2021 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 7 - Taxation
Article 1 - Administration
Section 7-1-36 - Property exempt from levy.

A. There shall be exempt from levy the money or property of a delinquent taxpayer in a total amount or value not in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000).

B. In addition to the property exempt under Subsection A of this section, there shall also be exempt from levy on an employer of the taxpayer the greater of the following portions of the taxpayer's disposable earnings:

(1) seventy-five percent of the taxpayer's disposable earnings for any pay period; or

(2) an amount each week equal to forty times the minimum wage rate pursuant to Subsection A of Section 50-4-22 NMSA 1978. The superintendent of regulation and licensing shall provide a table giving equivalent exemptions for pay periods of other than one week.

C. As used in this section, "disposable earnings" means that part of a taxpayer's wages or salary remaining after deducting the amounts that are required by law to be withheld.

History: 1953 Comp., § 72-13-50, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 248, § 38; 1993, ch. 242, § 5; 2021, ch. 65, § 4.

The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, prohibited the taxation and revenue department from garnishing a delinquent taxpayer's wages when such wages are under forty times the state minimum wage rather than forty times the federal minimum wage as under the former provision, and removed the definition of "federal minimum hourly wage", as used in this section; in Subsection B, Paragraph B(2), after "forty times the", deleted "federal", after "minimum", deleted "hourly", and after "wage rate", added "pursuant to Subsection A of Section 50-4-22 NMSA 1978"; and in Subsection C, deleted former paragraph designation "(1)" and former Paragraph C(2).

The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, designated the formerly undesignated provision as Subsection A and added Subsections B and C.

Creditor's assignee entitled to exemption. — Defendant, as assignee for the benefit of creditors of delinquent corporate taxpayer, is entitled to $1,000 exemption of taxpayer's assets under this section. Regents of N.M. Coll. of Agric. & Mechanic Arts v. Academy of Aviation, Inc., 1971-NMSC-087, 83 N.M. 86, 488 P.2d 343.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 72 Am. Jur. 2d State and Local Taxation §§ 866, 869.

Enforcement against tax-exempt property of tax on nonexempt property or on owner of tax-exempt property, 159 A.L.R. 461.

85 C.J.S. Taxation §§ 1037, 1041 to 1043.