How to Complete and File the New Mexico PIT-1 Tax Return

The New Mexico PIT-1 tax return is the state’s individual income tax form, due April 15, 2026 for the 2025 tax year. You file it with the Taxation and Revenue Department if you are a New Mexico resident required to file a federal return, or a nonresident with income from a New Mexico job, business, or property. The calculation starts from your federal adjusted gross income, layers on New Mexico-specific adjustments, deductions, and exemptions, and runs the result through state brackets topping out at 5.9 percent.¹

One point worth knowing up front: if New Mexico tax was withheld from your pay but your income falls below the federal filing threshold, file anyway. It is the only way to get that withholding back.

What to Gather Before You Start

Finish your federal return first. The PIT-1 pulls directly from Form 1040, so trying to do them in the other order creates rework. Have these on hand:

Social Security Numbers or ITINs for you, your spouse if filing jointly, and every dependent.
Your completed federal Form 1040. Line 11 (adjusted gross income) and line 12 (standard or itemized deduction) both feed the PIT-1.
All W-2s and 1099s for wages, contract income, interest, dividends, and retirement distributions.
Federal Schedule A if you itemized. You’ll need line 5a (state and local taxes paid) because New Mexico requires part of that back.
Records of New Mexico withholding and any estimated payments already made.

Filling Out the PIT-1 Line by Line

Round every entry to whole dollars. Don’t use dollar signs or decimal points. The form moves through identification, income, deductions, exemptions, tax, credits, and finally your balance due or refund.²

Personal Information and Filing Status

Enter your name, address, and Social Security Number at the top. Use the same filing status as on your federal return. If you’re claiming more than five dependents, attach Schedule PIT-S with the additional names and Social Security Numbers.

Starting Income Figure

Copy your federal adjusted gross income from Form 1040, line 11. That single number is the entire starting point for the New Mexico calculation. Part-year residents and nonresidents will later use Schedule PIT-B to allocate that income between New Mexico and other states.

New Mexico Adjustments

If any New Mexico-specific adjustments apply, complete Schedule PIT-ADJ and carry the totals to the corresponding PIT-1 lines. Common additions include interest from out-of-state municipal bonds that was excluded federally, federal net operating loss carryovers, and previously deducted Section 529 contributions that were refunded or rolled into a non-New Mexico plan. Common subtractions include interest from New Mexico state and local bonds and any New Mexico net operating loss carryforward from a prior year.³

Deductions and the SALT Addback

New Mexico has no separate standard deduction. Enter the same deduction figure shown on Form 1040, line 12. If you itemized federally, mark box 12a on the PIT-1 and enter the itemized amount. Watch the trap here: itemizers must add back all or part of the state and local taxes deducted on federal Schedule A, line 5a. Skipping that addback is one of the more common errors on the form.

Exemptions

A low- and middle-income exemption of up to $2,500 per qualified exemption is available to all filers, including nonresidents, when your income on PIT-1 line 9 doesn’t exceed $36,667 (single), $27,500 (married filing separately), or $55,000 (married filing jointly, surviving spouse, or head of household). A separate $4,000 deduction may apply for certain dependents if you file as head of household or married filing jointly.

Tax, Credits, and Bottom Line

Subtract deductions and exemptions from adjusted income to get your New Mexico taxable income on line 17. Look that figure up in the tax rate table for your filing status. Then apply your credits, subtract withholding and estimated payments, and the final number is either what you owe or your refund.

Schedules That May Attach to Your PIT-1

PIT-ADJ — New Mexico additions to or subtractions from federal income.
PIT-B — Income allocation for part-year residents and nonresidents.
PIT-RC — Refundable credits and rebates such as the low-income comprehensive tax rebate and the child day care credit.
PIT-CR — Business-related credits like the land conservation incentives credit and the rural health care practitioner credit.
PIT-S — Overflow for more than five dependents.
PIT-D — Directing part of a refund to a voluntary contribution fund.

Credits and Rebates Worth Checking

Several items on the PIT-1 and Schedule PIT-RC can cut your tax or generate a refund even if you owe nothing:

Working Families Tax Credit, equal to 25 percent of the federal Earned Income Credit you qualify for, claimed directly on the PIT-1.
Low-Income Comprehensive Tax Rebate, for residents physically present in New Mexico at least six months who aren’t claimed as someone else’s dependent.⁴
Child Income Tax Credit and Child Day Care Credit, both claimed on Schedule PIT-RC.
Property Tax Rebate and Refundable Medical Care Credit for residents aged 65 or older.
Credit for Taxes Paid to Another State, to prevent double taxation on income taxed by another state.

To claim any PIT-RC rebate or credit, you generally must have been a New Mexico resident, physically present at least six months, not incarcerated for more than six months, and not eligible to be claimed as a dependent.

