A. Except as otherwise provided in Subsection B of this section, any resident who files an individual New Mexico income tax return and who is not a dependent of another individual may claim a tax rebate for a portion of state and local taxes to which the resident has been subject during the taxable year for which the return is filed. The tax rebate may be claimed even though the resident has no income taxable under the Income Tax Act. Married individuals who file separate returns for a taxable year in which they could have filed a joint return may each claim only one-half of the tax rebate that would have been allowed on a joint return.

B. No claim for the tax rebate provided in this section shall be filed by a resident who was an inmate of a public institution for more than six months during the taxable year for which the tax rebate could be claimed or who was not physically present in New Mexico for at least six months during the taxable year for which the tax rebate could be claimed.

C. For the purposes of this section, the total number of exemptions for which a tax rebate may be claimed or allowed is determined by adding the number of federal exemptions allowable for federal income tax purposes for each individual included in the return who is domiciled in New Mexico plus two additional exemptions for each individual domiciled in New Mexico included in the return who is sixty-five years of age or older plus one additional exemption for each individual domiciled in New Mexico included in the return who, for federal income tax purposes, is blind plus one exemption for each minor child or stepchild of the resident who would be a dependent for federal income tax purposes if the public assistance contributing to the support of the child or stepchild was considered to have been contributed by the resident.

D. Except as provided in Subsection F of this section, the tax rebate provided for in this section may be claimed in the amount shown in the following table:

Modified gross income is:

And the total number of exemptions is:

But Not                                                                             6 or

Over         Over             1         2         3            4         5         More $ 0             $ 1,000        $ 195    $ 260    $ 325     $ 390    $ 455    $ 520 1,000         1,500         220     315     405        505     570     675 1,500         2,500         220     315     405        505     570     705 2,500         7,500         220     315     405        505     570     730 7,500         8,000         205     310     390        495     575     730 8,000         9,000         185     285     375        480     575     700 9,000         10,000         170     250     340        425     510     665 10,000     11,500         145     210     275        360     445     600 11,500     13,000         130     185     235        295     365     480 13,000     14,500         115     170     220        275     315     390 14,500     16,500         105     155     185        235     285     335 16,500     18,000         100     130     165        210     250     300 18,000     19,500         90         115     145        180     220     260 19,500     21,000         80         105     140        165     185     230 21,000     23,000         80         105     140        165     185     230 23,000     24,500         75         100     120        145     170     195 24,500     26,000         65         90         115        140     155     180 26,000     27,500         55         80         105        130     140     170 27,500     29,500         50         75         100        115     130     155 29,500     31,000         40         55         80        100     115     130 31,000     32,500         35         50         65         80     100     105 32,500     34,000         25         40         50         65         80         90 34,000     36,000         15         35         40         55         65         75.

E. If a taxpayer’s modified gross income is zero, the taxpayer may claim a credit in the amount shown in the first row of the table appropriate for the taxpayer’s number of exemptions as adjusted by the provisions of Subsection F of this section.

F. For the 2022 taxable year and each subsequent taxable year, the amount of rebate shown in the table in Subsection D of this section shall be adjusted to account for inflation. The department shall make the adjustment by multiplying each amount of rebate by a fraction, the numerator of which is the consumer price index ending during the prior taxable year and the denominator of which is the consumer price index ending in tax year 2021. The result of the multiplication shall be rounded down to the nearest one dollar ($1.00), except that if the result would be an amount less than the corresponding amount for the preceding taxable year, then no adjustment shall be made.

G. The tax rebates provided for in this section may be deducted from the taxpayer’s New Mexico income tax liability for the taxable year. If the tax rebates exceed the taxpayer’s income tax liability, the excess shall be refunded to the taxpayer.

H. For purposes of this section:

(1)     “consumer price index” means the consumer price index for all urban consumers published by the United States department of labor for the month ending September 30; and

(2)     “dependent” means “dependent” as defined by Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as that section may be amended or renumbered, but also includes any minor child or stepchild of the resident who would be a dependent for federal income tax purposes if the public assistance contributing to the support of the child or stepchild was considered to have been contributed by the resident.