Does New Hampshire Tax Social Security and Retirement Income?

New Hampshire has no income tax, so Social Security is not taxed

New Hampshire does not tax Social Security benefits, because it has no tax on personal income at all. Title V of the Revised Statutes holds the state’s tax laws: taxes on business profits, business enterprise value, meals and rooms, tobacco, real estate transfers, communications services and utility property are there, and no chapter taxes wages, salaries or benefits. (New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, Title V, Taxation: table of chapters (New Hampshire General Court))

The one tax that did reach individuals’ income was Chapter 77, Taxation of Incomes, known as the Interest and Dividends Tax. The entire chapter was repealed effective January 1, 2025, and the state has no other tax on benefits. Federal tax on benefits is unaffected by where a retiree lives. (RSA Chapter 77, Taxation of Incomes: entire chapter repealed by Laws 2021, 91:99, II, effective January 1, 2025)

The federal government is a separate matter. Up to 85% of a benefit can be taxed on a federal return once other income passes fixed thresholds, wherever you live. Our taxable Social Security calculator shows how much of yours is counted.

No New Hampshire tax on any pension

Private pensions, state and local government pensions, federal civil service annuities and military retirement pay are all untaxed, since no New Hampshire tax applies to them. There is no exclusion to claim, no age test and no income limit, because there is no return. (New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, Title V, Taxation: table of chapters (New Hampshire General Court))

A pension earned in another state is protected too. Once the retiree is a New Hampshire resident, federal law (4 U.S.C. 114) bars the former state from taxing retirement income, a term that covers qualified pension plans, IRAs, 401(k) and 403(b) plans, section 457 plans and military retired pay. (4 U.S.C. 114, Limitation on State income taxation of certain pension income)

IRA and 401(k) withdrawals and Roth conversions carry no state tax

Withdrawals from traditional IRAs and 401(k) plans, required minimum distributions and Roth conversions are taxed only by the federal government for a New Hampshire resident. In our three example households the state income tax is zero at every income level, from $75,000 to $290,000 of total income. (New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, Title V, Taxation: table of chapters (New Hampshire General Court))

Timing matters for people moving in. Retirement income is taxed by the state where the recipient lives when it is received, so a Roth conversion completed before leaving an income-tax state is taxed there, and one completed after becoming a New Hampshire resident is taxed by neither state. (4 U.S.C. 114, Limitation on State income taxation of certain pension income)

To size a conversion against federal brackets and Medicare surcharges, see the Roth conversion calculator; for required withdrawals, the RMD calculator.

No state tax on interest, dividends or capital gains from 2025

Interest and dividends were taxed under Chapter 77 until its repeal took effect on January 1, 2025. Interest and dividends received in 2025 and later years are not taxed by the state, and no individual return is filed for them. Capital gains on investments are likewise untaxed for individuals. (RSA Chapter 77, Taxation of Incomes: entire chapter repealed by Laws 2021, 91:99, II, effective January 1, 2025)

The repeal was made by statute, in chapter 91 of the Laws of 2021. A statute can be changed by a later legislature, so the absence of a tax on investment income is current law and should be read that way when planning decades ahead. (RSA Chapter 77, Taxation of Incomes: entire chapter repealed by Laws 2021, 91:99, II, effective January 1, 2025)

Investment activity that amounts to a business is a different matter. The business profits tax applies to any enterprise organized for gain or profit that carries on business activity in the state, including a sole proprietorship, and for a proprietorship taxable profit includes the net profit from a business, profession, rental or farming activity. A retiree who owns rental property or consults is a potential business taxpayer even though their portfolio income is not taxed. (RSA 77-A:1, Business Profits Tax: definitions (business organization, gross business profits, gross business income))

There are no personal income tax rates, brackets, standard deductions or exemptions, and no age-65 amounts, because individuals do not file an income tax return with the state. (New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, Title V, Taxation: table of chapters (New Hampshire General Court))

The business profits tax rate is 7.5% of taxable business profits for taxable periods ending on or after December 31, 2023. It is the rate a landlord or self-employed retiree would face on net profit if their business is large enough to have to file. (RSA 77-A:2, Business Profits Tax: imposition of tax (7.5%))

A business profits tax return is required when gross business income exceeds a threshold set in the statute at $92,000 and adjusted every two years for inflation since 2023. Gross business income is measured before any expenses, so gross rents count in full. (RSA 77-A:6, Business Profits Tax: returns and filing threshold)

The second business tax, the business enterprise tax, has its own filing test: a return is required when gross business receipts or the enterprise value tax base exceed a statutory $250,000, an amount that is also adjusted every two years. A 2026 law raises the threshold to $400,000 from January 1, 2027. (RSA 77-E:5, Business Enterprise Tax: returns and filing thresholds (as amended by Laws 2026, 280:1))

