New Mexico


New Mexico Treats Poor Families Under Its Income Tax Better Than Most Other States

 

New Mexico’s 1999 income tax threshold — the income level at which families begin paying income tax:

Ranking among 42 states with income taxes

    For two-parent families of four: $20,600.

12th highest

    For single-parent families of three: $18,000.

13th highest


New Mexico’s 1999 income tax for working-poor and near-poor families:
    For families of four with poverty-line incomes ($17,028): $70 refund.

8th lowest

    For families of three with poverty-line incomes ($13,290): $85 refund.

9th lowest

    For families of three with minimum-wage earnings ($10,712): $100 refund.

9th lowest

    For families of four with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($21,285): $17 tax.

11th lowest

    For families of three with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($16,613): $30 refund.

7th lowest


New Mexico
has consistently exempted families with below-poverty earnings from the income tax.

In 1991, a family of four owed no tax until its income reached 3 percent above the poverty line. New Mexico’s tax threshold is now 21 percent above the poverty line.

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