Sandoval County hosts veterans resource fair as tax protest deadline ends

At the Sandoval County Government Complex in Bernalillo, veterans showed up with paperwork in hand because the stakes were immediate: April 30 was the last day to file a property valuation protest or claim a veteran or family exemption that could affect next year’s tax bill.

The Sandoval County Veterans Services Fair, held at 1500 Idalia Rd., Building D, on April 27, brought veteran service officers and department leadership into the county office complex so residents from Rio Rancho and surrounding communities could handle questions without making another trip across town or out of county. The New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services said the event was designed to connect veterans with state and federal VA benefits on site, and that attendees were encouraged to bring records such as a DD-214 and a VA award letter showing disability percentage.

For veterans who missed the deadline, the consequence is real money. Sandoval County says the last day of the 30-day protest period is also the last day to file a valuation protest or claim a family or veteran exemption, which means anyone who did not act by April 30 must wait until the next cycle. That makes the timing of the fair more than administrative outreach. It became a last chance to protect a tax break before the window closed.

The deadline comes as New Mexico is expanding veteran property-tax relief. House Bill 47 raised the standard veteran exemption from $4,000 to $10,000 for tax year 2026, with inflation indexing starting in tax year 2027. The law also creates a proportional exemption for disabled veterans that matches the veteran’s federal disability rating beginning in 2026, replacing the older requirement that typically demanded a 100% disability rating for full relief.

Those changes were tied to constitutional amendments approved by voters in the November 5, 2024, general election, giving the new law added weight for families trying to plan around property taxes. The exemption also applies to certain unmarried surviving spouses, extending the benefit beyond the veteran alone.

Jamison Herrera, the Cabinet secretary for the Department of Veterans’ Services, attended the fair and underscored that the county’s role was not just to explain benefits, but to help veterans use them on time. For Sandoval County families watching property taxes climb, that deadline mattered as much as the new law itself.