New Mexico Car Dealership Employee Retention Tax Credit for NM Auto Dealers (updated January 2024)

Cover Image Credit: 123RF.com / Milkos / Disaster Loan Advisors.

New Mexico car dealerships, auto dealers, new and used truck dealers, and other automotive related vehicle businesses in NM that were impacted financially by the COVID pandemic will automatically qualify certain periods of time for the employee retention tax credit refund in NM.

New Mexico went into lockdown mode in March 2020 when New Mexico Governor Lujan Grisham issued mandated executive orders that forced the closure of car businesses throughout New Mexico, including most car, truck, and automobile related businesses. Many car dealership employees in New Mexico were temporarily out of work from closures in NM.

This caused New Mexico auto dealers, auto groups, dealership owners and investors from automotive related companies with multiple rooftop locations in New Mexico to suffer financially during 2020 and 2021 from these executive orders in NM.

When New Mexico slowly started to reopen, business capacity was restricted and limited in New Mexico. Plus, many NM consumers were staying at home, not driving anywhere, and not shopping for new or used cars and trucks in NM.

Overall, New Mexico has an estimated 112 new car franchised brand dealerships in NM that were affected. This NM data is according to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) New Mexico Auto Report.

New Mexico Car Dealership Retail Economic Data Statewide in NM:

– 112 new car dealerships in NM.

– $6.3 billion in total New Mexico car dealership sales.

– $261 million in NM state sales tax paid on vehicle sales.

– 13,799 workers employed at dealerships in New Mexico.

– 6,314 direct worker jobs and 7,485 indirect jobs in NM.

– Average of 56 Employees (W-2) per auto dealership.

– Average of $79,014 in annual earnings per worker.

– $499 Million in total Employee Payroll for New Mexico new car dealerships.

– $152 Million in state and federal income and payroll taxes paid in NM.

Other New Mexico new car and used car data statistics in NM:

– New Mexico Automotive Dealers Association (NMADA)

– New Mexico Independent Auto Dealers Association (NMIADA)

New Mexico dealerships in cities affected the most included Albuquerque, Farmington, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, and other locations in New Mexico.

See how your New Mexico automotive related business might qualify for the New Mexico Employee Retention Credit IRS Tax Refund for your car, truck, vehicle business in NM. Schedule Your Free New Mexico Car Dealership ERC Consultation today.

Key ERC Credit Takeaways You Will Learn:

  • NM Auto Dealerships Qualify: Car dealerships in New Mexico can benefit from the ERC tax credit.
  • Impact of COVID-19: The credit supports automotive businesses affected by the pandemic.
  • Significant Tax Relief: Up to $26,000 per employee is available for qualifying dealers.
  • Easy Qualification Process: Dealerships need to qualify for just a quarter to claim.
  • Updated Information for 2024: Recent guidance is available for NM car dealerships.

See Important 2024 Employee Retention Tax Credit Deadline Information at the Bottom of This Article.

Table of Contents

New Mexico Employee Retention Tax Credit for Car Dealerships, Auto Dealers and the Automotive Industry in NM

New Mexico car dealerships, automotive dealerships and automotive related businesses in NM are eligible to claim the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). They can receive up to 50% of their qualified wages paid between March 12th, 2020, and December 31st, 2020, in the form of a refundable tax credit from the IRS.

New Mexico car dealerships and related businesses that were established before February 15th, 2020, can receive a refundable tax credit amounting to 70% of qualified salaries and wages paid between January 1st, 2021, and September 30th, 2021. For NM auto dealers or car dealerships started or acquired after that date (referred to as a Recovery Start-up business), they are eligible for employee wage reimbursement up until December 31st, 2021.

The employee retention credit may be retroactively claimed for 2020 and 2021, through 2023, 2024, and 2025 for your car dealership, auto dealerships or automotive related business in New Mexico.

NM Car Dealership Employee Retention Credit, How it Works for Auto Dealers in New Mexico

With the New Mexico requirements and amount of the ERTC tax credits continually changing with the ERC program, NM car dealerships, auto dealers, and automotive dealership owners and principals may find it difficult to understand if they qualify and how much they can claim. 

