New Hampshire Business Taxes: BPT, BET, and Corporate Obligations

New Hampshire is famous for having no broad-based personal income tax and no general sales tax — a combination that makes it genuinely unusual among the 50 states. What it does have, and what surprises many business owners operating here for the first time, is a pair of business taxes that apply broadly and interact in ways that reward careful planning. The Business Profits Tax and the Business Enterprise Tax form the core of New Hampshire's corporate tax structure, and understanding how they overlap, who they apply to, and how each is calculated is essential for any entity conducting business in the state.

Definition and scope

New Hampshire imposes 2 primary business taxes administered by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration: the Business Profits Tax (BPT) and the Business Enterprise Tax (BET).

The Business Profits Tax is levied on the taxable business profits of corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and any other enterprise conducting business activity within New Hampshire. The BPT rate was reduced to 7.6% for taxable periods ending on or after December 31, 2019, and further reduced to 7.5% for taxable periods ending on or after December 31, 2022 (NH Department of Revenue Administration, BPT Overview). It functions comparably to a corporate income tax in other states, though it applies to a broader range of entity types than many states' equivalents.

The Business Enterprise Tax operates differently. It is not a tax on profit at all — it is a tax on the enterprise value of a business, calculated on the sum of all compensation paid, interest paid, and dividends paid by the enterprise. The BET rate stands at 0.55% of this enterprise value tax base for taxable periods ending on or after December 31, 2022 (NH DRA, BET Overview). A business can be profitable, marginally profitable, or even operating at a loss and still owe BET, because the tax base measures economic activity rather than net income.

Both taxes apply to entities with gross receipts exceeding $92,000 for tax years ending on or after December 31, 2022, or with an enterprise value tax base exceeding $92,000 (NH DRA). Below those thresholds, filing obligations do not apply.

One structural feature worth noting: BET paid can be credited against BPT liability, which prevents full double-taxation on the same economic activity. The two taxes are designed to work in tandem.

How it works

The BPT calculation begins with federal taxable income as reported on the entity's federal return, then applies New Hampshire-specific additions and subtractions. Multistate businesses must apportion their income to New Hampshire using a single-sales-factor formula — meaning only the percentage of total sales attributable to New Hampshire is taxed here (NH RSA 77-A).

1. Start with federal taxable income (or net income for pass-through entities).
2. Apply NH-specific additions, including state and local taxes deducted federally.
3. Apply NH-specific subtractions, which may include dividends received from New Hampshire-based subsidiaries.
4. Apportion to NH using the single-sales-factor percentage.
5. Apply the 7.5% BPT rate to the apportioned, adjusted income.
6. Credit BET paid against the BPT liability.

The BET calculation runs in parallel: total compensation paid to employees and officers, plus interest paid on debt, plus dividends paid to owners — multiplied by 0.55%.

For pass-through entities like LLCs and S-corporations, the BPT is paid at the entity level in New Hampshire, not passed through to individual owners. This is a notable departure from how these entities are typically taxed federally, and it is a detail that catches business owners accustomed to other states off guard.

Common scenarios

A solo consultant operating as an LLC with $150,000 in New Hampshire gross receipts, paying herself $80,000 in compensation and carrying no debt, will owe BET on the $80,000 compensation component. At 0.55%, that is $440 in BET. If her net profits are $70,000, the BPT at 7.5% yields $5,250, reduced by the $440 BET credit, for a net BPT liability of $4,810.

A manufacturing company headquartered in Massachusetts but selling 30% of its products to New Hampshire customers will be subject to BPT only on that apportioned 30% of profit. The single-sales-factor formula is particularly relevant to companies in the New Hampshire manufacturing sector, where interstate commerce is common and apportionment calculations can meaningfully reduce NH exposure.

A startup with no profit but significant payroll will owe BET on compensation paid, even in a loss year. This is the structural reality of a tax designed to capture enterprise activity rather than profitability.

A C-corporation operating entirely within New Hampshire owes both taxes on the full New Hampshire income base, with no apportionment reduction.

Decision boundaries

The distinction between the two taxes matters most when structuring entity type, debt levels, and compensation arrangements:

• BPT vs. BET base: BPT is profit-driven; BET is activity-driven. A highly leveraged business with significant interest payments faces a larger BET base than an equity-financed peer with identical profits.
• Pass-through vs. C-corp: Both pay BPT at the entity level in New Hampshire, removing one of the traditional arguments for choosing pass-through treatment in states that exempt entity-level taxation on partnerships and S-corps.
• In-state vs. multistate operations: Purely in-state businesses pay on 100% of their income; multistate businesses apply the single-sales-factor apportionment, which can substantially reduce NH liability depending on where sales are concentrated.
• Threshold monitoring: Entities near the $92,000 gross receipts threshold should track receipts carefully — crossing it triggers filing obligations for both taxes simultaneously.

For broader context on New Hampshire's tax environment, including its treatment of personal income and sales, the New Hampshire State Authority homepage provides an orientation to the state's overall fiscal and regulatory framework. The New Hampshire Government Authority offers detailed coverage of state agency structures and legislative activity affecting business regulation, making it a useful companion resource for tracking statutory changes to the BPT and BET rates.

Scope and limitations: This page covers the BPT and BET as administered by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration under RSA 77-A and RSA 77-E. It does not address federal corporate income tax obligations, New Hampshire's real estate transfer tax, meals and rooms tax, or the taxation of insurance companies and financial institutions, which operate under separate statutory frameworks. Businesses operating in multiple states will need to consult the tax authority of each state where nexus exists. The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration is the primary administrative body for all questions of filing, assessment, and appeal under these statutes.

References

• New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration — Business Profits Tax
• New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration — Business Enterprise Tax
• NH RSA 77-A — Business Profits Tax (NH General Court)
• NH RSA 77-E — Business Enterprise Tax (NH General Court)
• New Hampshire General Court — RSA Title V (Taxation)