State of New Hampshire - Tax Facts (ver. 2)

Registration of Business Name

• If doing business under own name, registration is not required, but it is desireable.
• If trading under any ficticious name, even your own, registration of this trade name may be accomplished by contacting:
  • Office of Secretary of State
    State of New Hampshire
    25 Capital St, 3rd Floor
    Concord, NH 03301
    (603) 271-3244 (603) 271-3246
    Click on "Forms & Laws" then "Tradenames"
    You receive a 5-year registration with a $50 fee. 
• New Hampshire Business Tax
  • New Hampshire defines Gross Income as the total of all income for Federal income tax purposes from whatever source derived. 
  • NH Business Profits Tax (BPT)  7.5%
    • For TY2023 anyone in business, whose gross revenue exceeds $103,000 must file Form NH-1040. 
    • BPT tax rate is 7.5%
    • Form NH-1040 for sole proprietorships and single-member limited liability companies (SMLLCs) that are taxed as proprietorships federally.
    • Form NH-1065 for partnerships.
    • Form NH-1120 for corporations.
  • NH Business Enterprise Tax (BET)  0.55%
    • For TY2023, anyone in business, whose gross revenue exceeds $281,000 or whose BET Tax Base exceeds $281,000 must file Form NH-BET
    • BET Value Tax Base is the sum of all: 
    • compensation paid or accrued, interest paid or accrued, and dividends paid by the business enterprise,  
    • BET tax rate is 0.55%
    • Form NH-BET for all Corporations, Partnerships, Proprietorships,  Estates, Trusts, Non-Profits, LLCs, and Combined Groups.   
  • BT-Summary 
    • If you are required to file the BPT tax form and/or BET tax form, you must file the BT-Summary form. 
    • The BT-Summary form summarizes all of the taxes you owe to the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration (DRA). 
  • NH Interest & Dividends tax (I&D tax)  5.0%
    • NH I&D tax is assessed on Interest & Dividend income and is levied on all New Hampshire residents and fiduciaries whose gross interest and dividends income, from all sources, exceeds $2,400 annually ($4,800 for joint filers). 
    • In addition, Limited Liability Companies (LLC's), Partnerships, and Associations, with non-transferable shares, whose gross interest and dividends income, from all sources, exceeds $2,400 annually must file and pay NH I&D Tax.
    • I&D tax rate is 5.0%
    • Form DP-10 for all entities.
  • File your NH tax return(s) online GRANITE TAX CONNECT 
    • New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration
      Governor Hugh Gallen State Office Park
      109 Pleasant Street (Medical & Surgical Building)
      Concord, NH 03301  
    • Taxpayer Services Division tel: (603) 230-5000      
  • Here is a table of the BPT, BET, & I&D tax rates in NH from 2016 to 2026:
  •    Year  BPT Rate  BET Rate  I&D Rate
  • 2016  7.7%       0.6%        5% 
  • 2017  7.7%       0.6%        5% 
  • 2018  7.7%       0.6%        5%
  • 2019  7.7%       0.6%        5%
  • 2020  7.6%       0.55%      5%
  • 2021  7.6%       0.55%      5%
  • 2022  7.6%       0.55%      5%
  • 2023  7.6%       0.55%      4%
  • 2024  7.6%       0.55%      3% 
  • 2025  7.6%       0.55%      2%
  • 2026  7.6%       0.55%      1%
  • NH I&D Tax is repealed for taxable periods beginning after 12/31/2026
  • Here is a table of the BPT & BET filing thresholds in NH from 2016 to 2026:
•                       BPT          BET           BET
•                  Threshold  Threshold  Threshold  
•  Tax      Gross       Gross          Value
• Year    Income     Income         Base
• 2016     50K          207K             103K 
• 2017     50K          208K             104K 
• 2018     50K          208K             104K
• 2019     50K          217K             108K
• 2020     50K          217K             108K
• 2021     50K          222K             111K
• 2022     92K          250K             250K
• 2023   103K          281K             281K
• 2024   103K          281K             281K 
• 2025         *             *                     *
• 2026         *             *                     *                                                                            
• Licenses
  • State and municipal ordinances require licenses of various kinds for a number of businesses. A restaurant, for instance, may require clearance from the local Fire Dept., Sanitation Dept., Health Dept., Board of Alcoholic Beverage Control, etc. 
  • State licenses are required for business activities such as:
    • outdoor advertising 
    • liquor handling 
    • real estate brokering 
    • electrical contracting 
    • automobile dealerships 
    • junk yards 
    • lumber sales
    • other
  • It is recommended that prospective businesspeople make thorough inquiries to the appropriate municipal and state authorities.
• Choosing Your Form of Business Organization
  • There are different advantages and disadvantages to the four (4) major forms of business organization:
    1. Sole Proprietorship,
    2. Partnership,
    3. Corporation, 
    4. Limited Liability Company (LLC). 

• You would be wise to consult an attorney for legal advice. For the name of an attorney call: 
  • NH Bar Association
    • 2 Pillsbury Street, Suite 300 Concord, NH 03301  
    • tel: 603-224-6942  fax: 603-224-2910 
• Complaints
  • Consumer complaints may be filed with:
    • NH Consumer Protection & AntiTrust Bureau
      33 Capitol St
      Concord, NH 03301-6397
      (603) 271-3641
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
  • The FTC is a federal agency which deals with consumer protection matters on a national level or when interstate commerce is involved.
    • Federal Trade Commission
      600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20580-0002
      1-877-FTC-HELP or 1-877-382-4357 (toll-free)
      TDD: 1-202-326-2502

Theory and Practice may diverge when the IRS considers the Evidence

  "Audits can neither, nor should, level the playing field between small business owners and employees, because the law itself creates an uneven playing field. 

  What audits can do, is to make sure taxpayers who are entitled to claim deductions of certain amounts, or to exclude income of certain amounts, are not overstating these amounts factually, or characterizing payments that are one thing, as something else. 

  But as it has been recognized for many decades, there are trade-offs between a less-than-optimal (from a pure revenue standpoint) allocation of limited IRS resources on large numbers of small businesses, and focusing on small business in order to assure employees, whose income is subject to withholding, and gets reported on a W-2, that W-2 employees are being treated fairly, relative to independent contractors and business owners whose reporting requirements may be looser." - Robert Kantowitz