Veteran benefits in Bernalillo County, New Mexico
- Benefits you can claim here
- 33
- Property tax rate
- 0.88
- effective rate, ACS 2023 five-year
- Full exemption of the principal residence at 100%; proportional below, typical home
- $0
- a year at this county rate
- Veterans in this county
- 56,295
- US Department of Veterans Affairs VetPop2023 county model, as of 9/30/2025
What to do, in Bernalillo County
The process is the same across New Mexico for the statewide records. Only the office and the tax rate change.
Find what applies to you
33 benefits reach Bernalillo County. Browse them below.
Check whether you qualify
Open any benefit and answer a few questions about that one specifically.
Get your proof
A VA Benefit Summary Letter from VA.gov covers most of them, in about two minutes.
File with Bernalillo County
Form DR-501 to the Property Appraiser before March 1. File even without your letter.
How much is a property tax exemption worth in Bernalillo County?
The rate shown is the county's effective property tax rate - aggregate taxes actually paid divided by aggregate home value, from the Census ACS 2023 five-year file. Every overlapping levy, credit and cap is already inside it, which makes it the honest basis for sizing an exemption's dollar value.
These are example savings for a typical home in this county, not an estimate of your own bill. Your actual saving depends on your assessed value, your taxing districts, and how this exemption interacts with any others you hold.
| Effective rate | what homeowners here actually paid |
|---|---|
| Basis | ACS 2023 five-year aggregates |
| Full exemption of the principal residence at 100%; proportional below (N.M. Const. art. VIII, §15) | about $0 a year against the county rate |
| Total exemption (N.M. Const. art. VIII, §15) | the entire bill — about $2,200 a year against the county rate on a typical $250,000 value, and more once your other taxing units are added |
| Where to file | Bernalillo County County assessor, with a DVS certificate |
| Deadline | 30 days after the notice of value, every year |
Which document does the Bernalillo County County assessor, with a DVS certificate accept?
Statute sets the floor; the office picks the paperwork.
Easiest · VA Benefit Summary Letter
Sign in at VA.gov, choose Download VA Letters, then Benefit Summary — Veteran Benefits.
All 33 benefits you can claim in Bernalillo County
All 33 New Mexico counties get the same statewide law.
vehicles(6)
$17 Once, Then Never Again — and Twenty Designations to Choose From
New Mexico's Armed Forces Veteran plate costs $17 to issue ($9 for a motorcycle) and NO ADDED FEE AT REGULAR REGISTRATION RENEWAL. So it is a one-off charge, not an annual specialty surcharge — which over ten years is the difference between $17 and a couple of hundred. More than twenty designation decals are available, including Medal of Honor, Silver Star and Vietnam Veteran, and there is a Woman Veteran variant. Retired National Guard and reserve members qualify alongside honorably discharged veterans.
$17 once ($9 for a motorcycle), with no added fee at renewal
Purple Heart, Medal of Honor and Ex-POW Plates — Registration Waived Too
New Mexico charges no plate fee AND waives the registration fee for Purple Heart recipients (up to two vehicles), Medal of Honor recipients and former prisoners of war. None of these routes requires a disability rating: they turn on the award or on the POW status. For a Purple Heart recipient with no VA rating at all — a large group who assume nothing is theirs — this is a whole registration bill removed, on two vehicles.
No plate fee and no registration fee
At 50%: Two Vehicles Registered for Nothing at All
A New Mexico veteran with a 50% service-connected disability pays NO FEE — including the ordinary registration fee — for plates on UP TO TWO VEHICLES, motorcycles included. That is the whole registration bill waived, not just the specialty plate charge, which is what most states mean. You may take ANY STANDARD PLATE DESIGN free rather than being confined to a disabled veteran design, and the wheelchair symbol is available if you are eligible for a handicapped placard.
No plate fee AND no registration fee, on up to two vehicles
Vehicles at Two-Thirds the Registration Fee
A veteran who cannot use the property exemption registers vehicles at two-thirds of the normal fee instead — the same DVS certificate machinery, pointed at the car.
Vehicle registration at two-thirds of the normal fee
Gold Star Family Plate — First Plate Free, All Fees Waived for Life
A Gold Star Family plate for the surviving parents, spouses, children or siblings of a service member killed in armed conflict — including step-parents and stepchildren. A parent's or spouse's plate carries no fee, including up to three additional plates; a child's or sibling's plate is $10.00. The registration fee is waived either way, and there are four plates per eligible family.
No fee for a parent's or spouse's plate; $10.00 for a child's or sibling's — registration fee waived
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.
No excise tax on the vehicle purchase
property tax(2)
Veteran Exemption — Now $10,000
Every qualifying veteran takes $10,000 off taxable value — up from $4,000 after the 2024 amendment, and inflation-indexed from 2026.
$10,000 of taxable value, inflation-indexed from 2026
Disabled Veteran Exemption — Proportional From Tax Year 2026
At 100% the principal residence is exempt in full. The proportional tier — every rating from 10% up taking a share rather than nothing — was authorised by the 2024 constitutional amendments and implemented by HB 47 in 2025, and it applies from TAX YEAR 2026. The standard $10,000 exemption runs from 2025.
