House tax chair wants to renew tax relief on medical costs
New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martínez speaks during a news conference on Feb. 10, 2025, as House Majority Floor Leader Reena Szczepanski, left, and House Taxation and Revenue Committee Chair Derrick Lente, right, listen. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM)
The leader of the tax policy panel in the New Mexico House of Representatives says he wants to renew a tax deduction for out-of-pocket medical expenses that is set to expire before the next tax filing season.
Tax deductions allow people to subtract a portion of their income from what they have to pay the state government.
Hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans have used this part of the tax code to pay less in taxes on out-of-pocket medical expenses, and they will still be able to use it for the ongoing tax filing season, which ends April 15.
During a news conference on Monday morning, House Taxation and Revenue Committee Chair Rep. Derrick Lente (D-Sandia Pueblo) said the tax deduction is 'a very important piece of legislation that we would hate to lose.'
'I think it serves New Mexicans very well, and so we're looking forward to having that back in our tax package,' Lente said. 'We have yet to hear it in our committee.'
More than 28% of the more than 1 million New Mexicans who filed a tax return in 2023 claimed out-of-pocket medical expenses to lower their taxes. The nearly 298,000 people who used this part of the law that year deducted a total of about $5.2 million from their taxable incomes, according to Taxation and Revenue Department data.
More people made these deductions than in the previous two years, and the total amount removed from their taxable incomes has increased, the data show.
During a special session in 2015, the Legislature amended the tax code to make this change for medical expenses not covered by health insurance plans. Lawmakers gave the deduction a 10-year end date, which expired on Jan. 1.
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Lente commented on the tax cut during a news conference in Santa Fe organized by the Democratic majority in the House, during which they laid out their vision for keeping life affordable for working class New Mexicans amid President Donald Trump's proposed sweeping policy and funding changes.
Lente and House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) are carrying House Bill 14 which would expand the Working Families Tax Credit 'to fully offset state income tax' for households without children earning up to $22,000 per year and households with children earning up to $50,000.
'This un-ties New Mexico from what the federal government is or isn't doing for New Mexicans,' Lente said.
Martínez said as taxpayers in New Mexico prepare to file their taxes, they will save about $2,000 on their income taxes because of the Working Families Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit and the Low-Income Comprehensive Tax Rebate.
'The system that we've built over the last few years here in this Legislature is built to protect and work for New Mexico's working families, not just the uber wealthy, not just out-of-state-corporations, but for the people who work for a living day in and day out,' Martínez said.
Martínez said President Donald Trump's announced tariffs on steel is part of a 'lack of consistency and chaos' that's 'driving up prices for everyday people across the country and here in New Mexico.'
House Majority Whip Reena Szczepanski (D-Santa Fe) said despite months of lip service about the cost of groceries and reducing inflation, Trump's administration 'has no plan to address these issues.'
'We are doubling down on the tax cuts and the efforts to reduce health care and child care costs that the Speaker mentioned,' Szczepanski said. 'We're also pushing forward a slate of legislation that will address the rising cost of living by raising pay and strengthening benefits for working people, protecting consumers from corporate greed and lowering the cost of essentials from housing, to health care, to groceries.'
She pointed to bills that would raise minimum pay for school staff and workers on publicly funded projects, stop bosses from taking credit card fees out of their tipped workers' wages, prevent junk fees and eliminate unfair pricing by ticket resellers.
Szczepanski said lawmakers also will develop a new commission 'to study how to reduce grocery prices for consumers;' prohibit grocery and retail stores from using so-called 'dynamic pricing' to gouge consumers; and make it easier for people with imperfect credit to get car insurance.
She said they will protect tenants from discrimination and artificial rent increases, and improve health care price transparency.
'We may not know all that the next four years have in store for us, but we know that New Mexico is ready to stand up for our families and for our communities,' she said.
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