WORKFORCE EDUCATION TAX CREDIT

SB0260

SENATE BILL 260

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

INTRODUCED BY

George K. Muñoz
and
Benny Shendo, Jr.

AN ACT

RELATING TO TAXATION; CREATING THE WORKFORCE EDUCATION
CORPORATE INCOME TAX CREDIT.

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

SECTION 1.
A new section of the Corporate Income and
Franchise Tax Act is enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] WORKFORCE EDUCATION CORPORATE INCOME TAX
CREDIT.--

A. For taxable years prior to January 1, 2029, a
taxpayer that makes a donation to a public post-secondary
educational institution or school district to fund a workforce
education program may claim a tax credit against the taxpayer's
tax liability imposed pursuant to the Corporate Income and
Franchise Tax Act. The tax credit authorized pursuant to this
section may be referred to as the "workforce education
corporate income tax credit".

B. The amount of the tax credit shall be in an
amount equal to seventy-five percent of the amount donated in a
taxable year, not to exceed seven hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($750,000) per taxpayer.

C. A taxpayer shall apply for certification of
eligibility for the tax credit from the economic development
department on forms and in the manner prescribed by that
department. The total annual aggregate amount of tax credits
that may be certified in a calendar year shall not exceed five
million dollars ($5,000,000). Completed applications shall be
considered in the order received. Applications for
certification received after this limitation has been met in a
calendar year shall not be approved.

D. If the economic development department
determines that a taxpayer meets the requirements of this
section, that department shall issue a dated certificate of
eligibility to the taxpayer providing the amount of tax credit
for which the taxpayer is eligible and the taxable year in
which the tax credit may be claimed. The economic development
department shall provide the department with the certificates
of eligibility issued pursuant to this subsection in an
electronic format at regularly agreed-upon intervals.

E. A certificate of eligibility may be sold,
exchanged or otherwise transferred to another taxpayer for the
full value of the tax credit. The parties to such a
transaction shall notify the department of the sale, exchange
or transfer within ten days of the sale, exchange or transfer
in an electronic format prescribed by the department.

F. A taxpayer allowed a tax credit pursuant to this
section shall report the amount of the tax credit to the
department in a manner required by the department.

G. The tax credit provided by this section shall be
included in the tax expenditure budget pursuant to Section
7-1-84 NMSA 1978, including the total annual aggregate cost of
the credit.

H. As used in this section:

(1) "donation" means a monetary donation to a
public post-secondary educational institution or school
district to fund a workforce education program, but does not
include a donation made by a taxpayer that:

(a) is an investor in an entity
contracted to provide the workforce education program; or

(b) is an entity that is otherwise
affiliated with the entity contracted to provide the workforce
education program; and

(2) "workforce education program" means a
program to provide vocational training, career and technical
education and job training to students enrolled at a public
post-secondary educational institution or public school."

SECTION 2.
APPLICABILITY.--The provisions of this act
apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

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