The principal residence, exempt in full at 100% — proportional shares below
recreation(3)
Free Into Every State Museum and Monument at 50%
A New Mexico resident veteran rated 50% or higher gets a free admission pass to state monuments and museums. Apply on DVS form DVS16. The pass is FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY, so it admits you rather than a party. New Mexico's state museums and monuments are among the most visited cultural sites in the state, and a pass covering all of them is a recurring benefit rather than a single free day.
Free admission to state monuments and museums
Free Lifetime Card at 100% — $10 a Year Below It
At 100%, a free lifetime card covers fishing, small-game hunting and a complimentary deer licence — with the Habitat Stamp waived. Below 100%, any disabled veteran pays $10 a year for game hunting and fishing.
Free lifetime fishing + small game + deer at 100%; $10 a year at any lower rating
Lifetime State Park Pass — Day Use AND Camping, No Rating Needed
A lifetime pass giving a resident veteran free unlimited day-use and camping access to every state park here. No disability rating is involved, and the application goes through the veterans agency.
Free unlimited day use and camping at every state park, for life
other(11)
$30,000 of Military Retirement Untaxed — and Under Current Law It Ends After 2026
New Mexico exempts armed forces retirement pay from state income tax on a rising scale: $10,000 for tax year 2022, $20,000 for 2023, and $30,000 for 2024 through 2026. UNDER CURRENT LAW THE EXEMPTION EXPIRES AFTER TAX YEAR 2026. Two bills to extend it in the 2026 session — HB 221 and SB 116 — died in committee. That does not mean it will not be extended later, but it does mean a retiree planning around New Mexico's tax treatment should not assume 2027 looks like 2026.
$30,000 of retirement pay exempt for tax years 2024–2026
The MacArthur Service Medal — for the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery
New Mexico issues a state service medal to members of the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery who were New Mexico residents at entry into service and served under General MacArthur in the WWII Pacific theatre. These were the New Mexico National Guard units on Bataan; a great many of the men did not come home, and those who did were prisoners of war for years. The medal carries no money. Families may pursue it, and given the dates this is now almost entirely a benefit claimed by descendants.
A state-issued service medal
Four State Veterans Cemeteries — and You Name the One
State-run veterans cemeteries at Gallup, Fort Stanton, Angel Fire and Taos, with a fifth planned at Carlsbad, built for parts of the state that are too far from a national cemetery. The pre-application asks which cemetery you want.
Interment at a state veterans cemetery; the agency publishes no fee schedule
Custody Cannot Be Changed While You Are Deployed
The veterans department states that child custody arrangements cannot be modified while a parent is deployed for military service, and that custody issues involving a deployed parent wait until that parent returns to the state.
No modification of custody while the parent is deployed
A Discharge Filed With the County Clerk Is Not Public
Military discharge papers filed with a county clerk in this state are available only to the veteran who filed them, the veteran’s next of kin, or a person holding the veteran’s general power of attorney.
Filed discharge papers restricted to three categories of person
Veterans Transportation — Free Round Trips to VA Appointments, in Every County
The veterans department runs free, round-trip, non-emergency medical transport to VA authorised appointments and VA approved non-VA providers. A federally funded programme covers fifteen highly rural counties; a state expansion covers eighteen more. Rides must be booked at least three days ahead, and a specific identification card is required.
Free round-trip, non-emergency medical transport to VA authorised appointments
Women Veterans Program — a Named Manager as First Point of Contact
The veterans department runs a Women Veterans Program described as the first point of contact for women veterans seeking help with barriers faced during and after service, connecting them to federal and state benefits, healthcare, mentorship, education and employment resources, and to peer-support networks.
A named programme manager, individualised advocacy, and referral into benefits and care
Field Services Veterans Service Officers — Claims Help and a Mobile Outreach Vehicle
The department’s field services division assigns veterans service officers who file VA claims for veterans and their eligible dependants, obtain federal and state benefits, and connect people to transitional housing and medical and behavioural healthcare. The department also runs a mobile outreach vehicle to rural and tribal communities.
A service officer to file the claim, plus referral into housing and care
Healthcare Coordination Division — a Suicide Prevention Coordinator and a Social Worker on Staff
A division of the veterans department dedicated to advocating on veterans’ healthcare needs, developing programmes covering transitional living, housing, suicide prevention, advocacy and transport. It publishes direct contacts for a division director, a suicide prevention coordinator, a social worker and a transportation programme coordinator.
Named staff for suicide prevention, social work, housing and transport
Veteran-Directed Care — You Hold the Budget and You Choose Who Is Paid
A self-directed programme run jointly by the state aging department and the federal veterans department. The veteran is given authority over a specific budget, builds a care plan with a coordinator, then decides who provides the care — family, friends or neighbours included — and how much they are paid. It is aimed squarely at veterans at risk of nursing home placement, and at those already in one who could safely come home.
