An Act providing for testing for dangerous levels of radon and remediation measures in school buildings, residential buildings, residential homes and commercial buildings; and imposing penalties.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Rosemary Brown and 11 co-sponsors

SB 497 eliminates the $30,000 cap by exempting all military retirement pay (and survivors) from NM income tax, effective tax year 2026, costing about $5.0M annually.

Referred to Environmental Resources & Energy

Purpose / Intent

SB 497 would remove the current $30,000 cap on the state income tax exemption for armed forces retirement pay, making the entire amount of military retirement (and that received by surviving spouses) exempt from New Mexico personal income tax. The bill is intended to provide tax relief to military retirees and survivors and recognize military service.

Key provisions

Replaces the existing $30,000 annual exemption for armed forces retirement benefits with an exemption for the full amount of the taxpayer’s military retirement income (i.e., no dollar limit).

Applies to armed forces retirees and surviving spouses who receive military retirement benefits.

Timing: Because the bill does not include a specific effective date, it would take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns (example date cited: June 20, 2025, if enacted) and the provisions would apply to tax years beginning 2026 (per the fiscal analysis).

Administrative: The Department of Veterans’ Services is noted to provide outreach to ensure affected veterans are informed of the expanded exemption.

Fiscal impact

Estimated recurring general fund revenue loss: approximately $5.0 million in FY27, rising to about $5.2M (FY28) and $5.4M (FY29), per the Legislative Finance Committee / Taxation & Revenue Department analysis.

Basis of estimate: TRD used available military retirement population data (New Mexico: ~20,257 retirees and ~2,703 survivor beneficiaries as of Sept. 30, 2022; aggregate retiree distributions ~ $635M) and modeled income over the $30K threshold with an effective tax rate of about 2.8%, adjusted for COLA inflation.

The fiscal estimate carries uncertainty due to confidentiality limits on taxpayer data and assumptions about the distribution of retirement income.

Who is affected

Primary beneficiaries: retired armed forces members and surviving spouses residing in New Mexico whose military retirement pay exceeds $30,000 annually (the largest per-capita benefit expected among longer‑service/commissioned officers).

State government: reduced personal income tax receipts (general fund).

Local governments/special funds: no direct appropriation impacts indicated in the fiscal note.

Policy considerations / risks

Equity: The exemption favors a subset of taxpayers (those with military retirement income) and particularly benefits individuals with higher retirement pay (e.g., officers), raising horizontal equity questions.

Revenue uncertainty: The estimate depends on limited public data and modeling assumptions; actual revenue loss could differ.

Limited attraction effect: While it may modestly improve New Mexico’s attractiveness to retirees, other tax and non‑tax factors also influence relocation.

Procedural status

Introduced: February 19, 2025.

Reported legislative status shown as: action postponed indefinitely (bill not advancing at present).

If you want, I can:
- Draft a one‑page explainer for veterans summarizing how to claim the exemption if the bill becomes law, or
- Produce a short fiscal appendix showing the TRD/LFC modeling assumptions and sensitivity ranges.

Bill