New Hampshire Tax Preparer Requirements 2025-2026

New Hampshire tax preparer requirements start and end with the federal PTIN. There is no NH tax preparer license, no state registration, no exam, and no continuing education mandate. New Hampshire is unique among states with any income tax: it does not tax wages, salaries, or self-employment income at all. The state levies only an Interest and Dividends (I&D) tax on investment income, and that tax is being phased out. For TY2025 returns filed in 2026, the I&D tax applies at a 2% rate. For TY2026 and beyond, it is gone entirely. For a practicing NH preparer, this means the work is almost entirely federal, with a narrow I&D return for clients holding significant investment income. This guide covers everything a paid preparer in New Hampshire needs to understand for TY2025.

Does New Hampshire Require a State Tax Preparer License?

New Hampshire has NO state-level licensing, registration, exam, or continuing education requirement for paid tax preparers. There is no NH tax preparer license of any kind. New Hampshire is not among the states that regulate non-credentialed preparers. Any individual who holds a valid federal PTIN may legally prepare New Hampshire tax returns (including the I&D return) for compensation. There is no state registration fee, no state exam, and no annual CE hours required by New Hampshire law.

New Hampshire has no state licensing body for tax preparers. Preparers operating in New Hampshire are governed exclusively by IRS rules under Circular 230.

PTIN: The One Mandatory Requirement

A Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) is required for every individual paid to prepare or assist in preparing any federal tax return or claim for refund. This requirement applies regardless of credentials, location, or how many returns the preparer completes.

• Fee: $18.75 per year (non-refundable)
• ID.me identity verification is required during the application and renewal process
• Apply or renew online at IRS.gov; takes approximately 15 minutes once your ID.me account is set up
• Renewal deadline: December 31 each year
• Each preparer may hold only one PTIN; it must appear on every return the preparer signs

EFIN: Required to E-File Returns

An Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN) is required to transmit returns electronically. The EFIN is issued by the IRS through IRS e-Services at no charge. A suitability check including a background review is required. New Hampshire participates in the IRS Fed/State e-file program, so the same federal EFIN covers both federal and New Hampshire I&D tax return transmission. There is no separate New Hampshire EFIN.

AFSP: The Strongest Voluntary Credential Available in NH

Because New Hampshire has no state credential pathway for non-credentialed preparers, the IRS Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP) Record of Completion is the clearest qualification a New Hampshire preparer can advertise to prospective clients. Completing the AFSP earns limited representation rights before the IRS (before revenue agents, customer service representatives, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service for returns the preparer prepared and signed) and a listing in the IRS public directory of tax preparers at irs.gov.

Requirements to earn the AFSP Record of Completion each year:

• 18 hours of CE from an IRS-approved CE provider
• 6-hour Annual Federal Tax Refresher (AFTR) course with a mandatory knowledge test (passing score required)
• 10 hours of federal tax law topics
• 2 hours of ethics
• Current PTIN and consent to Circular 230, Subpart B obligations

Without the AFSP, a non-credentialed PTIN holder has no right to represent clients before the IRS beyond the return they prepared and signed. In a state with no other credential path, 18 hours of annual CE is a meaningful investment in both knowledge and client confidence.

FTC Safeguards Rule: Written Information Security Plan (WISP)

Every paid tax preparer, including solo practitioners in New Hampshire, must maintain a Written Information Security Plan (WISP) under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6801(b)). Required elements include a designated responsible individual, multi-factor authentication for all systems containing client data, a written risk assessment, and an incident response plan. FTC penalties can reach $46,517 per violation per day. A free WISP template is available in IRS Publication 5708.

The New Hampshire Interest and Dividends Tax: Phase-Out Timeline

New Hampshire does not tax wages, salaries, tips, business income, capital gains, or retirement income. The state's only individual income-type tax has been the Interest and Dividends (I&D) tax, which applies exclusively to taxable interest and dividend income. This tax is being eliminated on a legislated phase-out schedule. For NH preparers, understanding exactly where the I&D tax stands for each tax year they are filing is essential to avoid either overcollecting or missing a required filing.

