New Mexico delivers inflation relief payments to residents

New Mexico is delivering the first in a series of direct payments to the state’s adult residents to offset higher consumers costs amid inflation.

Individual taxpayers who get direct deposit rebates are scheduled to receive $250 and couples who file jointly are set to receive $500 as early as Thursday. Checks for another 200,000 taxpayers will arrive in the mail over the next few weeks.

The payments are among the $1.1 billion in tax relief and payouts authorized earlier this year by the Democratic-led Legislature and Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

“Across the country, Americans are grappling with the high costs of essentials,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “Here in New Mexico, we are doing all we can to provide relief to New Mexico’s families.”

Individual taxpayers will be eligible to receive up to $750 and couples are set to receive as much as $1,500 during three installments between June and August. That doesn’t include a newly approved annual per-child tax credit of up to $175, depending on household income.

Residents who do not file taxes because of limited income can apply for one-time relief payments of $500 or $1,000 depending on family size. Undocumented immigrants are eligible for relief under the programs.

“Starting today and throughout the summer, we are putting nearly half a billion dollars back into the pockets of New Mexicans,” Lujan Grisham said a statement.