New Mexico VA Disability Benefits & Resources for Veterans

Checked against official state sources on September 27, 2026. Corrections since then are listed at the bottom of this page.

Overview

The New Mexico Department of Veterans Services (NMDVS) certifies most state veteran benefits through its State Benefits Division in Santa Fe and field offices statewide. New Mexico offers a $10 hunting and fishing license at any service-connected rating. Its disabled veteran property tax exemption also reaches ratings below 100%, but requires a permanent service-connected disability and provides relief proportional to the rating. It also offers campaign-medal scholarships that pay full tuition, and a military retirement exemption that grew to $30,000 in 2024.

Key benefits at a glance

Property tax relief

NMDVS lists two exemptions:

• Disabled veteran exemption: under HB 285, section 1 (2026), a qualifying veteran must have a permanent service-connected disability determined under federal law and continuously occupy the property as their principal residence. Joint or community property with a spouse can qualify. The exempt amount is the disability percentage multiplied by the taxable value remaining after the standard veteran exemption. For example, if $60,000 of taxable value remains after that exemption, a 50% permanent rating exempts another $30,000, leaving $30,000 taxable. A permanent rating below 100% can qualify; a temporary rating alone does not. Dishonorable or bad-conduct discharges make a veteran ineligible.
• Standard veteran exemption: up to $10,000 of taxable value is exempt for property owned by a New Mexico resident veteran or the veteran’s unmarried surviving spouse.

How to apply: download the property tax exemption form from NMDVS and complete it with your DD-214 and VA rating letter. The NMDVS State Benefits Division (1-866-433-8387) can walk you through filing, and your county assessor can explain how the disabled veteran exemption is calculated for your rating.

State income tax

House Bill 252, section 32 (2024) allows an armed forces retiree or surviving spouse to exempt up to $30,000 annually of armed forces retirement pay otherwise included in net income. It removed the former sunset after 2026. An armed forces retiree is someone who qualified by years of service or disability for lifetime benefits. VA disability compensation is excluded from federal gross income (IRS Publication 525).

Vehicle registration and plates

Per NMDVS:

• Free plates: Disabled Veteran (rated 50% or more), Purple Heart, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Ex-POW and Medal of Honor. Armed Forces and Woman Veteran plates cost a one-time $17.
• Two-thirds registration: a veteran entitled to the veteran exemption who doesn’t have enough property to use all of it can pay vehicle registration at two-thirds of the normal rate.
• Excise tax exemption: residents who lost, or lost the use of, a leg at or above the ankle or an arm at or above the wrist from service don’t pay the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax on a vehicle purchase.

Hunting, fishing and parks

• Lifetime Disabled Veteran card (100% service-connected): free, and serves as a lifetime small game and fishing license. It includes a deer license you apply for each year, with no-charge entry in the public-land deer draw (no draw preference), or a private-land deer license if you’re unsuccessful. The card includes the second-rod validation and habitat stamp for those uses. Federal migratory bird permits and duck stamps are still required (NM Game & Fish application).
• $10 small game and fishing license: for service-connected disabled veterans at any percentage.
• State parks: resident veterans get a free lifetime pass for day use and camping. Veterans rated 50% or more get a free State Monuments and Museums Pass.

Education benefits

• Vietnam Veteran Scholarship: tuition at any state-funded school plus books and fees, for honorably discharged Vietnam Campaign Medal recipients who entered service from New Mexico or have lived there 10 years.
• Wartime Veteran Scholarship Fund: tuition and required fees for undergraduate or graduate study, plus books, for veterans awarded the Southwest Asia, GWOT Service, Iraq or Afghanistan Campaign Medal or another post-August 1, 1990 campaign medal, with the same residency test.
• Children of Deceased Veterans: free tuition at state schools plus up to $300 a year, for children ages 16 to 26 of New Mexico service members killed in action or who died from service during a conflict.

All three are certified by NMDVS and billed through the Higher Education Department (NMDVS).

State veterans home

The New Mexico State Veterans’ Home, run by the Department of Health, is at 992 South Broadway, Truth or Consequences. It is the state’s only state veterans home.

Employment preference

The State Personnel Office adds 5 points to passing scores for honorably discharged veterans and current National Guard members, and 10 points for veterans with a service-connected disability. Businesses can claim up to a $1,000 tax credit for hiring a recently returned veteran (NMDVS).

How to apply in New Mexico

1. Contact the NMDVS State Benefits Division (1-866-433-8387, Vet.Benefits@dvs.nm.gov) or a field office. NMDVS certifies eligibility for the scholarships and the Disabled Veteran hunting card and provides the property tax exemption form.
2. Property tax: complete the NMDVS property tax exemption form and ask your county assessor how it applies to your rating.
3. Plates: submit the military plate application to MVD with proof of rating.
4. Hunting and fishing: send the Game and Fish Disabled Veteran card application to NMDVS for verification.

VA regional office and medical centers

The Albuquerque VA Regional Benefit Office is at 500 Gold Ave. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. The Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center in Albuquerque anchors the New Mexico VA Health Care System, with clinics in Alamogordo, Artesia, Espanola, Farmington, Gallup, Las Vegas, Rio Rancho, Raton, Santa Fe, Silver City, Taos and Truth or Consequences. Las Cruces is served by the El Paso VA and Clovis by the Amarillo VA.

Filing a federal VA claim

The VA claim process is federal: see how to file a VA claim, check your claim status, and current compensation rates. In New Mexico, your permanent service-connected disability percentage determines proportional property tax relief on your principal residence after the standard veteran exemption. Other thresholds include 50% for free plates and a museum pass, and 100% for the lifetime hunting card. An NMDVS VSO can file for you at no cost.

If you are in crisis, call 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.

Correction — October 21, 2026: Corrected the disabled veteran property tax exemption: it requires a permanent rating and exempts your rating percentage of the value left after the standard veteran exemption, with an example. Also corrected the military retirement exemption: the $30,000 limit no longer ends after 2026 and now covers surviving spouses.