I&D Tax Phase-Out Schedule

For TY2025 returns filed in 2026: the I&D tax still applies at 2%. Qualifying clients must file Form DP-10 (Interest and Dividends Tax Return) with the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration. For TY2026 returns filed in 2027: no New Hampshire I&D return is required and no NH income-type tax exists.

Who Must File Form DP-10 for TY2025

For TY2025, a New Hampshire resident (or entity filing as a New Hampshire resident) must file Form DP-10 if their taxable interest and dividend income exceeds the applicable exemption threshold. The exemptions are:

• $2,400 for single filers
• $4,800 for joint filers
• An additional $1,200 exemption for filers who are 65 or older, blind, or disabled

The 2% rate applies to the amount of qualifying interest and dividend income that exceeds the applicable exemption. For a single filer with $10,000 in qualifying interest and dividend income, taxable NH I&D income is $7,600 ($10,000 minus $2,400), and the NH I&D tax owed is $152 ($7,600 x 2%).

What Income Is Covered by the I&D Tax

Not all investment income is subject to the NH I&D tax. Preparers must correctly identify which income types qualify:

• Subject to I&D tax: Taxable interest income (bank interest, bond interest); dividend income from stocks, mutual funds, and investment trusts (ordinary dividends).
• Excluded from I&D tax: Capital gains (both short-term and long-term capital gains are not taxed by New Hampshire); wages and salaries; self-employment income; retirement distributions (pensions, IRA distributions, 401(k) distributions); Social Security benefits.
• Qualified dividends: Qualified dividends from corporations are generally subject to the I&D tax in New Hampshire even though they receive preferential treatment at the federal level.

The practical result: a retired New Hampshire resident who lives entirely off IRA distributions or pension income has no NH state tax liability under the I&D framework. The same retiree with significant dividend income from a taxable brokerage account may still have a modest TY2025 I&D tax obligation that disappears entirely for TY2026.

No NH Wage Withholding

New Hampshire employers do not withhold New Hampshire income tax from employee wages because no such tax exists. W-2s issued by New Hampshire employers will have blank or zero entries in Boxes 15-17. A New Hampshire resident who earns wages and has no significant interest or dividend income files exactly one return: the federal Form 1040. No New Hampshire state return is required.

New Hampshire Business Taxes: What Preparers Need to Know

While New Hampshire has no individual income tax on wages, the state does levy business-level taxes. Preparers handling business clients in New Hampshire should be familiar with the Business Profits Tax (BPT) and the Business Enterprise Tax (BET). These are entity-level taxes, not individual-level taxes, but they affect the clients of any preparer who handles partnerships, S-corporations, LLCs, or sole proprietors with New Hampshire business activity.

Business Profits Tax (BPT)

The New Hampshire Business Profits Tax applies to any business organization (including partnerships, LLCs, corporations, and sole proprietors) with gross business income over $92,000 from New Hampshire activities. The BPT rate for periods ending on or after December 31, 2023 is 7.5%.

For sole proprietors, the BPT is computed on federal Schedule C net income from New Hampshire business activities. Partnerships and S-corporations file the BPT at the entity level rather than passing through NH tax liability to individual partners or shareholders. This is a meaningful structural difference from states with pass-through entity taxes: New Hampshire taxes the business directly, and the individual partners or shareholders receive no New Hampshire tax credit because they have no New Hampshire individual income tax liability against which to credit it.

Business Enterprise Tax (BET)

The New Hampshire Business Enterprise Tax is a value-added style tax applied to the enterprise value tax base, which includes compensation paid to employees, interest paid, and dividends paid. The BET rate for periods ending on or after December 31, 2023 is 0.55%. The BET applies to enterprises with gross receipts over $282,000 or an enterprise value tax base over $282,000.

The BET paid can be credited against the BPT liability. For many small businesses, the BET operates as a minimum tax on payroll and capital even if business profits are modest.

