New Hampshire Estate
Tax Calculator

New Hampshire does not impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. The state has no general income tax (though it previously taxed interest and dividends, that tax was fully repealed effective 2025).

New Hampshire's overall tax environment is among the most favorable in New England.

New Hampshire's lack of state transfer taxes contrasts sharply with its neighbors: Massachusetts imposes an estate tax with a $2 million cliff, Vermont imposes a flat 16% estate tax, and Maine imposes graduated rates. This makes New Hampshire a natural destination for estate-tax-motivated relocations from neighboring states.

Only the federal estate tax applies to New Hampshire estates. The **$15 million exemption with portability and 40%** top rate governs.

No state filing is required.

New Hampshire's trust laws have been modernized to compete with Delaware and South Dakota, including provisions for directed trusts, trust protectors, and favorable trust taxation. Assets held in a New Hampshire trust avoid state income tax (for qualifying trusts) and state estate tax.

New Hampshire is a common-law property state. The surviving spouse's homestead right and statutory allowances provide baseline protections that must be considered in estate tax planning.

The elective share provides the surviving spouse with one-third of the estate.

Lakefront property (particularly on Lake Winnipesaukee and Squam Lake) and ski area real estate represent significant estate values in New Hampshire. Evaluate whether these properties, combined with other assets, approach the federal threshold.

The potential TCJA sunset could make this analysis more urgent for estates in the $7-14 million range.

Evaluate federal estate tax exposure for New Hampshire estates. Use this calculator free for all jurisdictions.

Because New Hampshire does not impose a state estate tax, the federal estate tax is the only transfer tax layer. The current federal exemption of $15 million per individual (2025) shelters the vast majority of estates.

However, estates that exceed this threshold face a top marginal rate of 40%, making federal planning essential for high-net-worth New Hampshire residents.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) doubled the federal exemption effective 2018, but this increase is scheduled to sunset after 2025. If Congress does not act, the exemption will revert to approximately $7 million (adjusted for inflation).

For New Hampshire residents with estates between $7 million and $15 million, this sunset creates a planning window: transfers made now under the higher exemption will not be clawed back, even if the exemption later decreases.

The absence of a state estate tax in New Hampshire simplifies the analysis — there is no gap between state and federal exemptions to navigate, no separate state return to file, and no risk of double taxation. However, this also means there is no state-level deduction to offset federal liability.

Federal planning tools — marital deductions, charitable deductions, and the unified credit — carry the full weight of estate tax mitigation. Use the New Hampshire estate tax calculator to model current and post-sunset scenarios, and review the New Hampshire probate cost calculator to understand full settlement costs.

Federal portability allows a surviving spouse to inherit the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion (DSUE), effectively doubling the available federal exemption to $30 million for married couples. Electing portability requires filing Form 706 for the first-to-die spouse, even if no federal estate tax is owed — a step that is frequently overlooked when no tax appears to be due.

Because New Hampshire does not impose a state estate tax, there is no state-level portability concern. The federal election is the only one that matters, and it applies automatically to the surviving spouse's estate once made.

This is simpler than in estate-tax states, where the lack of state portability forces the use of bypass trusts to preserve both exemptions.

Despite this simplicity, portability has limitations. The DSUE amount is not indexed for inflation — it locks in at the value of the first spouse's unused exemption at the date of death.

If the surviving spouse remarries and the new spouse dies, the DSUE from the first spouse is lost. For New Hampshire families with significant wealth, bypass trusts may still be preferable to portability because they provide asset protection, generation-skipping benefits, and inflation-adjusted growth outside the surviving spouse's taxable estate.

Use the executor fee calculator and probate cost calculator to understand the full administration picture when comparing trust structures.

Without a state estate tax, New Hampshire residents focus planning efforts on the federal layer. The current $15 million exemption provides substantial shelter, but the scheduled TCJA sunset makes it prudent to accelerate planning.

Irrevocable trusts — including ILITs, SLATs, and QPRTs — remove assets from the taxable estate permanently. Once transferred, these assets and their future appreciation are outside the federal estate, regardless of future exemption changes.

Annual exclusion gifts of $19,000 per recipient (2025) remain the simplest estate reduction tool. Married couples can jointly gift $38,000 per recipient through gift-splitting.

Over a decade, a family gifting to four beneficiaries annually removes $1.44 million from the estate with no gift tax return required. Charitable deductions — whether through outright bequests, donor-advised funds, or charitable trusts — further reduce the taxable estate while supporting philanthropic goals.

GRATs and GRUTs (grantor retained unitrusts) transfer appreciation to beneficiaries at minimal transfer tax cost. For New Hampshire residents holding concentrated stock positions or rapidly appreciating assets, these vehicles are particularly efficient.

Family limited partnerships and LLCs may provide valuation discounts for gift and estate tax purposes, though the IRS scrutinizes these structures closely. Professional valuation and proper documentation are essential.

Model your federal exposure with the New Hampshire estate tax calculator, or find an estate planning attorney in New Hampshire for personalized guidance.