Thank you to everyone who shared your opinions and ideas about taxes in New Hampshire. What to do now? You could send them to friends, candidates or elected officials. The next emails I get on taxes at nancywestnews@gmail.com, I will collect and make a DAY 6 when there are enough of them. I appreciate how you took the time to share. — Thanks, Nancy West
You can find your state House members here: https://gc.nh.gov/house/members/
and your state Senators here: https://gc.nh.gov/senate/members/senate_roster.aspx
Gov. Kelly Ayotte here: https://www.governor.nh.gov/
Executive Council here: https://www.council.nh.gov/
Here are links to the five days on your opinions about taxes in NH:
Day 1: https://indepthnh.org/2026/05/11/how-about-taxes-in-new-hampshire/
Day 2: https://indepthnh.org/2026/05/12/day-2-what-you-have-to-say-about-nh-taxes/
Day 3: https://indepthnh.org/2026/05/13/day-3-nh-folks-have-a-lot-of-opinions-on-taxes/
Day 4: https://indepthnh.org/2026/05/14/day-4-now-what-to-do-about-taxes-in-nh/
Day 5: See below
DON BLASZKA SR., East Hampstead
It’s my belief that all too many NH residents don’t have a clue what people in other states are paying for property taxes and taxes in general. We moved to NH in 1985 from NJ. I recently checked what my former home was paying in NJ. That house is a 1,400-square-foot ranch on a 75-by-100-foot property. The 2025 real estate taxes were $9,300, and a recent article shows it will be going up 13.5% to $10,555. That is $7.50 per square foot while my home here in NH on 2.3 acres is $4 per square foot on a home more than twice the size. Let’s not forget that NJ also has gambling in Atlantic City, the Lottery, sale of marijuana and a nearly 7% sales tax. All suggestions from your previous letters! When NJ added the income tax, my property tax did not decrease the amount of my income tax.
Part of the issue is that property taxes seem to occur in two large chunks. Income taxes come out of your paycheck, and you get used to living on the net payment and ignore the taxes. Sales taxes are a death by a thousand cuts. A few bucks a day, and you don’t see a large amount except for a large purchase like a car! We are surrounded by states with sales taxes. If we implement a sales tax, how much income would businesses lose, and the state in business tax, if residents in those three states decide not to shop in NH?
I have some solutions, some of which will never pass but need to be listed.
First, there are counties in the U.S. that have a population that is close to the population of NH. Fairfax County, VA is just one example. It has one school system, one police department, one fire department, one road department, etc. How much extra administration cost would be reduced if we did that for all of NH. Yes, that will never pass!
Second, let’s fund schools at a much higher rate, like $10-$15K per full-time student. And let’s pay for that by using the SWIFT portion of property taxes, where ALL property is taxed at the same rate throughout the state, and the SWIFT money goes directly to the state, distributed back by student population.
Third, let’s return the business tax back to the previous level as the reduction did not increase businesses moving to NH in any significant number. Let’s also return the Education Freedom Account back to the previous income need base. I sent my children to private high school on my dime. It wasn’t always easy, but it was important to us.
Fourth, how about we take a page from our neighbor to the west? Vermont charges non-residents up to 50% additional property tax. I know as I had land in Northern Vermont! Let’s give half of that back to the state for schools and let the town keep the other half. Think of all those out-of-staters with houses in the Lakes Region or the ski areas! We’re missing out.
DON BLASZKA SR., East Hampstead
PHILLIP JAMES WALKER
Thank you and the whole team at InDepthNH for what you do.
NH needs to reform its tax system and all three of our biggest problems: (1) high property taxes for most people, (2) struggling schools, and (3) expensive housing are really one problem that goes back to our broken tax system. I think the fairest and most effective way forward is a genuine statewide property tax with safeguards that I outline below, combined with the return of a version of the interest and dividends tax.
Let me explain why high taxes, struggling schools and expensive housing are one problem, not three. State law requires provision of an adequate education and empowers towns to raise money for that purpose through property tax. However, not all towns are the same. Some have a huge tax base and few students. Others have lots of students but a small tax base. Result? Some towns have high taxes relative to value for underfunded, struggling schools, and other towns have low taxes relative to value and well-funded schools. It is not fair, cheats some students out of a basic education, gives a small number of (usually wealthy) folks a tax break, and punishes towns that allow construction of new housing in large quantities. This last point drives our housing crisis. New housing means more families, and only million-dollar McMansions possibly bring in enough tax revenue to offset the cost. New workforce housing certainly does not. This “housing penalty” drives our housing shortage. The State has tried various formulas over the years to soften the blow of this unfair system, but none of them have worked.
The only way out of this mess is a tax that treats everyone the same. That could be an income tax, or an array of smaller taxes and fees, or a statewide property tax. I like the statewide property tax because we already have some of the legal and administrative rules in place for a fair statewide property tax. I do, however, think we could add in some correctives to make it fairer for everyone.
First, there should be an exemption for a primary home. If your house is your primary home, you get an exemption for some portion of the valuation. The first $100,000, perhaps. That would give a big tax break to the homes with the lowest valuation and a smaller tax break to million-dollar homes.
Second, there should be senior, disabled and veterans exemptions for primary residences. Not a free ride, of course, but a little extra help. Folks on fixed incomes should have an opportunity to stay in their homes, and veterans deserve our acknowledgement of their service.
Third, there should be a surcharge for second homes of greater-than a certain valuation. There are many million-dollar-plus vacation homes in New Hampshire, mostly owned by wealthy out-of-state folks. I do not feel bad making them pay more.
Lastly, there should be a tax incentive for building workforce housing. Maybe no change in valuation for the first several years to encourage new construction. This, plus removal of the “housing penalty,” would unlock a lot of new construction.