A self-directed budget covering personal care, homemaker support, adult day care, assistive technology, meals, respite and home modification — with the veteran choosing and paying the providers
New MexiCare — Caregiver Money With an Income Test, Not a Service Test
A state caregiver programme paying financial assistance and providing training to someone helping a friend or family member with daily activities. The gate is age 60 or over, help needed with two or more activities of daily living, income up to $3,387 a month for an individual or $6,774 for a couple, and resources up to $20,322 or $40,644. Service history plays no part — which is exactly why it is worth knowing about when the veteran-specific route does not fit.
Financial assistance and training for a caregiver, where the person cared for is 60 or over and within the income and resource limits
licenses & fees(2)
Heroes to Highways — Two Routes, and One of Them Waives the Written Test Too
New Mexico runs two CDL routes for military drivers. The EVEN EXCHANGE route waives BOTH the knowledge and the skills testing for specific military occupational specialties and ratings — which is rarer than it sounds; most states waive the road test only. The SKILLS WAIVER route waives the skills test alone. Eligibility: New Mexico residents who are active duty within 90 DAYS OF SEPARATION, or veterans discharged WITHIN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, with roughly two years of qualifying military commercial vehicle experience and a commanding-officer-signed application. Standard CDL fees still apply.
Skills test waived, or both knowledge and skills on the Even Exchange route
Expedited Licensure with Three Fee-Free Years
The Regulation and Licensing Department waives the licensing fee for the first three years and undertakes to issue within 30 days of a complete application — for veterans, service members, their spouses and their dependent children.
No licensing fee for the first three years
education(5)
Wartime Veterans Scholarship — Tuition, Fees AND Books, Through a Doctorate
An honorably discharged veteran holding a post-August-1990 campaign medal — Southwest Asia, Global War on Terror, Iraq, Afghanistan or another armed-conflict medal — studies at state-funded institutions with tuition and required fees covered and books reimbursed, from undergraduate through doctoral study, capped at the highest in-state undergraduate tuition.
Tuition and required fees covered, books reimbursed — undergraduate, master's or doctoral — capped at the highest in-state undergraduate tuition
Vietnam Veteran Scholarship — Tuition at Any State-Funded Post-Secondary School
Tuition paid at any state-funded post-secondary school for an honorably discharged veteran who holds the Vietnam Campaign Medal and was a resident at entry into service or has ten years in the state.
Tuition at any state-funded post-secondary school
Children of Deceased Veterans — Free Tuition Plus Not More Than $300 a Year
Free tuition at state educational institutions for a child aged 16 to 26 of a servicemember who died in a named conflict or was killed on active duty with the New Mexico National Guard or State Police, plus not more than $300 a year for board, room and books.
Free tuition, plus not more than $300 a year toward board, room and books
High School Diploma for a Veteran Who Left School to Serve
A veteran who left a high school in this state before graduating to serve in World War II, the Korean War or the Vietnam conflict may be awarded a valid high school diploma, issued by the high school they were attending.
A valid high school diploma from the school the veteran was attending
No Waiting Period for In-State Tuition — and It Reaches Spouse and Children
Veterans, their spouses and their children no longer have to wait to establish in-state residency status when applying to college. The saving is the gap between the resident and non-resident rate, from the first term rather than after a year.
Tuition at the resident rate from the start, with no residency waiting period
business(2)
Resident Veteran Business Preference — Ten Percent of the Evaluation
A certified resident veteran business or contractor is credited with ten percent of the total weight of every factor used to evaluate proposals, or the equivalent in points. The certificate comes from Taxation and Revenue and lasts three years.
Ten percent of the total evaluation weight
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.
Up to $1,000 to the employer for each recently returned veteran hired
Filing in Bernalillo County
- Office
- Bernalillo County Property Appraiser
- Form
- DR-501 for most exemptions; DR-501DV for the combat-related discount; DR-501M for a deployment exemption.
- Deadline
- March 1, every year. Missing it costs the whole tax year — there is no late route back in.
Free help in Bernalillo County
Bernalillo County has a County Veteran Service Officer, and their help is free. Go to them for anything touching a federal VA disability claim.
Nobody should charge you to claim the benefits on this page. Unaccredited operators charging fees for VA claims are a real and growing problem.
Common questions about Bernalillo County veteran benefits
- What can I claim here?
- The New Mexico statewide records apply in every county. We have not researched county-level programmes here, so this page shows state law and complete geography rather than a local layer.
- What is it worth in this county?
- Dollar figures use the county's EFFECTIVE property tax rate - what homeowners there actually paid per dollar of home value, from the Census ACS 2023 five-year file. It is an estimate for sizing a saving; the levy table on your own bill governs.
- Where do I file for a veteran property tax exemption in Bernalillo County?
- File with your County assessor. The form and deadline are on each benefit record.
- What document does the Bernalillo County County assessor, with a DVS certificate accept as proof?
- The statute sets what must be proved. An office may tell you which document it prefers, but it may not add a requirement the statute does not contain. We have not researched per-county document quirks in New Mexico.
Other counties
This is an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. Veterans Alliance is privately owned and is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Geography from the US Census; veteran population from the VA VetPop2023 county model.