Meals and Rooms Tax

New Hampshire levies a 8.5% Meals and Rooms (M&R) tax on taxable meals served by restaurants and lodging provided by hotels, motels, and short-term rentals (including short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb). Clients who operate food service businesses or short-term rental properties in New Hampshire must register with the Department of Revenue Administration and file M&R returns monthly or quarterly depending on volume. The M&R tax is not a sales tax on general retail goods; New Hampshire has no general sales tax.

No General Sales Tax: No Tax on Preparation Services

New Hampshire has no general sales tax. Tax preparation services are not subject to any New Hampshire tax. A New Hampshire preparer does not collect or remit any state tax on professional service fees. This is one area where New Hampshire is unambiguously simpler than neighboring states.

How to Become a Tax Preparer in New Hampshire: Practice Profile

How to become a tax preparer in New Hampshire is simpler on the licensing side than in almost any other state: obtain a PTIN, obtain an EFIN if you plan to e-file, and optionally pursue the AFSP. The practice itself, however, has distinctive features driven by the state's tax profile.

Federal-First Practice

The overwhelming majority of New Hampshire residents file only a federal return. Most NH clients have no state income tax return to file. For TY2025, only clients with qualifying interest and dividend income above the exemption threshold have a Form DP-10 obligation. Starting with TY2026, even that obligation disappears.

The implication for a New Hampshire preparer is that federal tax knowledge and accuracy carry more weight than state tax mechanics. A client cannot offset a poorly prepared federal return with favorable state treatment; the federal return is the entire tax picture for most NH residents.

Investment Income Clients and the Transition Year

For the 2026 filing season (TY2025 returns), preparers serving clients with significant investment income should be alert to two things. First, the I&D tax still applies at 2% for TY2025 and Form DP-10 must be filed for qualifying clients. Second, the elimination of the I&D tax effective January 1, 2026 is a planning opportunity: clients who were previously managing investment income to minimize I&D tax exposure no longer need that strategy for TY2026 income. Clients with taxable brokerage accounts may benefit from a conversation about whether prior I&D-avoidance strategies (such as holding tax-deferred instruments rather than dividend-paying stocks) remain optimal in the new environment.

NH Residents Working in Massachusetts and Other Border States

A significant number of New Hampshire residents commute to Massachusetts for work. Massachusetts taxes income earned within Massachusetts by nonresidents. For NH residents working in Massachusetts:

• The employee receives a W-2 showing Massachusetts withholding in Boxes 15-17.
• A Massachusetts nonresident return (Form 1-NR/PY) must be filed to report Massachusetts-source wage income.
• New Hampshire provides no resident tax credit because New Hampshire has no individual income tax to credit against.
• The result is that an NH resident working in Massachusetts bears the full Massachusetts income tax burden on their wages (5% for TY2025) with no state-level offset from New Hampshire.

This is the single most common multi-state filing situation in New Hampshire. A preparer in southern New Hampshire who can competently prepare Massachusetts nonresident returns serves a large, underserved client base.

Self-Employed and Small Business Clients

Self-employed New Hampshire residents with business income file federal Schedule C (or Schedule F for farming). They have no NH individual income tax on that income. However, if their gross business receipts exceed the BPT or BET thresholds, the business itself owes New Hampshire entity-level taxes filed on Form NH-1040 (for proprietorships and single-member LLCs) or Form NH-1065 (for partnerships and multi-member LLCs). Business tax compliance is separate from the individual's income tax filing and follows different deadlines.

New Hampshire Employer Obligations

New Hampshire employers have payroll-related obligations even without a wage income tax:

• No NH state income tax withholding from wages. Employers do not withhold or remit any New Hampshire income tax on employee wages. W-2 Box 15-17 for New Hampshire employees will show blank or zero state withholding.
• New Hampshire Unemployment Insurance (UI): Administered by the New Hampshire Employment Security agency. New Hampshire employers register and pay UI contributions on covered wages. The UI taxable wage base and rate schedule are set annually.
• Federal payroll obligations: FICA (Social Security and Medicare), FUTA, and federal income tax withholding apply as in all states. These are filed and paid to the IRS regardless of NH's no-income-tax status.

Frequently Asked Questions