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Up to $1,000 Tax Credit to a Business for Each Recently Returned Veteran Hired

A business in the state may qualify for a business tax credit of up to $1,000 for each hire of a recently returned veteran. It is a lever a veteran can hand to an employer during a hiring conversation.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: Up to $1,000 to the employer for each recently returned veteran hired

The department states any business in the state can qualify for up to a $1,000 business tax credit for each hire of a recently returned veteran.
The money goes to the employer, not to the veteran — the value to the veteran is the hiring advantage it creates.
"Recently returned" is not defined on the department’s page, and the window was not established this session.
No cap on the number of hires per business is published.

Who is entitled to it

The credit follows the hire of the veteran.
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: With the employer’s return; ask the department for the claim window

1Raise it in the interview. A hiring manager who does not know a credit exists cannot weigh it, and a veteran who mentions it is handing them a reason.
2Have the DD Form 214 ready to show the separation date — "recently returned" turns on it, even though the department does not publish the window.
3Point the employer at the state taxation department for the form and the current rules. The credit is claimed on their return, not on yours.
4Ask the department what counts as recently returned before you rely on it. The published description does not say.
5Federal hiring credits for veterans are separate and are claimed differently. An employer may be able to look at both.
6Do not expect any part of the credit yourself. It is an employer credit, and describing it otherwise will cost you credibility in the room.

Form: Claimed by the employer on its state business tax return
File with: Taxation and Revenue Department — the employer files, not the veteran
Documents you will need: dd214
No renewal: Once granted it does not need renewing.

Known gapThe separation window, the minimum hours or duration of employment, and whether the credit is refundable or carried forward were all unpublished. Those are the three questions an employer will ask first.

Sources

authority · published policyNew Mexico Department of Veteran Services — State Benefits (business tax credit of up to $1,000 for each hire of a recently returned veteran)

Why only one source type: The veterans department publishes the credit. The statute host refused connection this session, so the NMSA section and the definition of a recently returned veteran were not read.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.