Vehicle Excise Tax — Exempt on Loss or Loss of Use of a Limb
Exemption from excise taxes on a vehicle purchase for a resident who served in the armed forces and suffered, in service or from a service-connected cause, the loss or complete and total loss of use of one or both legs at or above the ankle, or one or both arms at or above the wrist.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
Exemption from excise taxes on a vehicle purchase for a resident who served in the armed forces and suffered, in service or from a service-connected cause, the loss or complete and total loss of use of one or both legs at or above the ankle, or one or both arms at or above the wrist.
What it's worth: No excise tax on the vehicle purchase
- The department describes an exemption from excise taxes on vehicle purchases for veterans meeting the limb test.
- The saving depends on the purchase price and the excise rate, neither of which is published alongside the benefit.
- Nothing read this session says how often the exemption may be used.
Who is entitled to it
- The exemption runs to the veteran who suffered the loss.
- You served in the armed forces.
- Your home is in New Mexico.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
Deadline: Claim at titling and registration of the vehicle- 1Read the limb test carefully before assuming a high rating qualifies. It is loss, or complete and total loss of use, of one or both legs at or above the ankle, or one or both arms at or above the wrist.
- 2Note that complete and total loss of USE counts, not only amputation. That is the part most often missed.
- 3Take the VA decision that records the loss or loss of use, not just a combined rating letter.
- 4Claim it at titling. Excise tax is assessed on the transaction, and unwinding it afterwards is harder than claiming it at the counter.
- 5Ask whether a service-connected cause arising after discharge is accepted — the department’s wording covers a loss "from a service-connected cause", not only one suffered while serving.
- Form
- The motor vehicle division’s exemption claim at titling
- File with
- Motor Vehicle Division, Taxation and Revenue Department
- Documents you will need
- va rating decision
- No renewal
- Once granted it does not need renewing.
Sources
- authority · published policyNew Mexico Department of Veterans Services — Benefits (exemption from excise taxes on vehicle purchases; the limb loss and loss-of-use test)
Why only one source type: Read from the state veterans department’s own benefits page. The taxation department’s own exemption guidance and the NMSA section have not been read this session, so no statutory citation and no rate are claimed.
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.