2019 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 7 - Taxation
Article 38 - Administration and Enforcement of Property Taxes
Section 7-38-82 - Duty of persons responsible for administration of property tax to ascertain the names of owners of property; use of term "unknown owner" prohibited except in certain cases; validity of procedures when name of owner is incorrect or unknown.

A. It is the duty of all persons charged with the administration and collection of the property tax to make diligent search and inquiry to determine the correct name and address of the owner of property subject to valuation for property taxation purposes and the imposition of the property tax.

B. The use of the term "unknown owner" in valuation records is prohibited except in those instances where diligent search and inquiry fail to result in the determination of the name of the owner of property.

C. Proceedings for the collection of delinquent property taxes are valid as to property sold for delinquent taxes even though the property owner's name or address shown on the valuation records was incorrect or the property was shown on the valuation records as owned by an "unknown owner."

History: 1953 Comp., § 72-31-82, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 258, § 122.

Duty of department. — The division (department) has an affirmative duty to seek out, by "diligent search and inquiry", the correct address of each property owner, and failure to do so may violate due process. Patrick v. Rice, 1991-NMCA-063, 112 N.M. 285, 814 P.2d 463, cert. denied, 112 N.M. 308, 815 P.2d 161.

Failure to notify of tax sale. — Since county tax officials and the property tax division were placed on notice that notices to a taxpayer were returned as undeliverable, but they did not check the estate tax records on file in the division's office, which would have indicated that the taxpayer had died and that a personal representative of the decedent's estate had been appointed, along with sufficient information whereby the name and address of the representative were readily ascertainable, the failure of the division to notify the representative invalidated the subsequent tax sale. Fulton v. Cornelius, 1988-NMCA-057, 107 N.M. 362, 758 P.2d 312.