SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – As early as Thursday, hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans will start seeing an extra $250 in their bank accounts. Just over a month after lawmakers approved cash payments for New Mexicans to help pay for higher costs of living and surging gas prices, the state now says the first round of money is hours away from going out.
State officials announced Wednesday the the first payments will begin arriving as early as tomorrow, Thursday, May 19. Taxpayers who get their tax rebates through direct deposit are scheduled to receive at least $250 in relief in the next day, according to a news release from the Governor’s Office.
Paper checks for another 200,000 taxpayers will slated to hit the mail “in the following days” according to the state. Those physical checks will continue to over the next few weeks.
“Starting today and throughout the summer, we are putting nearly half a billion dollars back into the pockets of New Mexicans,” Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said in a press release. “Across the country, Americans are grappling with the high costs of essentials. Here in New Mexico, we are doing all we can to provide relief to New Mexico’s families.”
These rebates in the month of May are the first of two rebates the state will dole out to most New Mexicans. Those who file taxes with the state are expected to automatically receive funds. Those who haven’t filed taxes still have an opportunity to receive the economic relief payments. We’ll explain below.
What you need to know about the rebate
The tax rebates were approved by the New Mexico Legislature during the 2022 special session. The Governor then signed the bill, which was intended to share the state’s record-breaking tax revenues from the oil and gas industry with the public.
More than 200 million in funding will be sent to over half a million New Mexicans, according to the Governor’s office. Heads of household, surviving spouses and married individuals filing joint returns will receive a total of $1,000 across two payments. Individual filers and married individuals filing taxes separately will get a total of $500 across two payments.
The rebates are split into two payments
As mentioned, the total amount you may qualify to receive will be split into two payments. According to the Governor’s Office, the first payment is being sent out to most New Mexicans in the month of May and likely continuing into June. The second payment is supposed to go out in August of this year.
“Taxation and Revenue employees are working as quickly as possible to get this much-needed cash back to taxpayers,” Taxation and Revenue Secretary Stephanie Schardin Clarke said in a press release.
How you receive your rebate will depend on how you filed your 2021 taxes. If you provided direct deposit account information, your tax rebate will be automatically sent to your bank account. If you didn’t provide account information, you can expect a paper check in the mail.
Again, the first payments being sent via direct deposit should hit your account in a day or so, according to the Governor’s office. Checks will take more time, but should start arriving in the coming weeks.
If you didn’t file taxes
While the payments are automatic for qualified individuals who filed taxes, if you didn’t file taxes — because you didn’t earn enough income, for example — you can apply to get a rebate payment.
To get a payment, if you didn’t file taxes, you can apply online at www.yes.state.nm.us. This is the state’s Human Services Department application portal, called ‘Yes New Mexico,” also known as “YesNM.”
Once there, you can apply for your share of about $20 million the state has set aside to help New Mexicans. But you can only qualify for a rebate payment if you don’t already qualify for the automatic tax rebates.
And the payments for non-tax-filers are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once that $20 million runs out, the applications are closed. As of May 18, 2020, Charlie Moore, spokesperson for the state’s Taxation and Revenue Department says the applications are still open, and are likely to close by the end of the month.
If the applications do close before you’re able to request a relief payment, you can file taxes to get an automatic payment, Moore says.
Where can I find more information?
KRQE News 13 has been serving up details on these tax rebates and payments since they were first announced. You can read more about how to get your tax rebates at this link.
And to learn about other tax credits in New Mexico, as well as more details on exactly who qualifies for the tax rebates, check out our story: “New Mexico tax rebates: How much will you get?”