To maximize the benefits from this New Mexico automotive employee retention tax credit, you must understand which quarters are eligible as well as which employees, wages, and payments meet the criteria for receiving the tax credit for your dealership in NM.

New Mexico Employee Retention Credit Eligibility Requirements for Auto Dealers, Automotive Dealerships and Car Dealerships in NM

The New Mexico automotive dealership industry can take advantage of the employee retention credit in several ways.

For a New Mexico car dealership related business to be eligible for the program, it must have gone through an entire or partial closure because of COVID-19 government regulations or any other kind of government-mandated shut down during certain periods in either 2020 or 2021 as a result of this global pandemic.

Another way is for your New Mexico car dealership entity to demonstrate that it has had either a 2020 quarter with gross receipts at least 50% lower than the same quarter in 2019, or in 2021, quarters with 20% fewer gross receipts compared to the corresponding quarters of 2019. Each three-month period of 2020 and 2021 should be compared to its equivalent month period in 2019.

In New Mexico, Did Your New Car, Used Car, Truck Dealership or Automotive Business Experience any of These?

Full or Partial Shutdown of Your Car Dealership Location in NM

If your car dealership or automotive dealership location in NM was fully or partially shut down for even a few days due to COVID-19, it would qualify your New Mexico auto dealership for the ERC tax credit. There are multiple other ways to qualify and claim your New Mexico ERC credit for your NM car dealership to help financially recover. Even if your New Mexico automotive company received an SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, you may still qualify.

New Mexico Car Dealership Vehicle Sales Decreased in NM

Did your NM dealership sales drop? Not sell as many new or used vehicle units as compared to 2019? In this case, if you can show nominal harm of 10% or more in declining sales or units for your New Mexico automotive business, you qualify. This is a good example for you to claim and receive the ERC tax credit in New Mexico.

Limitations on Car Showroom or Auto Repair Service Capacity New Mexico

Due to the shutdown and partial-shutdown in New Mexico, your automotive operations greatly reduced capacity due to government mandates and orders. This means that even if your NM car dealership or automotive repair business did not meet adequate revenue losses, you can still be eligible for the ERTC tax credit from mandated New Mexico restrictions from executive orders.

New Mexico Impacted Business and Consumer Travel in NM

The inability of New Mexico residents, tourists, and business travelers to drive around in New Mexico lead to substantial losses. With many public events and gatherings in NM canceled or postponed, caused most New Mexico residents to stay at home. This created massive lost sales and revenue potential for many car dealerships in New Mexico. Therefore, you may qualify for the ERC tax credit if your automotive business has been affected by these limitations in NM.

NM New or Used Car and Truck Vehicle Cancellations and Refunds Due to COVID in New Mexico

Maybe your NM automotive business had vehicle buyers wanting to cancel their new or used car or truck order or car lease, and did not want to take delivery or renew their lease. When New Mexico shutdown, and then faced many business capacity and travel restrictions, consumers canceled travel plans and were not driving as much, according to the New Mexico Department of Transportation. This caused many NM automotive dealership operations to refund deposits and lose further revenue. This was a financial loss to the economy and auto dealers in New Mexico

No In-Person Selling or Face-to-Face Auto, Truck, Car Sales in NM

Due to the pandemic, NM auto dealers could not sell any cars or trucks during the shutdown periods. This was an obstacle for New Mexico auto dealers trying to accommodate new and used car buyers. The vehicle buying experience was taken away. If your NM automotive business dealt with this situation, or had severely limited business and operations capacity due to New Mexico mandated orders, your dealership will qualify for the ERC tax credit.

New Mexico Car Dealership Low Inventory Due to Shipping and Supply Chain Issues in NM

In New Mexico, automobile manufacturers continued to limit new vehicle production and inventories throughout 2021 and 2022 due to the semiconductor microchip shortage that began in early 2021. New Mexico franchised car dealerships were experiencing restricted new car and truck inventory at auto dealerships in NM and across the country. New vehicle inventory on the ground and in transit was consistently stuck at over one million vehicle units nationwide and in NM.

