SERVING NEW HAMPSHIRE REMOTELY · SINCE 2005
New Hampshire Bookkeeping Services
Last Updated: October 6, 2026New Hampshire has no sales tax and no tax on wages, and still taxes businesses twice. The Business Profits Tax works as you would expect, on net income. The Business Enterprise Tax does not: it is charged on the enterprise value tax base — broadly compensation paid, plus interest and dividends paid — which means a business that made no profit at all can still owe it. Payroll is the largest component for most firms, so the BET effectively taxes employing people. Both have filing thresholds, and both run off figures that only exist if the books are kept properly.
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New Hampshire owners and their CPAs come to us because the Business Enterprise Tax is driven by compensation rather than profit — so payroll records are the tax base, not a supporting schedule. Dedicated bookkeepers, monthly reconciliations, and tax-ready financials — plans from $75/month, extra hours at $15/hour, and wholesale $10/hour rates for CPA firms — backed by a 100% money-back guarantee on your 1st retainer, refundable on the unused balance.
On This Page
- New Hampshire’s small-business tax landscape
- The BET taxes employing people, not making money
- Two taxes, one set of books, a credit between them
- No sales tax — until you sell across the border
- New Hampshire cities we serve
- New Hampshire FAQs
New Hampshire’s Small-Business Tax Landscape
| Tax / Filing | Rate / Fee | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Business Profits Tax (BPT) | Charged on net income from business activity in New Hampshire, above a filing threshold | Annually, with estimated payments |
| Business Enterprise Tax (BET) | Charged on the enterprise value tax base — compensation paid, plus interest and dividends paid. Owed regardless of profit | Annually, with estimated payments |
| Sales tax | None in New Hampshire | — |
| Tax on wages | None — New Hampshire does not tax earned income | — |
| Annual report | Filed with the Secretary of State to keep the entity in good standing | Annually, by 1 April |
New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, checked 4 October 2026. BPT and BET rates and filing thresholds change — confirm your position with the Department or your CPA.
The BET Taxes Employing People, Not Making Money
The Business Enterprise Tax is the New Hampshire feature that most surprises businesses relocating here for the absence of sales and wage taxes. Its base is not profit — it is broadly the compensation you pay, plus interest and dividends paid out.
For a typical services business, compensation is overwhelmingly the largest element, which means the BET scales with headcount and payroll rather than with success. A firm that doubled its team during a loss-making growth year increased its BET base while making nothing.
That is not a criticism of the design — it is a broad-based, low-rate tax and it works as intended. But it does mean your payroll records are the tax base, not a supporting schedule, and that compensation needs recording accurately and consistently all year rather than being summarised at year end.
Two Taxes, One Set of Books, a Credit Between Them
New Hampshire businesses can be liable for both the BPT and the BET, and there is a mechanism by which BET paid can be credited against BPT. How that works for you is a determination for your CPA.
What it means for bookkeeping is that both figures have to be defensible simultaneously: net income for the BPT, and compensation plus interest and dividends paid for the BET. Those come from the same ledger but from different parts of it, and a business that is casual about either — owner compensation treated inconsistently, say, or distributions and dividends muddled together — produces two numbers that do not reconcile.
The thresholds matter too. Both taxes have filing thresholds, and whether you are above or below them is a question your books answer rather than your instinct.
No Sales Tax — Until You Sell Across the Border
New Hampshire levies no sales tax, which is a genuine advantage and a well-known one. Retailers on the Massachusetts border have built businesses on it.
The exposure arrives when you sell into other states. Economic nexus rules mean a New Hampshire business shipping into Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont or anywhere else can acquire a sales-tax obligation there based on sales volume alone, with no physical presence required — and an owner who has never collected sales tax in their life is the least likely person to be watching for the threshold.
We record out-of-state sales by destination as standard, so the data exists for you or your CPA to assess nexus. The determination is theirs; the evidence is ours.
New Hampshire Cities We Serve
Dedicated local guide: Manchester — plus Nashua, Concord, Portsmouth, Dover and Rochester, and every corner of the state, all served remotely. Browse all locations.
New Hampshire Bookkeeping FAQs
What is the New Hampshire Business Enterprise Tax?
A tax on the enterprise value tax base — broadly the compensation a business pays, plus interest and dividends paid — rather than on profit. That means it can be owed in a loss-making year, and that it rises with payroll. For most service businesses compensation is the dominant component. Confirm current rates and thresholds with the Department of Revenue Administration or your CPA.
Can I owe New Hampshire business tax if I made no profit?
Yes, through the Business Enterprise Tax, because its base is compensation and payments rather than income. The Business Profits Tax is the one based on net income. Both have filing thresholds, and businesses can be liable for both, with a credit mechanism between them that your CPA can explain.
Does New Hampshire really have no sales tax?
Correct — no sales tax and no tax on earned wages. The caveat is that selling into other states can create sales-tax obligations there under economic nexus rules, based on sales volume rather than physical presence. New Hampshire businesses are unusually exposed to this simply because they are not in the habit of thinking about it.
When is the New Hampshire annual report due?
By 1 April each year, filed with the Secretary of State, to keep the entity in good standing. It is separate from your tax filings, and missing it tends to surface later at a bank or in due diligence rather than immediately.
Do you have offices in New Hampshire?
No, and we would rather say so plainly than imply otherwise. We are a fully virtual bookkeeping company — founded in Vienna, Virginia on May 25, 2005 and headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico today, US-registered with delivery centers in India, which we disclose on our About page. We have served New Hampshire businesses remotely since 2005. You get a dedicated bookkeeper with plans from $75/month, monthly reconciliations, and a 100% money-back guarantee on your 1st retainer, refundable on the unused balance.
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Dedicated New Hampshire bookkeeping from $75/month — with a 100% money-back guarantee on your 1st retainer, refundable on the unused balance.