New Mexico Reduced Vehicle Registration and Excise Tax Exemption

Two small vehicle benefits, each tied to a different test. Registration at two-thirds. The Department of Veterans' Services describes section 66-6-7 this way: a person "entitled to a veteran exemption and who does not have sufficient real or personal property to claim the full property tax exemption may be eligible to pay motor vehicle registration fees at two-thirds the rates charged on vehicles the veteran owns". It uses the same certificate of eligibility as the property tax exemption. The Taxation and Revenue Department rule, 3.6.6.12 NMAC, subsection C, paragraph (2), explains the order that matters: a veteran who has already claimed any part of the veteran exemption on property for the year is not entitled to the reduced registration rate, but if the registration reduction is taken first, both may be claimed to the extent section 7-37-5 allows. A renter with a car should use it. No excise tax for certain disabled veterans. Section 7-14-6, subsection E exempts from the motor vehicle excise tax, which is charged when a vehicle is titled, "a bona fide resident of New Mexico who served in the armed forces of the United States and who suffered, while serving in the armed forces or from a service-connected cause, the loss or complete and total loss of use of: (1) one or both legs at or above the ankle; or (2) one or both arms at or above the wrist". There is no rating percentage and no limit on the number of vehicles in the statute. The Army benefits library describes it as one vehicle. Plates. Free disabled veteran and medal plates are a separate entry, and the 50 percent disabled veteran plate also waives the registration fee on up to two vehicles.