Age-based relief in New Hampshire is in property tax, and most of it is decided locally. State law lets each city or town adopt an elderly exemption that reduces the assessed value of a home by a set dollar amount, with separate amounts for owners aged 65 to 74, 75 to 79, and 80 or older. No exemption can be less than $5,000, and the municipality chooses its own income and asset limits above state minimums. (RSA 72:39-b, Procedure for Adoption and Modification of Elderly Exemption)

Homeowners who are at least 65 can also apply to defer property taxes. The assessing officials may grant a deferral of all or part of the year’s tax, with interest at 5% a year, when they judge that the tax causes undue hardship or possible loss of the property. Unlike the elderly exemption, the deferral has no fixed income or asset ceiling. (RSA 72:38-a, Tax Deferral for Elderly and Disabled)

Veterans receive a property tax credit: $50 as the state standard, or an optional amount from $51 up to $750 where the city or town has adopted one. The optional ceiling rises to $1,000 on April 1, 2027. The credit is subtracted from the tax on the veteran’s residential property each year. (RSA 72:28, Standard and Optional Veterans’ Tax Credit)

The same three households appear on every state page, so the figures can be compared across states. Each is a full-year resident taking the standard deduction, with no dependents. The figures are state income tax only: any county, city or school district income tax is described on this page but not added in. Pension income is from a private employer, and IRA figures are taxable withdrawals from traditional accounts. The state tax is our calculation from New Hampshire's published 2026 rules; it is an illustration, not a return.

These households also owe federal income tax, which is the same wherever they live. The tax bracket calculator and the guide to taxes in retirement cover that side.

As a comparative measure, Tax Foundation figures drawn from Census data put New Hampshire property taxes at 1.50% of owner-occupied home value in 2024, fifth highest among the states. Its county table ranges from 0.87% in Carroll County to 1.87% in Cheshire County, with Rockingham at 1.34%, Hillsborough at 1.62% and Merrimack at 1.80%. The median bill in Rockingham County is $7,839 on a median home of $497,500. (Tax Foundation, Property Taxes by State and County, 2026 (comparative figures from Census ACS data))

One part of every bill is set by the state. Each year the commissioner of revenue administration sets a statewide education tax rate at the level needed to raise $363 million from taxable property, rounded to the nearest half cent. The rest of a bill reflects local budgets, which is why rates differ so much from one town to the next. (RSA 76:3, Education Tax)

To qualify for a municipality’s elderly exemption, the applicant must have lived in New Hampshire for at least three consecutive years before April 1 of the tax year and must meet the local income and asset limits. Net income counts money from every source, including Social Security and pensions, and the local limit cannot be set below $13,400 for a single person or $20,400 for a married couple. Net assets exclude the home and its lot, and the local limit cannot be below $35,000. (RSA 72:39-a, Conditions for Elderly Exemption)

Manchester, the largest city, reduces assessed value by $240,000 for owners aged 65 to 74, $325,000 at 75 to 79 and $435,000 at 80 or older. Income from all sources may not exceed $47,000 for a single owner or $63,000 for a married couple, and assets other than the home may not exceed $100,000 or $130,000. The applicant must be 65 and the owner of record on or before April 1. (City of Manchester, New Hampshire, Board of Assessors: Elderly Exemption)

Nashua’s exemption is $305,000 at 65 to 74, $350,000 at 75 to 79 and $430,000 at 80 or older, with income limits of $57,000 single and $67,000 married and an asset limit of $171,000 excluding the home. The filing deadline is April 15, and a married couple must have been married for five consecutive years. (City of Nashua, New Hampshire, Assessing Department: Elderly Exemption)

Concord, the capital, lists reductions of $155,000, $250,000 and $375,000 for the same three age groups, with net income under $45,500 for a single applicant or $65,000 combined for a married couple, and assets of no more than $150,000 apart from the dwelling. Applications must be received by April 15. (City of Concord, New Hampshire, Assessing Department: Elderly Exemption)

The state’s own relief program, Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief, rebates the state education tax on a homestead, counting no more than $220,000 of equalized value. Household income must be $37,000 or less for a single person, or $47,000 or less for a married person or head of household. The rebate is 100% of the education tax below $23,100 of income for a single person or $29,400 for a couple, stepping down to 20% at the top of the range. Applications go to the Department of Revenue Administration between May 1 and June 30. (RSA 198:57, Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief)

The deferral for the elderly requires the owner to be at least 65, to have owned the homestead for at least five consecutive years and to live in it. Total deferrals on a property cannot exceed 85% of its equity value, a mortgage holder must approve, and the application is due by March 1 after the tax notice. A deferral ranks behind liens already on the property, and when the owner dies the heirs have nine months to redeem the property by paying the deferred taxes and interest in full. (RSA 72:38-a, Tax Deferral for Elderly and Disabled)

New Hampshire has no general sales or use tax, state or local. Its tax title contains no sales tax chapter, so clothing, appliances, groceries, prescription drugs and vehicles are bought without one. (New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, Title V, Taxation: table of chapters (New Hampshire General Court))

