LLC Annual Report and Tax Filing Requirements in New Hampshire

Forming a limited liability company (LLC) comes with many advantages, including limited liability and flexible management and tax options. However, to maintain an LLC, you'll need to comply with ongoing reporting and tax requirements.

In New Hampshire, you'll need to file an annual report and potentially pay business and employer taxes. Let's take a look at the most important ongoing reporting and state tax filing requirements for New Hampshire LLCs.

New Hampshire LLC Annual Report

The State of New Hampshire requires you to file an annual report for your LLC with the New Hampshire Department of State (DOS). You can complete your annual report in one of three ways:

• File your annual report online with NH Quickstart.
• If there are no changes to your business or principal information, use One Click to file online.
• Request a paper form of your annual report from the DOS to mail in.

The annual report must be filed each year by April 1. As of 2023, the annual report filing fee for a New Hampshire LLC is $100.

State Business Taxes in New Hampshire

When it comes to income taxes, most LLCs are considered "pass-through tax entities." In other words, the responsibility for paying federal income taxes passes through the LLC itself and falls on the individual LLC members. By default, LLCs themselves don't pay income taxes, only their members do.

However, New Hampshire is one of only a very few states that doesn't have a personal income tax. Consequently, LLC members don't have to pay state income taxes on their share of the LLC's income. LLC members must still pay income tax to the federal government.

New Hampshire imposes other taxes that some LLCs are subject to. You must file your business tax returns and pay your business returns to the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration (DRA). You can file and pay your taxes online using the DRA's Granite Tax Connect portal.

Might pay business profits tax (BPT). Any for-profit business organization, including LLCs, with business activities in New Hampshire must pay the BPT if their gross business income exceeds a set threshold. The threshold is adjusted every other year to account for inflation. As of 2023, the threshold is $103,000. If your LLC is required to pay the BPT, you must make quarterly estimated payments throughout the year. For more details, including the current tax rate, see the BPT FAQ webpage on the DRA website.

Might pay business enterprise tax (BET). Any business enterprise, including LLCs, with business activities in New Hampshire must pay the BET if either their gross receipts or enterprise value tax base exceeds a set threshold. The threshold is adjusted every other year to account for inflation. As of 2023, the threshold for both gross receipts and the enterprise value tax base is $281,000. For more information, including the current tax rate, see the BET FAQ webpage on the DRA website.

You can find downloadable paper tax return forms in the business tax forms and instructions section of the DRA website.

You can learn more about the state business taxes by reading our article on the New Hampshire state business income tax.

New Hampshire Employer Taxes

If your LLC has employees or plans to, you must pay applicable employer taxes to the federal and state governments. To report and pay these taxes, you'll need to first apply for a federal employer identification number (EIN) from the IRS.

No withholding of employee wages. Because New Hampshire doesn't have a personal income tax, you don't need to withhold employee wages. There's no associated withholding tax for New Hampshire employers at the state level.

Unemployment insurance (UI) tax. While there's no state withholding tax, your LLC will still need to register to pay state UI taxes to the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security (NHES). You must register with the NHES as a New Hampshire employer within 30 days of providing employment. After you register, the NHES will send you a Determination of Liability and create an employer account for you. Every quarter, you must file tax and wage reports with the NHES. You can register as an employer and file your reports online through the NHES Web Tax system.

No Sales and Use Tax in New Hampshire

New Hampshire is one of just five states that doesn't charge sales tax. Consequently, unlike LLCs that sell goods in most other states, if your LLC sells goods in New Hampshire you don't need to worry about paying sales tax to the state.

LLC Registration in Other States

In some cases, LLC owners form their business in one state but do business in other states. For example, you might organize your LLC in New Hampshire but do business in Massachusetts. If you have business activities outside of New Hampshire (your home state), you might need to register or qualify to do business in the states where you have business activities.

Every state has rules for when an out-of-state (foreign) business must register. In general, you probably need to register as an out-of-state LLC if you have a physical presence in a state, hire employees in the state, or advertise directly to residents of the state. But you should check the state's laws around qualifying as a foreign business.

Check out our state guide to qualifying to do business outside your state to determine whether you need to register your LLC in another state.

More Information About New Hampshire LLCs

You can find helpful information about setting up and running your New Hampshire LLC on the DOS and DRA websites. If you're interested in more general guidance on managing and operating your LLC, you can read the various articles in the LLC section of our website. (If you want information about other states' LLC requirements, you can review our article on LLC tax and filing requirements.)

If you have questions about which taxes your LLC is responsible for, you should talk to a New Hampshire business attorney or tax professional. They can help you register for the applicable taxes, determine your tax liability, and meet filing deadlines.