Property tax in New Mexico: rates, cap and exemptions

How is a home’s taxable value set?

The county assessor values your home at its market value (§ 7-36-15). Three steps follow:

1. The assessor’s value is the market value, subject to the residential limit below.
2. The taxable value is one-third of that value, because the tax ratio is 33⅓% (§ 7-37-3).
3. The net taxable value is the taxable value minus any exemption, such as the head-of-family exemption.

Each taxing body then levies a rate in mills. One mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value. The State Constitution caps combined operating levies at 20 mills, but voter-approved debt and special levies sit on top of that cap (Legislative Finance Committee, LFC, 2024). The DFA certifies the rates for each tax district every year.

What is the Albuquerque rate for 2026?

Bernalillo County’s 2026 certificate lists several tax districts. Most Albuquerque homes sit in district 12 IN R (City of Albuquerque, Albuquerque public school district, residential). Its levies are:

Your own district may differ, for example in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, Tijeras or an unincorporated area, so check the certificate for your address. In 2025 the same district’s total was 48.323 mills (DFA certificate, revised September 19, 2025).

What does the head-of-family exemption save?

Up to $2,000 of taxable value is exempt for a New Mexico resident who is the head of a family (§ 7-37-4). Despite the name, it covers married and single owners alike: only one person per household can claim it, and only in one county. It is a small saving. On the Albuquerque rate above, it is worth about $84 a year.

Other relief you may qualify for:

The freeze keeps your value at the level of the year you qualified. The income limit started at $35,000 in 2020 and moves with inflation (§ 7-36-21.3). You must apply within 30 days of the notice of valuation. After three consecutive years of qualifying filings, the assessor applies the freeze automatically while you stay eligible.

How does the 3% cap work, and what happens when you buy?

A residential value cannot exceed the higher of 103% of last year’s value or 106.1% of the value two years earlier (§ 7-36-21.2). The LFC summarizes this as a 3% annual limit. The cap does not apply to new improvements or to a change in use or zoning.

It also resets on a sale. After a change of ownership, the home is valued at its current market value (§ 7-36-21.2(B)). The previous owner’s low, capped value can therefore make your first bill look low. The Bernalillo County Assessor warns that your value is brought to market the following tax year.

When are bills due, and how do you protest?

A protest goes to the county valuation protests board. You can appeal its decision to district court (§ 7-38-28). You can instead pay first and file a refund claim, but you must pick one route (§ 7-38-21). Unpaid tax draws a penalty of 1% a month, up to 5% (§ 7-38-50), and interest of 1% a month starting 30 days after the due date (§ 7-38-49).

Example: a $400,000 home in Albuquerque

This is an illustration, not a quote. It uses the 2026 district 12 IN R rates, a market value of $400,000 and an owner who claims the head-of-family exemption only.

That is about 1.6% of market value. The head-of-family exemption does not reduce conservancy district assessments (3.6.6.11 NMAC), so the table leaves it off that line. If your bill applies it there too, the total falls by about $12. If the value rose 3% next year, the same calculation gives about $6,551.