New Mexico VA Disability Benefits & Resources for Veterans

State benefit details verified against official state sources on September 27, 2026.

Overview

The New Mexico Department of Veterans Services (NMDVS) certifies most state veteran benefits through its State Benefits Division in Santa Fe and field offices statewide. New Mexico stands out for benefits that reach veterans at any service-connected rating, such as a $10 hunting and fishing license and a property tax exemption. It also offers campaign-medal scholarships that pay full tuition, and a military retirement exemption that grew to $30,000 in 2024.

Key benefits at a glance

Property tax relief

NMDVS lists two exemptions:

• Disabled veteran exemption: the property of a disabled veteran, including joint or community property with a spouse, may be exempt from property tax if it is the veteran’s principal residence. NMDVS defines a disabled veteran as one determined under federal law to have a service-connected disability. Certain discharges make a veteran ineligible.
• Standard veteran exemption: up to $10,000 of taxable value is exempt for property owned by a New Mexico resident veteran or the veteran’s unmarried surviving spouse.

How to apply: download the property tax exemption form from NMDVS and complete it with your DD-214 and VA rating letter. The NMDVS State Benefits Division (1-866-433-8387) can walk you through filing, and your county assessor can explain how the disabled veteran exemption is calculated for your rating.

State income tax

House Bill 163 (2022) created an exemption for armed forces retirement pay: $10,000 for 2022, $20,000 for 2023, and $30,000 for tax years 2024 through 2026. An armed forces retiree is someone who qualified by years of service or disability for lifetime benefits. The law as written ends after tax year 2026, so watch for legislative action on 2027 and later. VA disability compensation is excluded from federal gross income (IRS Publication 525).

Vehicle registration and plates

Per NMDVS:

• Free plates: Disabled Veteran (rated 50% or more), Purple Heart, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Ex-POW and Medal of Honor. Armed Forces and Woman Veteran plates cost a one-time $17.
• Two-thirds registration: a veteran entitled to the veteran exemption who doesn’t have enough property to use all of it can pay vehicle registration at two-thirds of the normal rate.
• Excise tax exemption: residents who lost, or lost the use of, a leg at or above the ankle or an arm at or above the wrist from service don’t pay the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax on a vehicle purchase.

Hunting, fishing and parks

• Lifetime Disabled Veteran card (100% service-connected): free, and serves as a lifetime small game and fishing license. It includes a deer license you apply for each year, with no-charge entry in the public-land deer draw (no draw preference), or a private-land deer license if you’re unsuccessful. The card includes the second-rod validation and habitat stamp for those uses. Federal migratory bird permits and duck stamps are still required (NM Game & Fish application).
• $10 small game and fishing license: for service-connected disabled veterans at any percentage.
• State parks: resident veterans get a free lifetime pass for day use and camping. Veterans rated 50% or more get a free State Monuments and Museums Pass.

Education benefits

• Vietnam Veteran Scholarship: tuition at any state-funded school plus books and fees, for honorably discharged Vietnam Campaign Medal recipients who entered service from New Mexico or have lived there 10 years.
• Wartime Veteran Scholarship Fund: tuition and required fees for undergraduate or graduate study, plus books, for veterans awarded the Southwest Asia, GWOT Service, Iraq or Afghanistan Campaign Medal or another post-August 1, 1990 campaign medal, with the same residency test.
• Children of Deceased Veterans: free tuition at state schools plus up to $300 a year, for children ages 16 to 26 of New Mexico service members killed in action or who died from service during a conflict.

All three are certified by NMDVS and billed through the Higher Education Department (NMDVS).

State veterans home

The New Mexico State Veterans’ Home, run by the Department of Health, is at 992 South Broadway, Truth or Consequences. It is the state’s only state veterans home.

Employment preference

The State Personnel Office adds 5 points to passing scores for honorably discharged veterans and current National Guard members, and 10 points for veterans with a service-connected disability. Businesses can claim up to a $1,000 tax credit for hiring a recently returned veteran (NMDVS).

How to apply in New Mexico

1. Contact the NMDVS State Benefits Division (1-866-433-8387, [email protected]) or a field office. NMDVS certifies eligibility for the scholarships and the Disabled Veteran hunting card and provides the property tax exemption form.
2. Property tax: complete the NMDVS property tax exemption form and ask your county assessor how it applies to your rating.
3. Plates: submit the military plate application to MVD with proof of rating.
4. Hunting and fishing: send the Game and Fish Disabled Veteran card application to NMDVS for verification.

VA regional office and medical centers

The Albuquerque VA Regional Benefit Office is at 500 Gold Ave. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. The Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center in Albuquerque anchors the New Mexico VA Health Care System, with clinics in Alamogordo, Artesia, Espanola, Farmington, Gallup, Las Vegas, Rio Rancho, Raton, Santa Fe, Silver City, Taos and Truth or Consequences. Las Cruces is served by the El Paso VA and Clovis by the Amarillo VA.

Filing a federal VA claim

The VA claim process is federal: see how to file a VA claim, check your claim status, and current compensation rates. In New Mexico, 50% (free plates and museum pass) and 100% (lifetime hunting card) are the ratings that change your state benefits, and an NMDVS VSO can file for you at no cost.

If you are in crisis, call 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.