Property tax relief for seniors in New Mexico

The programs at a glance

Property Tax Rebate for people 65 or older

You qualify for the 2025 tax year if:

• you were 65 or older on the last day of the year
• you lived in New Mexico and were physically in the state for at least six months
• no one can claim you as a dependent
• you were not an inmate of a public institution for more than six months
• your modified gross income was $16,000 or less

Homeowners use the property tax billed on their main home. Renters count 6% of the rent they paid for the year as property tax. The form then subtracts a set amount based on your income, and the rest is your rebate, up to $250. If you are married and file separately, each spouse can get up to $125.

Additional county rebate

If you own and live in your home in Bernalillo, Doña Ana, Los Alamos or Santa Fe County, you may get up to $350 more. There is no age limit. Your modified gross income must be $24,000 or less. Renting the home or the land under it does not count. If the mailing address on your tax return is outside these counties, attach your property tax statement.

Low-Income Comprehensive Tax Rebate

This rebate is not only about property tax, but many older adults qualify. Your modified gross income must be $36,000 or less. The amount depends on your income and the number of exemptions in your household. People 65 or older and people who are blind count as extra exemptions, which can raise the rebate.

What counts as income

For these rebates, modified gross income means almost all money that comes in to you, your spouse and your dependents, whether or not it is taxed. You may not subtract losses.

Counted: wages, gross Social Security, pensions, annuities, Railroad Retirement, SSI and other public assistance, unemployment, interest, dividends, capital gains, cash gifts, VA benefits, alimony and child support.

Not counted: loans you must repay, SNAP and WIC, medical payments by Medicare, Medicaid or insurance, rent subsidies like Section 8, energy and weatherization help, foster grandparent stipends, and tax rebates.

The value freeze uses the same kind of income, for the year before.

The value freeze (limitation on increase in value)

If you are 65 or older, or disabled, and own and live in a single-family home as your main home, your county assessor can keep its taxable value from going up.

• Income: your modified gross income for the year before must be $44,200 or less for the 2026 tax year.
• Disabled means blind or permanently disabled under Social Security rules, or found to have a permanent total disability under workers' compensation.
• Only your main home qualifies.

How to apply:

1. Get the application for the "Limitation on Increase in Value for Single Family Dwellings Occupied by Low Income Owners 65 Years of Age or Older or Disabled" from your county assessor.
2. Attach copies of last year's state and federal tax returns (or other proof of income) and proof of age, such as a photo ID.
3. Give your home's address and parcel number (UPC) from your tax notice.
4. File it with your county assessor. Ask the assessor for the deadline.

After you are approved three years in a row, you do not have to apply again as long as nothing changes. If you file an amended tax return, tell the assessor within 30 days.

How to claim the rebates

1. Fill out form PIT-RC (New Mexico Rebate and Credit Schedule) for the tax year.
2. File it with your PIT-1 New Mexico personal income tax return.
3. Have your property tax bill or a record of the rent you paid for the year.

Other help

• Head-of-family exemption: lowers the taxable value of the home you live in. Apply once with your county assessor.
• Veterans: the veteran exemption is $10,000 and now rises with inflation. Since the 2026 tax year, veterans with any service-connected disability rating can exempt a share of their home's value that matches the rating. Get a certificate from the Department of Veterans' Services (1-866-433-8387) and file it with your county assessor.

Things people often miss

• Renters qualify for the 65-or-older rebate. Use 6% of your yearly rent.
• Social Security counts as income, so check the limit using your total gross benefits.
• The freeze is not automatic. You must apply, and keep applying until you have three approvals in a row.

Free help

Your county assessor can help with the freeze and exemptions. For questions about benefits in general, call the Aging and Disability Resource Center at 1-800-432-2080.

See also all benefits in New Mexico and Social Security retirement.

Phone numbers: Free help lines for New Mexico agencies

Check what you may qualify for