Tools · Security Deposit

New Mexico Security Deposit Calculator (2026)

Enter your rent and move-out date to see the most a New Mexico landlord can charge and the exact date your deposit is due back — up to 1 month of rent, returned 30 days from the date the rental agreement ends or you move out, whichever is later.

Cited to NMSA 1978 §47-8-18Source: New Mexico Statutes §47-8-18 (Deposits), Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act.

New Mexico security deposit calculator

Security deposit · New Mexico

State

Monthly rent

Move-out date

New Mexico rule applied to your numbers

Maximum deposit

$2,000

Up to 1 month’s rent under New Mexico law. The cap depends on the length of your lease. Under NMSA 1978 47-8-18, for a rental agreement lasting less than one year the landlord cannot demand or receive a deposit greater than one month's rent. For a lease of one year or more there is no dollar cap, but if the deposit is larger than one month's rent the landlord must pay you interest each year (see below).

Return deadline

30 days

30 days from the date the rental agreement ends or you move out, whichever is later. Enter your move-out date for the exact deadline.

These are the New Mexico figures applied to what you entered: a plain summary of the rule and the dates, not a determination that anyone did or did not comply.

If a deposit is wrongly kept

A landlord who does not provide the itemized list within 30 days forfeits the right to keep any part of the deposit, forfeits the right to raise a counterclaim in any suit you bring to recover it, and is liable to you for court costs and reasonable attorney fees. A landlord who retains a deposit in bad faith owes an additional civil penalty of $250, payable to you.

Interest on the deposit

Interest is required only when the deposit is larger than one month's rent on a lease of one year or more. In that case the landlord must pay you interest each year, at a rate equal to the passbook interest that federal rules allowed for New Mexico savings and loan associations. On a deposit of one month's rent or less, no interest is owed.

PlainStatute

Security deposit — New Mexico

Maximum deposit: $2,000 · 1 month’s rent
Monthly rent: $2,000
Move-out date: Not entered
Return deadline: 30 days from the date the rental agreement ends or you move out, whichever is later

Source: NMSA 1978 §47-8-18

https://codes.findlaw.com/nm/chapter-47-property-law/nm-st-sect-47-8-18/

⚠ Draft: confirm with the official source before relying on this.

Printed from plainstatute.com
Plain-language summary, not legal advice.

Informational only, not legal advice. Security-deposit rules carry exceptions (lease type, small landlords, city ordinances) this summary cannot weigh. See the full statute and exceptions on the New Mexico security deposit reference, cited to NMSA 1978 §47-8-18.

How New Mexico security deposits work

New Mexico ties the security deposit cap to how long your lease runs. Under NMSA 1978 47-8-18, if your lease is shorter than one year the landlord cannot demand or receive more than one month's rent as a deposit. If your lease is a year or longer, there is no fixed dollar cap, but any deposit larger than one month's rent obligates the landlord to pay you interest every year at the state passbook savings rate. After you move out, the landlord has 30 days to return the deposit, and if any of it is kept they must include an itemized written list of the deductions. A landlord who misses that deadline forfeits the right to keep any of the deposit and owes your court costs and attorney fees, with an extra $250 penalty for keeping it in bad faith.

This calculator shows the New Mexico figures applied to your own rent and dates. It is informational only and not legal advice — exceptions this summary cannot weigh may apply. For the full rules, penalties, and citations, see the New Mexico security deposit reference.

Security deposit calculators for other states

Same tool, each with its own cap and return deadline.