Starting and running a nonprofit in New Mexico

Forming your nonprofit corporation

The state creates your organization; the IRS separately recognizes it as tax-exempt. This is the state part.

Where you file

New Mexico Secretary of State, Business Services Division. All business filings are made online through the Secretary of State's business portal (enterprise.sos.nm.gov); paper filings are no longer accepted.

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Form

Domestic Nonprofit Corporation Articles of Incorporation, filed on the Secretary of State's online portal.

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Filing fee

$25 for filing articles of incorporation and issuing a certificate of incorporation (NMSA 1978 §53-8-85).

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Annual report

Your first annual report is due within 30 days after your certificate of incorporation is issued. After that, file it with the Secretary of State every year by the 15th day of the fifth month after your taxable year ends (May 15 for a calendar year). Two of your directors or officers must sign and swear to it (NMSA 1978 §§53-8-82, 53-8-83).

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Annual report fee

$10, plus a $10 penalty if you file late (NMSA 1978 §§53-8-85, 53-8-88).

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Then get your EIN and apply to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status: the formation stage walks through both.

Registering to ask for donations

Many states want charities to register before they ask residents for money. Here's what this state says.

Do you have to register?

Yes, unless you're exempt. Under the Charitable Solicitations Act, charitable organizations that exist, operate or solicit in New Mexico must register with the New Mexico Department of Justice and file annual reports there. Register before you solicit; an organization that exists and operates in New Mexico must also register within 30 days of its creation, even if it doesn't solicit. You register online through NM-COROS, with copies of your IRS Form 1023 or 1024 and your articles of incorporation and bylaws.

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Exempt

The law doesn't apply to religious organizations. Exempt from registering and reporting: educational institutions and organizations as defined in Section 6-5A-1 NMSA 1978, and people soliciting for a person or group that has suffered a medical or other catastrophe, if the person or group is named, the purpose is clearly stated, and every dollar collected, with no deductions, goes straight into a local federally insured account in their name used only for them (NMSA 1978 §57-22-4).

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Fee

No fee to register.

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Renewal

Every year: file your annual report through NM-COROS within six months after your fiscal year ends. You can ask for a six-month extension in NM-COROS before the due date; an IRS extension doesn't count.

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Penalty

$100 if you fail to register, fail to file your annual reports on time, or fail to ask for an extension in time.

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Audit

A charitable organization with total expenses over $750,000 must be audited by an independent certified public accountant (NMSA 1978 §57-22-6).

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

State tax exemption

IRS approval doesn't automatically exempt you from state taxes. Here's how this state handles them.

Income tax

A 501(c)(3) files New Mexico's corporate income and franchise tax return (CIT-1) only if it has unrelated business income. Income the IRS treats as unrelated business income is taxed by New Mexico too.

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Gross receipts tax

The receipts of a 501(c)(3) are generally exempt from New Mexico's gross receipts tax (Section 7-9-29 NMSA 1978), except for an unrelated trade or business. When you buy goods, the seller can pass its gross receipts tax on to you unless you give it a nontaxable transaction certificate (NTTC).

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Using the exemption

Sales of goods to a 501(c)(3) for use in its exempt functions can be deducted by the seller (Section 7-9-60 NMSA 1978) if you give it a Type 9 NTTC or alternative evidence. Leases, licenses and services aren't covered, and construction materials and services aren't either unless your organization provides homeownership opportunities to low-income families.

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

How to get NTTCs

With a New Mexico Business Tax Identification Number (NMBTIN), you can get and print NTTCs online through Taxpayer Access Point, or apply for paper NTTCs on Form ACD-31050 (up to five per application).

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Your board

The smallest board the state's nonprofit law allows. Many charities choose more.

Minimum directors

Three or more, with the number set by or under your articles or bylaws; your first directors are named in the articles (NMSA 1978 §53-8-18).

Official source · checked October 22, 2026

Every year

We couldn't confirm New Mexico's yearly state filings from its official pages yet. Check with the state charity regulator below.

Federal deadlines (the Form 990 family) depend on your fiscal year and size. The compliance calendar puts them and New Mexico's in date order.

Make my New Mexico calendar

Who to ask

We don't list a free legal help program for New Mexico charities yet. The directory has the programs we know of.