How New Hampshire Works

A state commission created on Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s first day in office released a sweeping set of recommendations aimed at streamlining operations, cutting duplication, and strengthening accountability across New Hampshire’s government.

New Hampshire’s property tax system places most authority not in Concord, but in the hands of local voters and the people they elect. While state policy shapes the structure of the system, roughly 85% of every property tax bill is determined at the local level through school budgets, municipal appropriations, and capital decisions. Local choice—not state mandates—is overwhelmingly what causes property taxes to rise.

Property tax bills in New Hampshire are made up of four major components: local school, municipal (town), county, and the Statewide Education Property Tax (SWEPT).

Property taxes in New Hampshire are often debated but widely misunderstood. With no broad-based income or sales tax, the state leans heavily on local property taxes to fund schools, town services, and county obligations.