Responsibilities

The major functions of the Assessor’s Office are to discover and locate property using GIS mapping system. List and create and inventory of all taxable property within McKinley County. The Assessor, their staff of four appraisers and a mapper, locate properties through surveys, mortgages, and deed transactions, and then go into the field to inspect new constructions and place a value on each dwelling or property.

Taxable Value

The taxable value of the property typically is one third of the full property value, so property owners pay taxes on only one third of the actual value of their property minus any allowable exemptions, such as head-of-household or veteran status. The Assessor establishes these taxable property valuations and provides that information to the New Mexico Property Tax Division.

Notice of Value

It is important that property owners review the valuation figures on the Notice of Value (NOV), because this is the last step in the review process. The value on the notice is what will be used to calculate the taxes you will pay after your local government agencies and school districts set their budgets and the tax rates are adopted. An exception to this is agricultural land, which is assessed by a special method valuation and set by the State’s Property Tax Division.

Projected Property Tax

The Assessor’s Office also provides information on projected property tax income for the McKinley County budget as well as helping to establish the overall value of the county with the DFA. The picture is complicated by the fact that 80 percent of the land in the county is Indian Reservation land or other non-taxable federal land. Only businesses on Reservation land that are owned by non-tribal members are taxable and only 20% of the total land in the county actually is taxable.

Tax Roles

The Assessor and their staff maintain computerized tax roles of about 16,227 property owner accounts with legal descriptions and values of each piece of property. The Assessor also works with the County Clerk to keep track of all deed transfers when property is bought and sold.

Should you have any questions or need assistance with any property tax issues, visit our office or call at 505-863-3032.