PROPERTY TAX CODE DEFINITIONS

SB0149

SENATE BILL 149

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Jay C. Block
and
Harlan Vincent

AN ACT

RELATING TO TAXATION; AMENDING THE DEFINITION OF "RESIDENTIAL
PROPERTY" IN THE PROPERTY TAX CODE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
Section 7-35-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973,
Chapter 258, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

"7-35-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Property Tax Code:

A. "abandoned real property" means real property:

(1) that is part of a subdivision where the
subdivision has a minimum of five thousand lots in delinquency
on the department's delinquent property tax list as prepared by
the appropriate county treasurer pursuant to Section 7-38-61
NMSA 1978 as of January 1, 2019;

(2) of which the subdivided lots are vacant;

(3) that is part of a subdivision plotted on
or before 1980;

(4) the property taxes, penalties and interest
of which are delinquent for at least ten years; and

(5) that does not include property with
existing homes, businesses or other habitable structures;

B. "department" or "division" means the taxation
and revenue department, the secretary of taxation and revenue
or any employee of the department exercising authority lawfully
delegated to that employee by the secretary;

C. "director" means the secretary;

D. "livestock" means cattle, buffalo, horses,
mules, sheep, goats, swine, ratites and other domestic animals
useful to humans;

E. "manufactured home" means a manufactured home as
that term is defined in Section 66-1-4.11 NMSA 1978;

F. "net taxable value" means the value of property
upon which the tax is imposed and is determined by deducting
from taxable value the amount of any exemption authorized by
the Property Tax Code;

G. "nonresidential property" means property that is
not residential property;

H. "owner" means the person in whom is vested any
title to property;

I. "person" means an individual or any other legal
entity;

J. "property" means tangible property, real or
personal;

K. "residential property" means property consisting
of one or more dwellings together with appurtenant structures,
the land underlying both the dwellings and the appurtenant
structures and a quantity of land reasonably necessary for
parking and other uses that facilitate the use of the dwellings
and appurtenant structures. As used in this subsection,
"dwellings" includes both manufactured homes and other
structures when used primarily for [
permanent
] human habitation

and that are leased or rented to lodgers for any duration
, but
the term does not include [
structures when used primarily for
temporary or transient human habitation such as
] hotels, motels
and similar
commercial
structures;

L. "secretary" means the secretary of taxation and
revenue and, except for purposes of Section 7-35-6 NMSA 1978
and Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection B of Section 9-11-6.2
NMSA 1978, also includes the deputy secretary or a division
director or deputy division director delegated by the
secretary;

M. "tax" means the property tax imposed under the
Property Tax Code;

N. "taxable value" means the value of property
determined by applying the tax ratio to the value of the
property determined for property taxation purposes;

O. "tax rate" means the rate of the tax expressed
in terms of dollars per thousand dollars of net taxable value
of property;

P. "tax ratio" means the percentage established
under the Property Tax Code that is applied to the value of
property determined for property taxation purposes in order to
derive taxable value; and

Q. "tax year" means the calendar year."

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