New Hampshire property taxes vary by location, but they will likely be one of your most significant expenses if you own a home here. Understanding how they work can help you make smarter financial decisions. Your property tax bill directly impacts your monthly housing budget, making it essential to understand rates, exemptions, and payment schedules before you buy or budget for the year ahead.
By learning about available exemptions, understanding how rates are calculated, and knowing key deadlines, you can potentially save thousands of dollars. You’ll also be able to make more informed decisions about where to buy if you’re planning to move to our beautiful region.
Understanding Your Property Tax Bill
New Hampshire operates differently from most states because we don’t have a state income tax or general sales tax. This means property taxes carry the primary burden of funding local services and education.
Your property tax year runs from April 1st through March 31st of the following year. Properties are assessed at fair market value as of April 1st, with New Hampshire law requiring assessments to fall between 90% and 110% of actual market value. You’ll receive two tax bills each year – the first typically arrives in May and is due around July 1st, while the second comes in October or November with a December 1st due date.
How New Hampshire Property Taxes Work
Property tax rates are expressed in mills, meaning you pay $1 for every $1,000 of your property’s assessed value. Your total bill includes four components: municipal taxes, school taxes, state education taxes, and county taxes.
School funding typically represents the largest portion, often accounting for 60-75% of your total property tax bill.
It’s important to note that your property’s “assessed value” is not the same as its market value. The assessed value is a valuation made by the municipality, so it’s common for there to be some disparity between the two.
New Hampshire requires properties to be revalued at least every five years. Because these updates are infrequent, your property’s assessed value can jump significantly once the property has been assessed again.
This can lead to a higher property tax bill. That’s something to keep in mind when doing your budget.
Seacoast Property Tax Rates
Property tax rates vary significantly across our Seacoast communities. Based on the NH Department of Revenue’s list of municipal tax rates, completed on June 8th, 2025 (PDF), here’s what you can expect to pay per $1,000 of assessed value:
- New Castle: $5.39 (lowest in the region)
- Portsmouth: $11.18
- Hampton: $12.32
- North Hampton: $12.80
- Rye: $8.66
- Exeter: $17.79
- Brentwood: $25.17 (among the highest)
To put this in perspective, a $1,000,000 home in Hampton would result in approximately $12,320 in annual New Hampshire property taxes. The same home in New Castle would cost about $5,390 annually, while in Brentwood, you’d pay roughly $10,068.
Why Rates Vary So Much
There’s often an inverse relationship between property tax rates and property values. Areas with higher home values tend to have lower tax rates, while areas with lower property values often need higher rates to generate necessary revenue.
For example, the 2024 average sales price was $2,483,923 in New Castle but only $686,387 in Brentwood.
It’s important to understand that a town’s property tax rate doesn’t necessarily indicate the quality of its schools or services. Some communities with excellent schools maintain relatively low tax rates through efficient budgeting and strong property values.
Town and City Budgets Influence Assessed Value
Furthermore, the assessed value of a home isn’t directly tied to its market value, at least not entirely. Cities and towns have individual budgets that also influence houses’ assessed value since municipalities can’t arbitrarily increase their budgets.
For example, if assessed property values in a town increased by 10% each year, the town would find itself with a budget surplus—it would finish off the fiscal year with unspent funds. The only way to avoid that surplus would be to somehow also increase the town’s budget by 10% each year, and residents may not be very thrilled about that prospect.
New Hampshire’s National Standing
New Hampshire consistently ranks among the states with the highest property tax burdens. Our effective property tax rate made us the state with the 6th highest in 2024. The median annual property tax payment of $6,372 ranks as the third highest in the United States.
However, this high property tax burden often balances out when you consider we don’t pay state income tax or general sales tax. Many homeowners find the overall tax picture favorable compared to other states.
2025 Changes and Proposals to New Hampshire Property Taxes
Several important updates are affecting New Hampshire property taxes in 2025.
Proposal to Increase the Homestead Exemption
In New Hampshire, the homestead exemption is a legal provision that allows homeowners to protect up to a certain amount of equity in their primary residence from unsecured creditor claims. It also reduces the property’s assessed value by that amount, which reduces the homeowners’ tax burden.
This exemption is automatic, which means homeowners don’t have to file to obtain it. Currently, New Hampshire homeowners can protect up to $120,000 of their home equity in this way.