As a comparative figure, the Tax Foundation lists New Hampshire’s state rate, average local rate and combined rate all at 0%. (Tax Foundation, State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2026 (comparative figures))

The Meals and Rooms Tax is the exception most residents meet. It is 8.5% of the charge for taxable meals over $1.00, meaning food and drink prepared by a restaurant for immediate consumption, 8.5% of the rent for each hotel or other room occupancy, and 8.5% of the gross receipts from motor vehicle rentals. The operator, such as a restaurant or hotel, collects it from the customer. (RSA 78-A:6, Tax on Meals and Rooms: imposition of tax)

Real estate sales carry a transfer tax of $0.75 per $100 of the price, with a minimum of $20 where the price is $4,000 or less. (RSA 78-B:1, Tax on Transfer of Real Property: rate)

That rate applies to the buyer and again to the seller, so a sale is taxed at 1.5% in total. On a $500,000 home each side pays $3,750. (RSA 78-B:4, Tax on Transfer of Real Property: payment by purchaser and seller)

New Hampshire has no inheritance tax. Its tax on legacies and successions, Chapter 86, was repealed effective January 1, 2003, and nothing has replaced it. (RSA Chapter 86, Taxation of Legacies and Successions: entire chapter repealed effective January 1, 2003)

An estate tax remains on the books but collects nothing. The statute sets the New Hampshire estate tax equal to the maximum federal estate tax credit allowable for state death taxes and imposes it only where that credit is available on the federal estate tax return. (RSA 87:1, Taxation of Transfers of Certain Estates: tax imposed)

That federal credit no longer exists: section 2011 of the Internal Revenue Code, which provided it, has been repealed. With no credit to match, the estates of New Hampshire residents owe no state estate tax and face only the federal one. (26 U.S.C. 2011, Credit for State death taxes (repealed by Pub. L. 113-295))

The federal estate tax applies in every state. The estate tax calculator estimates both the federal tax and any state tax.

The repeal of the Interest and Dividends Tax took effect on January 1, 2025, making 2026 the second year in which New Hampshire residents owe no state tax on any personal income. (RSA Chapter 77, Taxation of Incomes: entire chapter repealed by Laws 2021, 91:99, II, effective January 1, 2025)

A 2026 law, effective September 1, 2026, put a school district tax cap question on the November 2026 and November 2028 state general election ballots in every town and city ward. Where three-fifths of those voting in the municipalities a district serves approved it, the district’s property tax levy for a two-year period may not grow beyond the prior year’s amount adjusted for inflation and net new taxable property, with bonded capital costs excluded. A cap approved in November 2026 applies beginning with the fiscal year 2028 school district budget, and one approved in November 2028 with the fiscal year 2030 budget. Inflation is the 12-month change in the Northeast consumer price index. (RSA 32:5-i, School District Local Tax Cap and School Administrative Fixed Cap on Central Office Administrative Budgets (Laws 2026, chapter 324))

The same question caps the school administrative unit’s central office spending at 6% of total district appropriations. The district’s legislative body can vote to exceed either cap using the override procedures the statute sets out, and the section is scheduled for repeal on January 1, 2032. Results are reported by each town and ward moderator and certified district by district to the Department of Revenue Administration, not tallied statewide, so whether a cap will apply depends on the school district a home is in. (RSA 32:5-i, School District Local Tax Cap and School Administrative Fixed Cap on Central Office Administrative Budgets (Laws 2026, chapter 324))

The optional veterans’ tax credit that a municipality may adopt rises from a maximum of $750 to $1,000 on April 1, 2027. (RSA 72:28, Standard and Optional Veterans’ Tax Credit)

From January 1, 2027 the filing threshold for the business enterprise tax rises to $400,000 of gross business receipts or enterprise value tax base, under a 2026 law. It will next be indexed for tax years beginning January 1, 2029. (RSA 77-E:5, Business Enterprise Tax: returns and filing thresholds (as amended by Laws 2026, 280:1))

With no income tax, New Hampshire has no income-tax residency test. Its general definition says a resident is a person who is domiciled or has a place of abode in the state and who has, through all of their actions, demonstrated a current intent to designate that place as their principal place of physical presence to the exclusion of all others. (RSA 21:6, Resident; Inhabitant)

For a newcomer the live question is whether the former state still treats them as a resident. After a completed move, 4 U.S.C. 114 reserves pensions, IRA distributions and 401(k) income to the state of residence, so the former state cannot tax retirement income received as a New Hampshire resident. (4 U.S.C. 114, Limitation on State income taxation of certain pension income)

Residence also gates the property tax breaks. The elderly exemption requires three consecutive years of New Hampshire residence before April 1 of the year claimed, and defines the residence as the home the person in good faith regards as home to the exclusion of any other place where they may temporarily live. A second home, or a home whose owner’s real base is elsewhere, does not qualify. (RSA 72:39-a, Conditions for Elderly Exemption)