Stay compliant in New Mexico

New Mexico’s recurring dates depend on the structure. An LLC has no Secretary of State report to calendar. A profit corporation has a biennial report, a franchise tax, and a corporate income tax return. Anyone registered for gross receipts tax files on the schedule the department assigned. Hiring adds unemployment reports and, when the coverage rules apply, workers’ compensation. Keep the registered agent current. Losing the agent is a revocation ground for an LLC.

What’s different in New Mexico

An LLC’s ongoing state filing is the agent, not an annual report. Revocation is for failing for 30 days to keep a registered agent, or failing for 30 days after a change of office or agent to file the statement¹.
A profit corporation files every two years, and pays a franchise tax every year. The report is $25¹. The franchise tax is $50³.
Gross receipts tax comes back on or before the 25th of the month after the period ends². The frequency is the one on your certificate.
The state wage is $12⁸ an hour, and some local rates are higher. The department enforces the highest rate that applies.

Do this

If you have an LLC, keep the registered agent and the office current. The Limited Liability Company Act sets no annual or periodic report. The revocation grounds are failing for 30 days to keep a registered agent, or failing for 30 days after a change of office or agent to file the statement. Reinstatement is within two years after the revocation. A change of agent is $20¹. The portal’s home page tells every filer to start a “business report” from a business search. That path is how corporations and nonprofits file the reports below. If the portal offers a report for your LLC, stop and read the record before you pay.*
If you have a profit corporation, file the report within 30 days after the certificate is issued, and then every two years on or before the 15th day of the fourth month after the end of the taxable year. The fee is $25. File it in the portal. A federal extension can move it. The statute says the secretary grants the same extension the IRS already approved, if a copy is attached to the report. The penalty for a late report is $200, on top of the fee. Then the certificate is canceled 60 days after the notice is mailed, unless the report and all fees and penalties are in by then. Exempt from this report: New Mexico state banks and insurance companies, insurance companies licensed here, national banks, and nonprofit corporations¹.
If the corporation’s certificate is canceled, reinstatement is within two years after the revocation. The letter is $200¹. When it is granted, it relates back to the revocation date.
Pay the corporate franchise tax with the income tax return. The franchise tax is $50, for every domestic and foreign corporation, including an S corporation, that engages in business here or exercises its corporate franchise, whether or not it is actively doing business. It is due every time a corporate income and franchise tax return is due, including a short-year return, and still due for an inactive corporation that exercises its franchise. Corporate income tax is 5.9% and is due on or before the due date of the federal corporate return. Electronic filers who also pay electronically have until the last day of the month in which the federal return is originally due. Estimated tax is quarterly, if the year's tax after credits is $5,000 or more, due the 15th day of the fourth, sixth, ninth, and twelfth months of the tax year⁴. An LLC files this return when it is an LLC or partnership taxed as a corporation for federal income tax³. A nonprofit is exempt from the franchise tax unless it has unrelated business income¹.
File the personal return when the income is yours. The Income Tax Act prints the schedules for any taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2025, from 1.5% to 5.9%¹⁸, with brackets by filing status. The 2025 instructions set that return at April 15, 2026, for the 2025 return, both on paper and electronically. If April 15 falls on a weekend or a holiday, the return is due the next business day. A fiscal-year return is due the 15th day of the fourth month after a fiscal year ends⁵. Use the instructions for the year you are filing. Under FYI-350, a pass-through entity withholds 4.9% of each nonresident owner's share of net income when it files its information return⁴.
File gross receipts tax if you are registered. Form TRD-41413 is due on or before the 25th of the month after the period ends. When that date falls on a weekend or a holiday, the deadline is the next business day. The frequency is monthly, quarterly, or semiannually, as printed on the registration certificate. A zero period still has to be filed. Skipping it costs $5. A late tax draws 2%, up to 20%². Rates and the registration are on Get your tax IDs.
If you have employees, file unemployment on the quarter. Reports are due on or before the last day of the month after the calendar quarter. A report is still filed for a quarter with no wages, unless liability has ended or been suspended⁷. The 2026 wage base is $34,800⁶. Report new hires not later than 20 days after the hire, or two electronic transmissions a month if they are 12 to 16 days apart⁹. The report goes to the state directory of new hires.
Renew the local license and any trade license on their own dates. Food permits, contractor licenses, and city licenses are on Licenses and permits. A state food permit expires on the last day of the anniversary month of the original issue, for a food establishment. A temporary permit ends on the last day of the event¹⁹.
Replace a registered agent who leaves. For an LLC, grounds for revocation include failing for 30 days to keep a registered agent, or failing for 30 days after a change of office or agent to file the statement. For a corporation, failure for 30 days to maintain an agent or to report a change triggers notice, followed by revocation if the problem remains uncorrected for 60 days after notice is mailed¹. The corporate report also has a separate deadline and cancellation process.

