News and Articles
04/23/2007
Santa Fe County Assessor to Mail Out Notices of Value on April 30th
Santa Fe – April 23, 2007 – Notices of Value will be mailed out to Santa Fe County residents on April 30. “We want to
make sure residents are informed about this process” says Santa Fe County Assessor Domingo Martinez “Sometimes
people can get confused when it comes to tax and valuation issues. My office is here to help answer questions and make
things easy to understand.”
Important things to keep in mind:
• If you have not received your notice of value (NOV) by May 10th please notify the Office of the County Assessor at
986-6300. It is the responsibility of the taxpayer to update the mailing address with the Office of the County
Assessor.
• The Office of the County Assessor does not tax your property but rather lists and values property for property tax
purposes. Tax rates are computed by the state Department of Finance and Administration in September. The
Office of the County Assessor cannot determine what your taxes are going to be until the tax bills are sent out in
November.
• Santa Fe county is not the sole recipient of property taxes but rather thru the efforts of the County Treasurer who
collects the taxes and distributes the correct portion to the State of New Mexico, the City of Santa Fe, the Santa
Fe, Pojoaque, Espanola and Edgewood School Districts, the Santa Fe Community College, the Livestock Board
and several other special districts such as the Rancho Viejo Special Assessment District.
• It is the responsibility of the taxpayer to report to the Office of the County Assessor no later than the last day of
February any and all property or changes to such property to be valued for tax purposes as of January 1 of each
year. Omitted properties may be assessed for up to ten years that the property was not reported. The County
Treasurer in computing the tax due must also add penalty and interest to any tax due for any past years. The
taxpayer may also be liable for fines and a civil penalty for not reporting certain properties to the Office of the
County Assessor.
• Taxpayers need to read and make sure that all the data on the notice of value is correct including the value
amount, the head of household exemption, veteran exemptions, classification as well as name, address and
property identification and location. The lower portion of the NOV may be detached and returned timely with
updated information including additions to improvements, new homes, detached structures, change of address
etc. In keeping with the issues of identity theft and accountability, the Office of the County Assessor will not
change any taxpayer information without a signed request from the owner of record.
o Exemptions:
ß Head of Family: a $2000 exemption is allowed from the taxable value assessed of a residential
property occupied and owned by a current New Mexico resident. A claimant is not required to have
dependent children or other dependents to qualify.
ß Veteran: a $4000 exemption is allowed from the taxable value assessed of a residential property
occupied and owned by a current New Mexico resident who is also a veteran or to the surviving
unmarried spouse of a veteran as determined by the Veteran’s Services Commission.
ß Disabled Veteran: the total value of residential property occupied and owned by a current New
Mexico resident who is a disabled veteran or to the surviving unmarried spouse of a disabled
veteran as determined by the Veteran’s Services Commission is exempt from property taxes.
o Classification:
ß Residential
ß Non-Residential
• By law a property owner can only protest the value, exemptions and classification within 30 days after the notice
of value is mailed to you (May 30, 2007). The proper protest form must be filled out in it’s entirety in order for it to
be considered a timely protest including a contact person and the amount you feel your property is worth. You will
be scheduled first for an informal hearing and if the issue is not resolved you will be scheduled to go before the
Santa Fe County Protest Board within 180 days. At this formal hearing you will need to state your case and
present witnesses and other information, for the Protest Board’s consideration in rendering a decision. At this level
the rules for civil procedure do not apply.
• If you do not dispute your NOV timely, than your only recourse is to file a civil action, request for refund (protest)
with the District Court 60 days prior to the date after your first installment of the property tax for which a claim for
refund is made is due. The taxpayer must pay all property taxes due, to the County Treasurer and pay the court
fees required by the District Court and other legal fees if you require legal assistance.
• The values set by the Office of the County Assessor are presumed to be correct the burden of proof is on the
taxpayer to provide evidence that the value assigned by the Office of the County Assessor is incorrect. The value
of your property must be based on the methods set by the New Mexico Property Tax Code and the professional
standards of the International Association of Assessing Officers including, limitation on increase in valuation of
residential property. Your property valuation must be based on sales of homes and land that are comparable to
your property in your area. The Santa Fe County Assessor and staff do not have the authority to value property
outside of the laws or professional standards and are subject to fines and imprisonment for setting or adjusting
values arbitrarily.