The legislature has proposed “increasing the homestead exemption amount from $120,000 to $350,000 for a single person and from $240,000 to $500,000 for all persons with an interest in a property,” such as a married couple, according to a legislation tracker. However, this would require the home to “have been continuously used as a primary residence for the previous 12 months,” the bill’s text says.
Improved Elderly Exemptions
The legislature has also improved elderly exemptions, with asset thresholds increased from $35,000 to $50,000 and minimum exemption amounts raised from $5,000 to $7,500. These changes now include annual inflation adjustments.
Changes to Education Tax Collection and Distribution
A significant Supreme Court ruling in June 2025 affects how education taxes are collected, allowing property-wealthy towns to keep excess State Education Property Tax revenue. This creates disparities where effective tax rates can vary from $0.44 per thousand in some communities to $1.56 per thousand in others.
According to an article by the Concord Monitor, the 3-1 decision written by Chief Justice Gordon J. MacDonald found that the practice didn’t “effectively establish different tax rates for different towns, contrary to claims from a group of property owners in towns with lower property values.”
The article characterized the decision as “a victory for towns with high property values and few students” and “a defeat for middle- and lower-income towns.”
Money-Saving Exemptions and Credits
New Hampshire offers several programs that can significantly reduce your property tax burden if you qualify.
Elderly Exemptions
If you’re 65 or older, you may qualify for substantial savings. You must be 65 by April 1st, have lived in New Hampshire for three consecutive years, and use the property as your primary residence. Married couples must have been married for at least five years.
Income and asset limits vary by town. For example:
- North Hampton: Single person income limit of $40,800, married couple limit of $59,000
- Hampstead: Asset limit of $100,000, excluding home value
Exemption amounts also vary by age and community. For example:
- Nashua: Ages 65-74 ($305,000), 75-79 ($350,000), 80+ ($430,000)
- Hampstead: Ages 65-74 ($210,000), 75-79 ($280,000), 80+ ($322,000)
Veterans Benefits
Veterans who served 90 or more days with an honorable discharge and have lived in New Hampshire for at least one year can receive tax credits ranging from $500 to $750. Veterans with total and permanent service-connected disabilities receive an additional $2,000 credit.
Disabled Person Exemptions
Residents qualifying under federal social security disability programs may be eligible for exemptions. Requirements include five years of New Hampshire residency with income limits typically at $40,000 for single people and $70,000 for married couples.
Planning Your Budget for New Hampshire Property Taxes
Successfully managing New Hampshire property taxes requires understanding how to calculate your expected costs. With New Hampshire’s median effective tax rate of 1.61%, according to the Tax Foundation, property taxes represent a significant ongoing expense.
To estimate your annual property tax, multiply your home’s assessed value by your town’s mill rate divided by 1,000. If you have a mortgage with an escrow account, your lender will collect property taxes as part of your monthly payment and pay them when due.
There may be some variation in these dates depending on where you live, but here are some important dates regarding New Hampshire property taxes to remember:
- April 1st: Assessment date for the tax year
- May: First tax bill typically mailed
- July 1st: First half payment due
- October/November: Second tax bill mailed
- December 1st: Second half payment due
- December 31st: Final deadline to pay for the current tax year deduction
- March 1st: Deadline for abatement applications
For more information, you can look at the New Hampshire Department of Revenue calendar.
Understanding Current Use and Transfer Taxes
If you own or are considering purchasing land, understanding New Hampshire’s Current Use program can impact your finances. This program allows qualifying landowners to have their property assessed at its current use value rather than its highest and best use value.
To qualify, you typically need a minimum of 10 acres of undeveloped, forest, or farmland. When a property is removed from Current Use, owners must pay a Land Use Change Tax equal to 10% of the property’s full market value.
New Hampshire also imposes a transfer tax of $1.50 per $100 of the sale price on real estate transactions, split equally between buyer and seller. For a $300,000 home, this means $2,250 for the buyer and $2,250 for the seller.
Making Smart Decisions About New Hampshire Property Taxes
Understanding New Hampshire’s property tax system empowers you to make informed decisions about homeownership in our beautiful Seacoast region. While New Hampshire property taxes are among the highest in the nation, the lack of state income and sales taxes often balance the overall tax burden.
We encourage you to research exemptions you might qualify for and factor property taxes into your home-buying budget from the start. Remember that December 31st is the payment deadline if you want to deduct property taxes for the current tax year.
To learn more about New Hampshire property taxes in the Seacoast region, contact us at Madden Group today.