Employer rules

Workers’ compensation insurance: the Workers’ Compensation Act applies to employers of three or more workers, and to every employer in work that needs a Construction Industries license, whatever the number of employees¹⁰. The guidebook says coverage is required at three or more workers, and a smaller business may buy it. The count includes a working owner, family members, and part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers¹². The compliance bureau page also lists any business registered as an LLC or incorporated, noting that some exceptions may apply¹¹. If you are not sure how your workers count, ask the bureau. The guidebook’s exceptions include real estate salespeople and domestic servants, and an executive who owns 10 percent or more of the company can elect out. The guidebook says that executive still counts toward the three. This page does not choose the election.

The quarterly assessment is $4.80 per covered employee. The split is $2.55 from the employer and $2.25 deducted from the covered employee, for each covered worker on the last working day of the quarter. It is due on or before the 25th day of the month after each calendar quarter¹⁵. The fee is not the same as an insurance premium, and it does not provide any coverage¹². For reporting periods beginning in 2026, file TRD-41431; electronic filing and payment through the Taxpayer Access Point are mandatory. The earlier WC-1 remains for filing or amending periods ending by December 31, 2025 only¹⁴. Wage withholding is reported separately on TRD-41414 Wage Withholding Tax Return¹³. A licensed contractor has a stricter line: the Construction Industries Division says coverage is required for every licensed contractor²⁰.

Minimum wage, from the department’s page: $12 an hour since January 1, 2023, and $3 an hour for a tipped employee. The statute says tips plus the cash wage cannot be less than the full minimum wage, and the employee keeps the tips except for a tip pool among wait staff⁹. Where a city or county sets its own minimum, the department says the state will enforce the highest available rate⁸. The cities and counties linked from that page:

Albuquerque: the city’s table shows $12 an hour as of January 1, 2026, the same as the state rate. Effective January 1, 2027 the city rate is $13 an hour, or $12 an hour in 2027 if the employer pays at least $2,500 a year for the employee's healthcare or childcare benefits. The tipped wage on that page becomes $7.20²¹ on January 1, 2027.
Las Cruces: $13.01 an hour and $5.20 for tipped employees, effective January 1, 2026²².
Santa Fe: $15.40 an hour as of March 1, 2026, for employers inside the city. The tipped rule is a $3 base for an employee who customarily earns $100 a month or more in tips or commission. Tips plus the base have to reach $15.40, and the employer pays the difference. The same page states a one-time increase to $17.50²³ an hour on January 1, 2027.
Santa Fe County, outside Santa Fe, Española, and Edgewood: $15.40 an hour as of March 1, 2026, and a tipped base of $4.62. The ordinance applies to businesses in Santa Fe County outside the city limits of Santa Fe, Española, and Edgewood²⁴.
Bernalillo County: the county’s own minimum is $10.95 as of January 1, 2026, below the state rate. The county’s page says the state wage supersedes the county's and is the prevailing wage¹⁶.

Where the federal wage law covers the worker, the federal minimum is $7.25 an hour, and the higher of state or federal minimum applies¹⁷. Overtime under the state statute is one and one-half times the regular rate after 40 hours in a week of seven days⁹. The statute then lists jobs the overtime section does not cover, including agriculture. Read that list before you skip the premium. The hiring guide has the federal overtime rule.

What you get back

A current registered agent, a filed corporate or nonprofit report if you owe one, gross receipts returns on the assigned schedule, and current employer accounts. An LLC that keeps its agent does not get a report acceptance back from the Secretary of State, because the act does not ask for one. A corporation that files gets an accepted report, and the franchise tax is part of the CIT-1 payment, not a separate Secretary of State fee.

Common questions

Does a New Mexico LLC file an annual report?

Not under the Limited Liability Company Act, which sets no annual or periodic report. Its revocation grounds are failing for 30 days to keep a registered agent, or failing for 30 days after a change of office or agent to file the statement, so keep the registered agent current. A profit corporation does file a biennial report, for $25.

When is the New Mexico corporate report due?

A profit corporation files within 30 days after the certificate is issued, and then every two years on or before the 15th day of the fourth month after the end of the taxable year. The fee is $25. A late report adds $200.

When are New Mexico income tax returns due?

Corporate income tax is due on or before the due date of the federal corporate return. The franchise tax of $50 is due with it. The 2025 personal-return instructions set that year's return at April 15, 2026, for the 2025 return, both on paper and electronically. A fiscal year on those instructions is due the 15th day of the fourth month after a fiscal year ends.

Do I need workers' compensation insurance in New Mexico?

The Workers' Compensation Act applies to employers of three or more workers, and to every employer in work that needs a Construction Industries license, whatever the number of employees. A smaller business may buy coverage. The compliance bureau's page also lists LLCs and corporations, with exceptions, so ask the bureau how your workers count. The quarterly assessment of $4.80 per employee is not the insurance.

What is the New Mexico minimum wage?

The department's page says $12 an hour, and $3 for a tipped employee. Where a city or county sets a higher rate, the department says it enforces the highest available rate.