New Hampshire Property Taxes

Overview of New Hampshire Property Taxes

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Every homeowner in New Hampshire is required to pay property taxes every year. As is the case with most other states, the New Hampshire property taxes are the primary source of funding for local governments. The state and its local governments collect $11.6 billion in revenue every year, with $4.5 billion, or 38.3% of total revenue, coming from property taxes. The big percentage of property taxes from the total revenue collected indicates a state with high property tax rates.

Homeowners in New Hampshire pay both local and state property taxes. Depending on the location of your home, you could pay local school tax, county tax, town tax, and state education tax. Homes are assessed by local county assessors every year as of April 1st to determine their "full market value." This is the price a random buyer would pay for the property. Assessment is done through mass appraisal techniques, and the assessors are not required to visit your property physically. Appraisals are different across counties, and the state applies an equalizing ratio on your property's market value to ensure there is proportionality in property values across the state. If you have reasons to believe you were wrongly assessed, you can appeal your property taxes. However, you can only appeal the assessment, not the tax rate.

On average, homes in New Hampshire are worth $262,794. Homeowners pay 1.97% of their home value in New Hampshire property taxes each year or $19.73 for every $1,000 in home value. The New Hampshire property tax rate is higher than the national average. However, local authorities are at liberty to set their own tax rates depending on their budgetary requirements. The state uses mills to express property tax rates, with a mill equal to $1 in every $1000 assessed home value. The mill rates vary across local governments.

If you are planning to buy a home in New Hampshire and want to understand how much your property tax bill could potentially cost, check out our New Hampshire Property Tax Tool to see what your bill would be.

New Hampshire Property Tax Due Dates

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When are property taxes due in New Hampshire? The state allows homeowners to pay property taxes in two installments. The first is billed at the end of May and due on July 1st. The second is mailed by late October/early November and due on or after December 1st. The tax bill is based on the property assessment of the preceding April 1st. You can pay your New Hampshire property taxes using cash, checks, money orders, or online.

Taxes that remain unpaid after New Hampshire property tax due dates are charged an interest of 12% per year. To calculate the daily interest charge you owe the state, multiply the tax bill with "0.12" then divide by "365" (for days in a single year). For example, if you owe $4,332 in New Hampshire property taxes, the daily interest charge will be $4,332 x 0.12 /365= $1.42. You can also use TaxProper's search tool to determine if you are overpaying your property taxes. The state laws allow local authorities to initiate a Tax Lien process in mid-April for unsettled property tax bills from the previous year(s).

Note that interests on the Tax Lien are calculated at 18%. You can use the above formula to calculate the daily interest charge for the Tax Lien. If the Tax Lien remains unpaid for two years, it is subjected to a Tax Deed where your property can be sold to recover the taxes. However, a homeowner can redeem the Tax Lien by paying the full amount of New Hampshire property taxes plus additional interests and costs. It is also noteworthy that failure to receive a tax bill doesn't exempt you from paying property taxes. It is your responsibility as the homeowner to ensure you adhere to New Hampshire's property tax due dates.

New Hampshire Property Tax Exemptions

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The state of New Hampshire offers multiple exemptions to ease the property tax burden on eligible homeowners across the state. The most common are the senior and homestead exemptions. However, it is noteworthy that although the exemptions can reduce the New Hampshire property tax bill, eligible parties are still subject to the New Hampshire property tax due dates.

New Hampshire Homestead Exemption

New Hampshire's homestead exemption protects your principal residence against bankruptcy. The state laws allow homeowners to declare a part of their property as "homestead" and, therefore, can protect it against creditors. Homeowners can declare up to $100,000 of property as a homestead. The amount doubles for married couples. However, this exemption has no bearing on the accrual of New Hampshire's property taxes.

New Hampshire Senior Citizens Exemption

New Hampshire's senior exemption is also known as the Elderly Exemption. To be eligible, the elderly homeowner must be 65 years of age, be the owner of the property as of April 1st, and be residing in the said property for three consecutive years. They must also be using the property as their principal residence while their annual income must not exceed $50,000. The exemption is deducted from the property's assessment. The amount of New Hampshire property taxes exempted for the elderly varies across the various local authorities.

Other Exemptions

Other New Hampshire property tax exemptions include the Blind Exemption. This exempts legally blind people from paying taxes on $15,000 of their home's assessed value. Another one is the Disabled Exemption that provides a yearly exemption to eligible homeowners in an amount determined by the local taxing authorities. More details regarding these and more exemptions can be obtained from the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration's website.

How to Appeal Your Property Taxes in New Hampshire

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The state of New Hampshire allows homeowners who disagree with their property's assessment to appeal. Each county in the state has a Board of Assessors where you are required to submit your appeal. If the assessor and the homeowner fail to resolve the property valuation dispute, an appeal can be filed with the New Hampshire Board of Tax and Land Appeals (BTLA). Remember, you will be appealing your property's assessment, not the tax. You should therefore pay your New Hampshire property taxes pending your appeal.

The process of filing an assessment appeal varies across New Hampshire, though it generally follows the same steps from county to county:

1. Obtain your assessment
2. Determine if you are overassessed
3. Complete forms needed to appeal
4. File property tax appeal
5. Prepare for hearing
6. Attend hearing
7. Appeal the decision

How to Appeal Your Property Taxes in Hillsborough County

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For a better demonstration of how to appeal and potentially lower your New Hampshire property taxes, here is a breakdown of the process in Hillsborough, the most populous county in New Hampshire.

Obtain your assessment

All assessment details for residents of Hillsborough County can be obtained from the Hillsborough County Assessor's Office.

Determine if you are over-assessed

A successful property tax appeal involves proving that the county assessor overvalued your property. This can be done by analyzing the selling value of properties with a similar profile to yours. Websites like Zillow or TaxProper's search tool can help you establish the market value of properties similar to yours.

Complete forms needed to appeal

Residents of Hillsborough County can obtain property tax appeal forms from the Board of Tax and Land Appeals offices or their website. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, homeowners are advised to use the online platform. Forms must be filed by the following September 1st.

File property tax appeal

The appeal process starts with the Board of Assessors. If no agreement is reached, homeowners in Hillsborough County can file their property tax appeals with the Board of Tax and Land Appeals.

Prepare for hearing

By law, the County Assessor is presumed to be right. The burden of proof, therefore, lies with the homeowner. To prepare for the hearing, you should have evidence showing that your home was overvalued. This can include approximate values of comparable properties, photos of your property, and oral testimony from an expert witness.

Attend hearing

Under normal circumstances, you are required to attend the property tax appeal hearing in person by the Board of Tax and Land Appeals. However, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, hearings will be held remotely via Cisco WebEx until further notice.

Appeal the decision

As a last resort, decisions by the BTLA can be appealed to the Hillsborough County Superior Court. The appeal must be in writing and with legible ink.

Property Tax Information for New Hampshire Counties

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The table below provides county-level information about how property taxes work in each New Hampshire county.

Want to learn more? Click the county links to learn more about a specific New Hampshire county.