Income That’s Exempt From New Mexico Tax

Active-duty pay for U.S. Armed Forces members who are New Mexico residents is exempt from state personal income tax.⁵ File a PIT-1 anyway if you have other taxable income or need to recover withholding, and report the exempt pay as a subtraction on Schedule PIT-ADJ.

Income earned by a member of a New Mexico federally recognized Indian nation, tribe, or pueblo is exempt when the work was performed within that member’s reservation, pueblo grant, or Indian country and the member lives within those same boundaries. The exemption extends to the member’s spouse and dependents if they are also enrolled members of a New Mexico federally recognized tribe.⁶

New Mexico Tax Rates for 2025

Rates are graduated from 1.5 to 5.9 percent under NMSA 1978, Section 7-2-7.⁷

Single filers:

Up to $5,500: 1.5 percent
$5,501 to $16,500: $82.50 plus 3.2 percent of the amount over $5,500
$16,501 to $33,500: $434.50 plus 4.3 percent of the amount over $16,500
$33,501 to $66,500: $1,165.50 plus 4.7 percent of the amount over $33,500
$66,501 to $210,000: $2,716.50 plus 4.9 percent of the amount over $66,500
Over $210,000: $9,748 plus 5.9 percent of the amount over $210,000

Married filing jointly, heads of household, and surviving spouses:

Up to $8,000: 1.5 percent
$8,001 to $25,000: $120 plus 3.2 percent of the amount over $8,000
$25,001 to $50,000: $664 plus 4.3 percent of the amount over $25,000
$50,001 to $100,000: $1,739 plus 4.7 percent of the amount over $50,000
$100,001 to $315,000: $4,089 plus 4.9 percent of the amount over $100,000
Over $315,000: $14,624 plus 5.9 percent of the amount over $315,000

Married filing separately uses thresholds set at exactly half the joint amounts.

How to Submit the Return

The fastest route is the Taxpayer Access Point (TAP), New Mexico’s online portal, where you can file, amend, pay, and track a refund from an individual account. Commercial tax software that supports New Mexico e-filing is another common option.⁸

To file on paper, print the PIT-1 and required schedules from the Taxation and Revenue Department’s forms page. Mailing addresses differ depending on whether you’re enclosing a payment or claiming a refund, and the department occasionally updates its processing centers, so check the current instructions before you address the envelope.⁹

Paying What You Owe

Payment options include:

Electronic check through TAP, free of charge, using your bank routing and account numbers.
Credit or debit card through TAP (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover); credit card payments carry a convenience fee.
Check or money order by mail, payable to the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, with a payment voucher.¹⁰

If You Need More Time or Can’t Pay in Full

If the IRS has already granted you a federal extension, New Mexico honors it automatically and you don’t need to send anything extra. Without a federal extension, file Form RPD-41096 for a state extension of up to 60 days, postmarked on or before the original due date. An extension waives the late-filing penalty but does not stop interest from running on unpaid tax.¹¹

Missing the deadline without an extension triggers a penalty of 2 percent of unpaid tax for each month or partial month the return is overdue, capped at 20 percent. Interest also accrues from the original due date.¹² The penalty applies only to unpaid tax, so if you can’t pay in full, file on time and pay what you can. Late-filing and late-payment penalties run separately, and paying part of the balance by April 15 substantially reduces the total.

After You File

Track your refund with the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on the Taxation and Revenue Department’s site using your Social Security Number and the exact refund amount. E-filed refund returns generally process in six to eight weeks; paper returns take eight to twelve. Wait until those windows have passed before calling.¹³

Keep the filed PIT-1, all schedules, and supporting documents. The IRS general rule is at least three years from the filing date, with longer periods in specific circumstances.¹⁴

1
Justia. New Mexico Code 7-2-12 – Taxpayer Returns; Payment of Tax
2
New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department. Instructions for 2025 PIT-1 New Mexico Personal Income Tax Return
3
New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department. Instructions for PIT-ADJ Schedule of Additions, Deductions, and Exemptions
4
Justia. New Mexico Code 7-2-14 – Low-Income Comprehensive Tax Rebate
5
MyArmyBenefits. New Mexico Military and Veterans Benefits
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Justia. New Mexico Code 7-2-5.5 – Exemption; Earnings by Indians, Their Indian Spouses and Indian Dependents on Indian Lands
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Justia. New Mexico Code 7-2-7 – Individual Income Tax
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Taxation and Revenue New Mexico. Online Services
9
NM Taxation & Revenue Department. Personal Income Tax Forms
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Taxation and Revenue New Mexico. How to Make a Payment
11
New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department. RPD-41096 Application for Extension of Time to File
12
Justia. New Mexico Code 7-1-69 – Civil Penalty for Failure to Pay Tax or File a Return
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NM Taxation & Revenue Department. Where Is My Refund?
14
Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records?