Jason Innerfield, CPA •
On June 10, 2026, Governor Kelly Ayotte signed House Bill 155 into law, making two significant changes to the New Hampshire Business Enterprise Tax (BET):
On June 10, 2026, Governor Kelly Ayotte signed House Bill 155 into law, making two significant changes to the New Hampshire Business Enterprise Tax (BET):
- BET Filing Threshold (Effective for taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2027): Businesses are only required to file a Business Enterprise Tax return if they have gross business receipts greater than $400,000 or an enterprise value tax base greater than $400,000, up from $298,000, each. The higher filing threshold means fewer businesses will be required to file a BET return beginning in 2027. However, businesses that are no longer subject to the BET may also lose the ability to apply a BET credit against their Business Profits Tax (BPT) liability. Taxpayers should discuss the impact with their tax advisor to avoid unexpected tax consequences.
- Future BET Rate Reductions (Effective June 30, 2026): The bill also establishes a mechanism for reducing the BET rate over time. Beginning with a tax rate of 0.55%, the rate will decrease by 0.05 percentage points for every $100 million of business tax surplus generated above the statutory benchmark. These reductions may continue until the BET rate reaches a minimum of 0.25%. If the required surplus is not achieved, the rate will remain unchanged. The new rate reduction mechanism ties future BET tax relief to the state's business tax revenues, allowing rates to decrease only when the budgeted surplus thresholds have been met.
It is important to note that House Bill 155 does not make any changes to the Business Profits Tax (BPT) rate or filing requirements.
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