New Mexico law allows counties to consider giving low income residents a rebate on their property taxes. If a county does not already have an ordinance giving the rebate, then on odd numbered years they must conduct a public hearing to determine if such an ordinance is to be passed.
The public hearing to consider this ordinance is at 9:45 on Friday January 6 in the county commission chambers at 1712 N. Date Street in Truth or Consequences. Any resident may attend and provide input.
The proposed ordinance can be read in its entirety on pages 122-124 of the packet.
If passed, Sierra county residents who have a modified gross income between zero and $24,000 will be eligible for a rebate on their state income taxes of up to $350. That rebate can be deducted from their income tax bill. Or, if the tax bill is less than the rebate, a refund will be given.
As shown in the table, the actual amount of rebate depends on the resident’s income and their property tax.
Residents with an income between $0 and $8,000 would get a rebate of 75% of their property tax liability (but not more than $350). Residents with an income between $22,000 and $24,000 would get a rebate of 35% of their property tax liability (but not more than $350).
|
Income |
Rebate on Property Tax Liability |
|
$0 – $8,000 |
75% |
|
$8,000 – $10,000 |
70% |
| $10,000 – $12,000 |
65% |
| $12,000 – $14,000 |
60% |
| $14,000 – $16,000 |
55% |
| $16,000 – $18,000 |
50% |
| $18,000 -$20,000 |
45% |
| $20,000 -$22,000 |
40% |
| $22,000 – $24,000 |
35% |
If the ordinance is passed, there is a cost to the county. The county must pay the state the amount of loss of income tax revenue attributed to the allowance of property tax rebates in the county.
How much would the rebate cost the county? At best we can make a very rough estimate. According to the census, Sierra county has 5,321 households. While the county poverty rate is 26.7%, the family poverty rate is 15.5%. At the very most, there might be 824 properties with owners who might qualify. The maximum rebate could be $350. Therefore, the maximum cost to the county could be $287,000.
However, that number is likely to be high. Impoverished people are more likely not to be homeowners and therefore not have property tax bills. Those people who do own their own homes are more likely have properties with lower values and therefor lower property tax bills and might get less than the maximum rebate of $350.
I’m wondering if a couple jointly owns a house does that income ceiling include both incomes.