain on a transferred residence for the remainder of the year or may be applied to the disabled veteran's or the disabled veteran's surviving spouse's new principal place of residence; in Subsection B, after "occupied by the disabled veteran as", deleted "his" and added "the veteran's"; and added a new Subsection D and redesignated the succeeding subsections accordingly.

Applicability. — Laws 2015, ch. 126, § 2 provided that the provisions of Laws 2015, ch. 126, § 1 apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016.

The 2004 amendment, effective May 19, 2004, amended Subsection F of this section to change "veterans' service commission" to "veterans' services department".

The 2003 amendment, effective March 20, 2003, and applicable to the 2003 and subsequent tax years, in Subparagraph A(1)(b), inserted "one hundred percent"; and in Subsection B, deleted "and has been especially adapted to his disability using a grant for specially adapted housing granted to the veteran by the federal government based on his permanent and total service-connected disability" at the end of the first sentence.