§ 7-1-29 — Authority to make refunds, credits or rebates

A. In response to a claim for refund, credit or rebate made as provided in Section 7- 1-26 NMSA 1978, but before a court acquires jurisdiction of the matter, the secretary or the secretary's delegate may authorize payment to a person in the amount of the credit or rebate claimed or refund an overpayment of tax determined by the secretary or the secretary's delegate to have been erroneously made by the person, together with allowable interest. B. Pursuant to the final order of the district court, the court of appeals, the supreme court of New Mexico or a federal court, from which order, appeal or review is not successfully taken, adjudging that a person has properly claimed a credit, rebate or a refund of overpaid tax, the secretary shall authorize the payment to the person of the amount thereof. After a court acquires jurisdiction but before it issues a final order, the secretary may authorize payment of a credit, rebate or refund pursuant to a closing agreement pursuant to Section 7-1-20 NMSA 1978. C. In the discretion of the secretary, any amount of credit or rebate to be paid or tax to be refunded may be offset against any amount of tax for which the person due to receive the credit, rebate payment or refund is liable. The secretary or the secretary's delegate shall give notice to the taxpayer that the credit, rebate payment or refund will be made in this manner, and the taxpayer shall be entitled to interest pursuant to Section 7-1-68 NMSA 1978 until the tax liability is credited with the credit, rebate or refund amount. D. In an audit by the department or a managed audit covering multiple reporting periods in which both underpayments and overpayments of a tax have been made in different reporting periods, the department shall credit the tax overpayments against the underpayments; provided that the taxpayer files a claim for refund of the overpayments. An overpayment shall be applied as a credit first to the earliest underpayment and then to succeeding underpayments. An underpayment of tax to which an overpayment is credited pursuant to this section shall be deemed paid in the period in which the overpayment was made or the period to which the overpayment was credited against an underpayment, whichever is later. If the overpayments credited pursuant to this section exceed the underpayments of a tax, the amount of the net overpayment for the periods covered in the audit shall be refunded to the taxpayer. E. When a taxpayer makes a payment identified to a particular return or assessment, and the department determines that the payment exceeds the amount due pursuant to that return or assessment, the secretary may apply the excess to the taxpayer's other liabilities pursuant to the tax acts to which the return or assessment applies, without requiring the taxpayer to file a claim for a refund. The liability to which an overpayment is applied pursuant to this section shall be deemed paid in the period in which the overpayment was made or the period to which the overpayment was applied, whichever is later. F. If the department determines, upon review of an original or amended income tax return, corporate income and franchise tax return, estate tax return, special fuels excise tax return or oil and gas tax return, that there has been an overpayment of tax for the taxable period to which the return or amended return relates in excess of the amount due to be refunded to the taxpayer pursuant to the provisions of Subsection K of Section 7-1-26 NMSA 1978, the department may refund that excess amount to the taxpayer without requiring the taxpayer to file a refund claim. G. Records of refunds and credits made in excess of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) shall be available for inspection by the public. The department shall keep such records for a minimum of three years from the date of the refund or credit. H. In response to a timely refund claim pursuant to Section 7-1-26 NMSA 1978 and notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Administration Act, the secretary or the secretary's delegate may refund or credit a portion of an assessment of tax paid, including applicable penalties and interest representing the amount of tax previously paid by another person on behalf of the taxpayer on the same transaction; provided that the requirements of equitable recoupment are met. For purposes of this subsection, the refund claim may be filed by the taxpayer to whom the assessment was issued or by another person who claims to have previously paid the tax on behalf of the taxpayer. Prior to granting the refund or credit, the secretary may require a waiver of all rights to claim a refund or credit of the tax previously paid by another person paying a tax on behalf of the taxpayer. I. If, as a result of an audit by the department or a managed audit, a person is determined to owe gross receipts tax on receipts from the sale of property or services, the department may credit against the amount owed an amount of compensating tax paid by the purchaser if the person can demonstrate that the purchaser timely paid the compensating tax on the same property or services. The credit provided by this subsection shall not be denied solely because the purchaser cannot timely file for a refund of the compensating tax paid and, if the credit is to be granted, the department shall require, for the purpose of granting the credit, that the purchaser give up any right to claim a refund of that tax.

Legislative History

1953 Comp., § 72-13-43, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 248, § 31; 1966, ch. 30, §