Effective January 1, 2009, IOLTA enrollment is mandatory for all New Mexico attorneys who maintain a pooled trust account. Please refer to Attorney and Law Firm Guide to Mandatory IOLTA.
Joining IOLTA doesn't affect the administrative duties of managing a trust account. After conversion to an IOLTA, the only change is that the account will generate interest. That interest will be reflected on your bank statement as having been earned and paid to the IOLTA program. There are no tax consequences for you or your client. Interest earned and paid on IOLTA accounts is reported to the Internal Revenue Service via a Form 1099 generated by the financial institution and bearing the CCV's taxpayer identification number.
To enroll, just complete and submit to an Eligible Financial Institution the Attorney Notice to Eligible Financial Institution. This form instructs your financial institution to convert your existing trust account to an interest-bearing IOLTA account. If you don't currently have a trust account, by completing the same easy form, you can open one and establish it as an IOLTA account. PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW CAREFULLY THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE NOTICE.
