Start a nonprofit · New Mexico
How to Start a Nonprofit in New Mexico
New Mexico charges $25 to file the articles of incorporation of a nonprofit corporation, and state law requires at least three directors. The annual report costs $10 and is due on the fifteenth day of the fifth month after the tax year ends. New Mexico taxes gross receipts rather than sales, and a 501(c)(3) buys tangible goods without tax by giving vendors a Type 9 nontaxable transaction certificate.
Every fee and rule on this page was checked against the agency's own publication on November 8, 2026. Sources are linked under each item.
At a glance
The New Mexico requirements in one table.
| Type of entity | A New Mexico nonprofit corporation, formed under the Nonprofit Corporation Act, NMSA 1978 sections 53-8-1 to 53-8-99, by filing articles with the Secretary of State. Sources: NMSA Chapter 53, Statutes governing business |
|---|---|
| State filing fee | $25 for filing the articles and issuing the certificate of incorporation (NMSA 53-8-85). Sources: NMSA Chapter 53 |
| Minimum directors | Not fewer than three (NMSA 53-8-18). Sources: NMSA Chapter 53 |
| Registered agent | Required: a registered office and a registered agent in New Mexico, who is a New Mexico resident individual or an authorized domestic or foreign corporation. Sources: NMSA Chapter 53 |
| Federal exemption | Form 1023 ($600) or Form 1023-EZ ($275), filed electronically on Pay.gov. Sources: IRS fee page, IRS e-filing notice |
| Annual report | $10, due on the fifteenth day of the fifth month after the tax year ends. Sources: NMSA Chapter 53 |
The steps
Four steps, in the order they happen.
Seat at least three directors and name a registered agent.
NMSA 53-8-18 states that the number of directors is not less than three. The articles name the initial directors, the address of the initial registered office and the name of the initial registered agent, and the name and address of each incorporator. One or more persons, including profit and nonprofit corporations, may incorporate by signing and delivering the articles. The registered agent signs a statement accepting the appointment.
Sources: NMSA Chapter 53
File the articles with the Secretary of State and pay $25.
The articles must set out the corporation's name, its period of duration (which may be perpetual), its purpose, any provisions for distributing assets on dissolution, the registered office and agent, the initial directors and the incorporators. The statutory fee for filing the articles and issuing the certificate is $25. The fee amounts are from the 2025 compilation of the statute, so confirm them with the Secretary of State when filing.
Sources: NMSA Chapter 53
Apply to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status.
Forming a corporation does not make it tax-exempt. The federal application is Form 1023, with a $600 user fee, or the shorter Form 1023-EZ, with a $275 user fee, for smaller organizations that pass the eligibility worksheet in the form instructions. Both are filed electronically on Pay.gov, and the IRS returns paper applications. The IRS notes that the amounts can change.
The IRS answers with a determination letter, the written ruling that recognizes the exemption.
Sources: IRS fee page, IRS e-filing notice
Register with the Taxation and Revenue Department if needed.
After IRS recognition, a group generally needs no further tax registration unless it has employees, has unrelated income, or wants to issue nontaxable transaction certificates to vendors. To issue them it registers with the Taxation and Revenue Department on form ACD-31015, attaching its IRS letter, and receives a CRS identification number with access to NTTCs through the Taxpayer Access Point website.
Sources: TRD Brochure 4
Gross receipts tax
How New Mexico gross receipts tax reaches a nonprofit.
The Taxation and Revenue Department's brochure explains these points.
Exempt and deductible receipts.
A 501(c)(3) is treated as engaged in business. Receipts related to its IRS-recognized mission are exempt, and unrelated income is fully taxable. An exempt receipt requires no report, while a deduction must be reported and backed by proof.
Sources: TRD Brochure 4
Who pays.
Liability falls on the vendor or lessor, not the buyer. Vendors of services performed in New Mexico, and lessors of property used there, get no deduction for nonprofit customers and typically pass the tax on.
Sources: TRD Brochure 4
Tax-free purchases.
With a Type 9 NTTC, a nonprofit can buy tangible personal property without tax, including meals and other tangibles for conferences, retreats and meetings, but not sales to individual members. Hotel rooms, banquet halls and rented spaces are taxable, and so are construction materials, except for organizations formed to provide homes for low-income families.
Sources: TRD Brochure 4
After you form
Staying in good standing.
Two state filings recur.
File the annual report.
The fee is $10 under NMSA 53-8-85. The report is due on or before the fifteenth day of the fifth month after the end of the corporation's taxable year, and two directors or officers sign it under oath. The first annual report is due within thirty days after the certificate of incorporation is issued.
Sources: NMSA Chapter 53
File a supplemental report within thirty days of a change.
A change in the corporation's name, registered office or agent, directors or officers, or principal place of business requires a supplemental report within thirty days. This page does not verify New Mexico charity registration with the Department of Justice, so confirm it before soliciting donations.
Sources: NMSA Chapter 53
Common questions
Quick answers.
How much does it cost to start a nonprofit in New Mexico?
The articles cost $25, plus the IRS user fee of $275 for Form 1023-EZ or $600 for Form 1023. That totals $300 or $625 as of the date this page was verified, using the 2025 statute for the state fee.
How many directors does a New Mexico nonprofit need?
At least three, under NMSA 53-8-18.
Is a New Mexico 501(c)(3) exempt from gross receipts tax?
Receipts related to its IRS-recognized mission are exempt. Unrelated income is fully taxable, and vendors may still pass tax on to the nonprofit unless it presents a Type 9 NTTC for tangible goods.
After the filing
What comes next for a New Mexico nonprofit.
The state filing is the short part. These are the next four jobs, and the book that handles each.
- Book I
Get the federal application and first-year budget right
The name, bylaws, the IRS application, a founding board and a first-year budget that balances.
- Book X
Start from finished documents
Forty annotated documents, including bylaws, budgets, policies, job descriptions and board papers, as editable Word files.
- Book VII
Build the board on purpose
What a board is for, recruiting for the skills you lack, working with the chair and running meetings that reach decisions.
- Book VIII
Stay in good standing
Charitable solicitation registration, operating in a second state, insurance and annual filings.
The complete set
All ten books and forty documents, $149.
All ten books in PDF and EPUB, plus the forty documents from Book X as editable Word files. The books are not sold separately.
Free when you join the list
Every Document a New Nonprofit Needs
Articles, bylaws, minutes, the exemption application, the policies and the filings: the whole sequence a new organization has to produce, in the order it arrives.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
- New Mexico Statutes Annotated, Chapter 53, Corporations (2025 compilation), Nonprofit Corporation Act sections 53-8-1 to 53-8-99
- New Mexico Secretary of State, Statutes Governing Business in NM
- New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, Brochure 4: 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Groups and New Mexico's Gross Receipts Tax
- IRS, Form 1023 and 1023-EZ: amount of user fee
- IRS, Changes to the exempt organization determinations process
Last verified November 8, 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm with the agency before you file. This page is general information and not legal or tax advice.