Bernalillo County Property Tax Due Dates and Deadlines

Bernalillo County property taxes are billed in two installments: the first half is due November 10 and the second half is due April 10 of the following year. Each date carries a 30-day grace period, so the first half doesn’t become delinquent until December 10 and the second half until May 10.¹ Bills go out around November 1.²

Payment Schedule and Grace Periods

The Treasurer’s Office mails tax bills to all property owners on or around November 1 each year.² The two installments then run on this calendar:

First half due November 10, delinquent after December 10.
Second half due April 10, delinquent after May 10.³

When a delinquency deadline lands on a weekend or legal holiday, it shifts to the next business day. If your total annual tax bill is under $10, the county commission may require the entire amount in a single November 10 payment rather than splitting it.¹

One check before you pay anything: if you have a mortgage with an escrow account, your lender probably pays the taxes directly from escrow. You’ll still get a bill in the mail. Confirm with your servicer before writing a check, or you may end up paying twice.

If You Miss the Deadline

Once a payment crosses the delinquency date, two separate charges start running against the unpaid tax balance.

Interest accrues at 1% per month, or any fraction of a month, from the delinquency date until the balance is paid in full. The statute is specific about what it applies to: interest is calculated only on the unpaid tax principal. It does not compound on itself, and it is not charged on any penalty amount.⁴

A penalty of 1% per month runs alongside the interest. It is capped at 5% of the delinquent taxes, so it stops growing after five months, and there is a $5 minimum, meaning even a small balance triggers at least a $5 charge.⁵ Like the interest, the penalty is calculated only against the unpaid taxes, not against accrued interest.⁶

If the county finds a taxpayer intentionally avoided payment as part of a scheme to defraud, the penalty rises to 50% of the taxes due or $50, whichever is greater.⁵

What Happens After Years of Nonpayment

Interest and penalty are only the first stage. After three years on the county’s delinquency list, the state can sell the property at a tax auction to recover what’s owed. The state is required to offer the property for sale within four years of the first delinquency listing, though court orders or other legal barriers can push that timeline out.⁷

A sale can be stopped at any point before it happens. You have until 5:00 p.m. the day before the scheduled auction to either pay all delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, and costs in full, or enter into a formal installment agreement with the state’s Property Tax Division.⁷

Mobile and Manufactured Homes

The three-year window applies to real property. Mobile homes are classified as personal property, and the enforcement timeline is much faster. The county treasurer can issue a demand warrant and seize a delinquent mobile home well before three years pass. The warrant can be served by the treasurer’s office, a designated employee, or the county sheriff, and it allows entry onto the property even if the owner isn’t there. Before you move, sell, or trade a mobile home, every dollar of tax, penalty, and interest must be cleared so the Treasurer’s Office can issue a tax release.

Monthly Payment Program

If the two large installments are hard to budget around, the Treasurer’s Office runs a Monthly Payment Program that spreads the annual tax across 10 smaller payments with no service fees. You can pay by automatic bank withdrawal, mailed check, online, or in person.⁸

To qualify, you need a zero balance on any past-due taxes. Signup generally runs from March through late August, with monthly payments starting around June and continuing into the following March. The exact enrollment window shifts year to year, so check the Treasurer’s website each spring for the current dates.

How to Pay on Time

The county accepts payment three ways.⁹ Online payments go through bernco.gov/treasurer, by e-check or credit/debit card. Card payments carry a convenience fee from the county’s third-party processor, Point & Pay; e-checks typically have a smaller flat fee.

Mailed payments through USPS go to Bernalillo County Treasurer, PO Box 27800, Albuquerque, NM 87125-7800. For FedEx or UPS, use 415 Silver Ave SW, Third Floor, Albuquerque, NM 87102. The envelope has to be postmarked on or before the delinquency date to count as on time, so a check dropped in the mail on December 10 or May 10 is still timely even though it arrives later.³

In-person payments are taken at the Treasurer’s Office at 415 Silver Avenue SW, First Floor, in Albuquerque. Cash, personal check, cashier’s check, money order, and debit/credit cards are all accepted. The turquoise drop boxes that used to sit around the county were permanently removed in late 2025, so walking a payment to a drop box is no longer an option.¹⁰

You’ll need your Parcel ID, also called the Uniform Property Code, from the tax bill. If you’ve lost the bill, the Treasurer’s website has a lookup tool that finds your account by name, address, or Parcel ID and lets you print a duplicate.

A Pending Protest Doesn’t Pause the Due Date

One point to be clear about: if you’re protesting your property’s assessed value, that does not postpone your obligation to pay by November 10 or April 10. Interest keeps accruing on unpaid taxes while a protest is pending. If the protest succeeds and your valuation drops, the interest is recalculated based on the lower amount ultimately owed, but the clock does not stop in the meantime.⁴

1
Justia Law. New Mexico Code 7-38-38 – Payment of Property Taxes
2
Bernalillo County. BernCo Treasurer’s Office Mailing 2024 Property Tax Bill on Nov. 1
3
Bernalillo County. May 10 Is Last Day to Pay Second Half of Property Taxes Before Becoming Delinquent
4
Justia Law. New Mexico Code 7-38-49 – Unpaid Property Taxes
5
Justia Law. New Mexico Code 7-38-50 – Delinquent Taxes
6
Legal Information Institute. New Mexico Administrative Code 3.6.7.59 – Delinquent Taxes – Civil Penalties
7
Justia Law. New Mexico Code 7-38-65 – Collection of Delinquent Taxes by Sale of Real Property
8
Bernalillo County. Treasurer Reminds Taxpayers of the 2024 Options – Monthly Payment Plan and the Auto Pay
9
Bernalillo County. Paying Your Property Taxes Overview
10
Bernalillo County. Bernalillo County Treasurer’s Office to Remove Property Tax Payment Drop Boxes