State Opens Tax Amnesty Program Now Through Feb. 15

By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH

CONCORD, NH — Those who owe the state tax money are being given an opportunity for amnesty if they pay by Feb. 15.

After that, look out.

The state Department of Revenue Administration announced the plan, which will give those who owe money a chance to reduce what they would have had to pay in interest.

It came as part of the Senate's budget plan which was adopted for the next two years.

During those negotiations in May, state Sen. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton, said that the state has had amnesty plans in the past that brought in as much as $19 million in the first year of the budget cycle.

This time around, he said he thought it more likely that such a program could bring $5 million in the first year in 2026.

“We do this every 10 to 15 years where people who owe money to the state but haven’t paid it. We give them amnesty on the penalty and the interest to encourage them to come pay,” he said.

Those who think they can just continue to get away with it should pause, said Sen. James Gray, R-Rochester “because we do have the new computer system and it will be much easier to check federal (tax) returns against state returns and come up with anyone who has likely underpaid in the state so this is a great opportunity for them to get square...and anybody that you know that might have done that you might want to warn them because we are going to be looking very very closely at that after the amnesty goes through,” during a May, 23 state budget discussion.

This amnesty initiative follows elimination of state’s Interest and Dividends Tax. While the repeal took effect January 1, 2025, taxable periods beginning on or before December 31, 2024, remain subject to audit and collection by DRA per applicable law and rules.

The state is providing the opportunity to pay any outstanding taxes without penalty and with 50 percent of accrued interest. The Tax Amnesty Program runs from December 1, 2025, to February 15, 2026.

“This Tax Amnesty Program provides the public and businesses with an opportunity to address outstanding taxes, while paying significantly less than they might otherwise pay,” said Lindsey Stepp, commissioner, New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration. “Along with potentially saving taxpayers millions of dollars, this program provides the state with the chance to generate much-needed, one-time revenue, as we expect our Tax Amnesty Program to deliver more than $5 million to the New Hampshire General and Education Trust Funds, which supports a range of essential programs and services.”

Amnesty is available to any taxpayer who has a delinquent tax return or has not paid a tax that was due on or before June 30, 2025. This applies to anyone with an outstanding tax notice, including those who are currently in the appeal process.

To take advantage of the Tax Amnesty Program, taxpayers must file any required outstanding tax returns and pay all unpaid taxes and 50 percent of applicable interest by February 15, 2026.

An online interest calculator is available on the DRA website at https://www.revenue.nh.gov/tax-amnesty-program.

As an example of the benefits of this program, if a taxpayer failed to pay a $1,000 Interest and Dividends Tax due in April 2023, that taxpayer currently owes DRA a total of $1,585.95, between the original bill and penalties and interest. Utilizing the Tax Amnesty Program, that taxpayer would pay $1,117.97, saving a total of $467.98.

In another scenario, if a taxpayer owes $1,600 in business taxes due on April 15, 2024, that taxpayer currently owes DRA a total of $2,537.07, after penalties and interest. Under the Tax Amnesty Program, the taxpayer would pay $1,788.54, saving a total of $748.53.

“Although the Interest and Dividends Tax was repealed, some taxpayers still have obligations from previous tax years, and we expect the Tax Amnesty Program to help us and our taxpayers close the books on this tax,” Stepp said.

As of June 30, 2025, 7,406 accounts are in collection status totaling $83.2 million in outstanding taxes. The average outstanding tax notice amounts to $11,234.

Business taxes account for the largest portion with 5,292 accounts totaling $61.7 million in overdue taxes.
That is followed by Meals and Rooms taxes with 924 accounts totaling more than $14.6 million outstanding.

About 80 percent of New Hampshire’s General and Education Trust Funds taxes are collected by DRA and are used to fund critical programs and services, including education, health and social services, administration of justice and public protection, and resource protection and development.

This program is open to all individuals and businesses, including those who have not previously filed a return or paid taxes. For more information, please visit https://www.revenue.nh.gov/tax-amnesty-program, or call DRA’s Taxpayer Services Call Center at 603-230-5920.

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.