I would also like to see something like the old interest and dividends tax come back. This is to make the whole system more fair, as well as to raise money. The property tax is a wealth tax. It taxes the value of land and buildings. People who choose to hold wealth in other ways, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc., pay nothing. That is unfair. The interest and dividends tax at least is a start on taxing that other type of wealth. I would like to go beyond that, however, and explore other ways to tax wealth, such as taxing some unrealized capital gains, but this is pretty cutting edge and is not something that could be done quickly and easily.
My objective is to make the tax system fairer. By making it fairer, we go a long way to solving the three biggest problems facing NH right now.
PHILLIP JAMES WALKER, Dunbarton, NH
PATTY SHEARIN
The property tax system to pay for education is unsustainable, particularly for folks on a fixed income. The rising cost of education has the potential to force seniors and others on fixed incomes to have to leave their home because of an inability to pay their property taxes.
I believe NH should adopt a sales tax on “incidentals.” Not food or prescription medications (necessities), but everything else that people consume. People with greater wealth who naturally consume more and can afford to will pay the sales tax. I am against a state income tax as we are already taxed through the federal government on our annual income.
PATTY SHEARIN, Dunbarton
LAURA COLQUHOUN
As a longtime resident of Nashua, I am deeply concerned about the direction our city is heading. Taxes have risen to levels that many of us can no longer sustain, especially those of us living on fixed incomes. I own a modest 968-square-foot home and now pay roughly $7,500 a year in property taxes. On Social Security, that burden is overwhelming. I make no improvements to my home unless absolutely necessary, yet the tax bill continues to climb.
At the same time, the quality of life in Nashua has declined. I no longer feel safe visiting the library due to the growing number of homeless individuals who gather there. I have avoided going downtown at night for years because of repeated encounters with intoxicated individuals. On one occasion, I narrowly avoided hitting a person who was lying in the middle of the street. These are not isolated experiences; they reflect a broader issue that many residents quietly talk about but feel powerless to change.
Nashua is no longer the quaint, welcoming community it once was. Development continues at a rapid pace despite limited parking and declining public engagement. The city’s focus on downtown has come at the expense of other neighborhoods. In my own area, cars are parked overnight in violation of regulations, yet enforcement is inconsistent. A boarding house recently opened nearby, and despite concerns about overcrowding and unpermitted basement bedrooms, Code Enforcement has taken no meaningful action.
Access to City Hall has also deteriorated. Years ago, residents could walk in and obtain the information they needed. Now, appointments are required, and even then, residents may be turned away if the staff member declines to meet. This lack of transparency and accessibility erodes trust in local government.
Perhaps most troubling is the growing sense that residents’ voices no longer matter. Many people have stopped attending meetings or voting because they feel ignored or dismissed. When Aldermen respond disrespectfully to residents who speak at public meetings, it discourages civic participation and weakens our community.
At my age, moving is not an option. I can only hope to manage my tax burden for as long as possible and leave the challenges facing Nashua to the next homeowner. But I believe it is important to speak up while I still can. Our city can and should do better for all of us.
LAURA COLQUHOUN, a concerned Nashua resident
JEFFREY HINMAN
NH brags about not having a sales tax or an income tax, which is no longer something to brag about. An unfair tax burden is placed upon home and property owners because of it. There is a lack of adequate and equitable distribution of funds for education because of the lack of sales and income taxes. A large percentage of New Hampshire’s income has come from gambling and alcohol sales, which is a bit like the British monarchy’s fortune coming in a large part from 19th-century opium trade, except that NH does not have a comparable fortune. NH seems to be addicted to those sources of money, which goes back decades to the state’s dependence on the long-gone Rockingham horse racing track that provided NH with a large percentage of its income.
JEFFREY HINMAN
SHIRLEY LEMIEUX
One of the most complained about taxes in NH are property taxes. They are unreasonably high. Property taxpayers pay a high percentage to fund education.
The State of NH receives millions of dollars every year in revenue from gambling alone. So why do property taxes continue to increase?
State lotteries have been around for many years, and the State of NH receives millions in revenue from lottery winnings.
NH homeowners have also been encouraged in the past by State officials that casinos would add relief to property taxes. The State collected $60.2 million from casinos in 2025 alone. Despite the State receiving millions of dollars every year from casinos, property owners have not seen any relief in their property taxes.
So, then the State of NH introduced another way to bring in revenue from gambling: sports betting. This, too, was encouraging that Granite Staters would see some relief in their property taxes. The New Hampshire Lottery broke its all-time record in money delivered to New Hampshire public education from sports betting in fiscal year 2025, with a total of $39 million.
Millions of dollars in revenue for the State of NH, and yet property owners have had no relief. Instead, property taxes have continued to rise.
Rising property taxes means rising rental housing. These two issues alone have caused and are causing financial hardships to all NH residents.
SHIRLEY LEMIEUX
LAURA DUNHAM
Taxes in NH are wild — based on the property we own and not our income. If my property increases because of the housing, but my income decreases, I am upside down on my taxes and may have to move out of my home. This is happening for my husband and me at the moment. Our property taxes increased by 40% the same year we both retired. We are struggling. New Hampshire needs an income tax which is progressive. Andru Volinsky’s 3-3 plan is excellent and would fully fund schools! Hallelujah. Imagine teachers having what they need to succeed at their jobs, and all students getting a free and fair public education. On that note, we have to get rid of the EFA accounts. If a parent wants to homeschool or send their kids to a religious school, that is their choice, but the public schools should not suffer from that choice. Income tax is such a dirty word in NH, but people should really read more about Volinsky’s plan and use the tax calculator. My taxes would go down more than $1,000, and the schools would have what they need. Win-win.
LAURA DUNHAM, Center Barnstead