Calculating Your New Mexico Auto Dealer Employee Retention Credit for Car Dealerships in NM

Accurately calculating the New Mexico employee retention credit for your automotive dealership employees requires attention to detail, especially when it comes to determining your total payroll gross wages paid during each quarter to your workforce. Without accurately calculating this figure, you won’t be able to maximize the full tax benefits of this ERC credit. Therefore, having a comprehensive understanding of how best to calculate these figures is essential to maximize your car dealership related business tax credit in NM.

How New Mexico Car Dealerships, Auto Dealers, and Automotive Employers in NM Can Claim the Employee Retention Credit

Although the process of applying for the ERTC for your New Mexico company has changed a bit, there’s still time to claim your ERC tax refund. Remember that this window won’t be open forever. It will cease in 2023, 2024, and 2025 based on the past 2020-2021 quarter evaluations. Don’t worry about running out of funds either. These IRS business tax refunds are calculated using each business’ qualifications and financials. The only way you can miss out is by not filing prior to the given deadlines for your car dealership in New Mexico.

Conclusion and Summary for New Mexico Car Dealership, Auto Dealer, and Automotive Employee Retention Credit in NM

To ensure your New Mexico car dealership or automotive related business is in compliance with the Employee Retention Credit, it’s critical to have all original records, including payroll, W-2s, original 941’s filed, and other documents related to auto dealership employee wages. Additionally, any New Mexico government shutdown orders or restrictions on your New Mexico car dealership should be documented.

By understanding the rules of the employee retention credit, car dealerships, auto dealers, automotive businesses and companies in New Mexico can make sure they’re getting all the IRS tax credit benefits owed to them. The ERTC provides an opportunity for car dealerships affected by COVID-19 in New Mexico to recover some financial losses.

New Mexico Car Dealerships and Automotive Businesses Qualify for the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERC / ERTC) in NM: Claim Up To a $26,000 Refund Per Dealership Employee for Your Automotive Business in NM

Disaster Loan Advisors™ can assist your New Mexico car dealership and automotive business with the complex and confusing Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) program, without you having to sacrifice an excessive percentage % of your hard-earned ERC refund. 

DLA doesn’t charge a percent % like many companies do. Our flat fee structure is fair and reasonable based on the amount of work involved. Keep More of Your Refund™ 

Depending on eligibility, car and truck dealership owners, automotive professionals, and auto dealer principals and partners can receive up to $26,000 per automotive workforce employee based on the number of W2 employees you had on the payroll in 2020 and 2021.

The ERC / ERTC Program is a valuable IRS tax credit you can claim for your automotive dealership in New Mexico.

Schedule Your Free New Mexico Automotive Employee Retention Credit Consultation to see what amount of employee retention credit tax refund you qualify for your car dealership in New Mexico.

ERC Deadline Urgency in 2024

April 15, 2024 Deadline for the 2020 ERC Tax Year

The deadline is coming up for the final opportunity to retroactively claim your business Employee Retention Credit for the past 2020 tax year. With the April 15, 2024 deadline fast approaching, we urge you; don’t let this final chance pass!

While not all businesses will qualify, as it depends on multiple factors per IRS Rules and Guidelines, you might be leaving significant financial relief on the table from prior COVID impact to your business during the past 2020 and 2021 business operation years.

Last year, in September 2023, the IRS temporarily paused processing ERC Claims for the remainder of last year. We at Disaster Loan Advisors (DLA) predicted this over one year ago when we made this ERC video warning business owners. See the ten-minute mark of the video for details. 

TAKE ACTION NOW IN 2024

Even though the IRS has temporarily paused processing, you will still want to check eligibility and file now (if you qualify) because once the IRS will resume processing, ERC tax credit claims are processed in the order they are received.

If you haven’t previously filed for the ERC Credit, it is worth scheduling a phone call to at least explore your possible eligibility from both the past 2020 and 2021 business tax years. Contact us today for a deep-dive analysis to determine if your business qualifies one or more quarters from the 2020 and / or 2021 tax years.

Mark Monroe