• To change the value the taxpayer must produce credible evidence that supports their opinion of value in the form
of comparable sales of property in the area that will support the sales comparison approach to value or other
conditions that the Office of the County Assessor has not considered. In the case of commercial properties
additional income data that will support the income approach to value will also be needed. Based on this
information, the Property Tax Code and professional standards, the Office of the County Assessor may adjust the
assessed value.
make sure residents are informed about this process” says Santa Fe County Assessor Domingo Martinez “Sometimes
people can get confused when it comes to tax and valuation issues. My office is here to help answer questions and make
things easy to understand.”
Important things to keep in mind:
• If you have not received your notice of value (NOV) by May 10th please notify the Office of the County Assessor at
986-6300. It is the responsibility of the taxpayer to update the mailing address with the Office of the County
Assessor.
• The Office of the County Assessor does not tax your property but rather lists and values property for property tax
purposes. Tax rates are computed by the state Department of Finance and Administration in September. The
Office of the County Assessor cannot determine what your taxes are going to be until the tax bills are sent out in
November.
• Santa Fe county is not the sole recipient of property taxes but rather thru the efforts of the County Treasurer who
collects the taxes and distributes the correct portion to the State of New Mexico, the City of Santa Fe, the Santa
Fe, Pojoaque, Espanola and Edgewood School Districts, the Santa Fe Community College, the Livestock Board
and several other special districts such as the Rancho Viejo Special Assessment District.
• It is the responsibility of the taxpayer to report to the Office of the County Assessor no later than the last day of
February any and all property or changes to such property to be valued for tax purposes as of January 1 of each
year. Omitted properties may be assessed for up to ten years that the property was not reported. The County
Treasurer in computing the tax due must also add penalty and interest to any tax due for any past years. The
taxpayer may also be liable for fines and a civil penalty for not reporting certain properties to the Office of the
County Assessor.
• Taxpayers need to read and make sure that all the data on the notice of value is correct including the value
amount, the head of household exemption, veteran exemptions, classification as well as name, address and
property identification and location. The lower portion of the NOV may be detached and returned timely with
updated information including additions to improvements, new homes, detached structures, change of address
etc. In keeping with the issues of identity theft and accountability, the Office of the County Assessor will not
change any taxpayer information without a signed request from the owner of record.
o Exemptions:
ß Head of Family: a $2000 exemption is allowed from the taxable value assessed of a residential
property occupied and owned by a current New Mexico resident. A claimant is not required to have
dependent children or other dependents to qualify.
ß Veteran: a $4000 exemption is allowed from the taxable value assessed of a residential property
occupied and owned by a current New Mexico resident who is also a veteran or to the surviving
unmarried spouse of a veteran as determined by the Veteran’s Services Commission.
ß Disabled Veteran: the total value of residential property occupied and owned by a current New
Mexico resident who is a disabled veteran or to the surviving unmarried spouse of a disabled
veteran as determined by the Veteran’s Services Commission is exempt from property taxes.
o Classification:
ß Residential
ß Non-Residential
• By law a property owner can only protest the value, exemptions and classification within 30 days after the notice
of value is mailed to you (May 30, 2007). The proper protest form must be filled out in it’s entirety in order for it to
be considered a timely protest including a contact person and the amount you feel your property is worth. You will
be scheduled first for an informal hearing and if the issue is not resolved you will be scheduled to go before the
Santa Fe County Protest Board within 180 days. At this formal hearing you will need to state your case and
present witnesses and other information, for the Protest Board’s consideration in rendering a decision. At this level
the rules for civil procedure do not apply.
• If you do not dispute your NOV timely, than your only recourse is to file a civil action, request for refund (protest)
with the District Court 60 days prior to the date after your first installment of the property tax for which a claim for
refund is made is due. The taxpayer must pay all property taxes due, to the County Treasurer and pay the court
fees required by the District Court and other legal fees if you require legal assistance.
• The values set by the Office of the County Assessor are presumed to be correct the burden of proof is on the
taxpayer to provide evidence that the value assigned by the Office of the County Assessor is incorrect. The value
of your property must be based on the methods set by the New Mexico Property Tax Code and the professional
standards of the International Association of Assessing Officers including, limitation on increase in valuation of
residential property. Your property valuation must be based on sales of homes and land that are comparable to
your property in your area. The Santa Fe County Assessor and staff do not have the authority to value property
outside of the laws or professional standards and are subject to fines and imprisonment for setting or adjusting
values arbitrarily.
• To change the value the taxpayer must produce credible evidence that supports their opinion of value in the form
of comparable sales of property in the area that will support the sales comparison approach to value or other
conditions that the Office of the County Assessor has not considered. In the case of commercial properties
additional income data that will support the income approach to value will also be needed. Based on this
information, the Property Tax Code and professional standards, the Office of the County Assessor may adjust the
assessed value.