The NH Tax Calculator
People say New Hampshire is a low-tax state. That's an understatement. We built a full tax model for eight different industries across seven states, using real profit margins and real tax rates. The results aren't close.
New Hampshire wins every comparison. Every industry. Every state. The only question is how much.
What We Modeled
For each industry, we used real average net profit margins from NYU Stern's Damodaran database and built realistic company profiles: revenue, employees, payroll, commercial property, equipment, owner compensation, and taxable purchases.
Then we calculated every major tax a business pays in each state:
The Bottom Line
Here's what each industry saves per year by operating in New Hampshire instead of a neighboring state:
| Industry (margin) | From NJ | From NY | From MA | From CT | From RI | From ME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software (25%) | $147K | $46K | $75K | $55K | $76K | $73K |
| Manufacturing (7%) | $262K | $145K | $100K | $92K | $103K | $51K |
| Construction (6%) | $180K | $112K | $86K | $79K | $95K | $55K |
| Restaurants (9%) | $115K | $59K | $47K | $41K | $61K | $29K |
| Consulting (22%) | $74K | $32K | $45K | $36K | $45K | $38K |
| Retail (5.6%) | $51K | $32K | $24K | $22K | $28K | $15K |
| Trucking (3.8%) | $115K | $70K | $48K | $46K | $52K | $25K |
| Healthcare (10%) | $119K | $67K | $56K | $49K | $58K | $35K |
| Average | $133K | $70K | $60K | $53K | $65K | $40K |
Sources: Tax Foundation, NYU Stern (Damodaran), state DOR websites. Rates as of January 2026.
Read that NJ column. A manufacturer saves $262,000 a year. A trucking company saves $115,000. Even a small retail store saves $51,000. That's not a rounding error. That's payroll for two employees.
The Gut-Punch Number
Dollar amounts matter. But when you express the savings as a percentage of profit, the picture gets brutal for low-margin industries:
| Industry | Profit | From NJ | From NY | From MA | From CT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trucking (3.8%) | $228K | 50.5% | 30.9% | 21.1% | 20.1% |
| Manufacturing (7%) | $840K | 31.2% | 17.2% | 11.9% | 11.0% |
| Construction (6%) | $600K | 30.0% | 18.7% | 14.4% | 13.2% |
| Retail (5.6%) | $168K | 30.2% | 18.8% | 14.5% | 13.4% |
| Restaurants (9%) | $405K | 28.4% | 14.6% | 11.5% | 10.1% |
| Healthcare (10%) | $600K | 19.8% | 11.1% | 9.3% | 8.2% |
| Software (25%) | $2.0M | 7.4% | 2.3% | 3.8% | 2.7% |
| Consulting (22%) | $1.1M | 6.7% | 2.9% | 4.1% | 3.2% |
A New Jersey trucking company operating on 3.8% margins is sending half its annual profit to the state in taxes that it wouldn't pay in New Hampshire. That's not a policy disagreement. That's a reason to rent a U-Haul.
“When you cut taxes, spend money wisely, and slash overbearing, burdensome regulations, freedom and the economy flourish.”Governor Chris Sununu
Industry by Industry
Here's a closer look at each industry and where the tax gap hits hardest.
Manufacturing
$10 million in real estate and equipment makes property tax the dominant cost. NH's 1.86% rate on that property costs $186,000. In NJ, the same property costs $300,000. In NY, $250,000. NJ's unemployment insurance on 65 employees adds another $96,000 vs NH's $14,000.
Software Company
High margins mean high corporate tax. NH's 7.5% BPT on $2M profit is $150,000. NJ charges $203,000 on the same profit. But the real NH advantage is the owner: a $400,000 salary costs $0 in state income tax in NH. In NY, that's $25,571. In MA, $20,000. In NJ, $23,354.
Construction / Engineering
$5M in property (yard, equipment, heavy machinery) and $600K in taxable material purchases. NH's zero sales tax saves $33–48K per year depending on the state. Add property tax and UI savings, and a NJ construction company relocating to NH keeps an extra $180K.
Restaurant Group (3 locations)
Labor-intensive businesses with many employees feel unemployment insurance the most. NJ's UI on 55 employees: $73,150. NH's UI on 55 employees: $11,550. That single line item is a $61,600 gap. Add mandatory paid family leave taxes ($5–23K in other states, $0 in NH) and it's a blowout.
Trucking / Transportation
The thinnest margins in the study. $228,000 in annual profit gets hammered by property tax on trucks and equipment ($4M), sales tax on fuel and parts, and UI. In NJ, total state taxes eat $213K of that $228K profit. In NH, they eat $98K. The NJ operator keeps $15,000. The NH operator keeps $130,000.
Professional Services / Consulting
Almost no property, almost no taxable purchases. The entire tax gap is corporate income tax, PFML, and personal income tax on the owner. An owner taking $350K in NH pays $0 in state tax. In ME, they pay $24,531. In NY, $22,146. In NJ, $20,169.
Healthcare Practice
Medical equipment and office real estate ($3.5M combined) drive property tax costs. Thirty employees trigger significant UI and PFML costs in other states. NH's combined tax: $116K. NJ's combined tax: $235K. That's a $119K gap on $600K of profit.
Why New Jersey Is a Category of Its Own
New Jersey doesn't just lose to New Hampshire. It loses catastrophically. Three factors stack on top of each other:
Tax Foundation, 2026
NJ Dept. of Labor
Tax Foundation, 2026
Average savings across all eight industries by moving from NJ to NH: $133,000 per year. For a manufacturer: $262,000. That's not a tax break. That's a new production line.
The Hidden Taxes
The headline tax rates don't tell the full story. The taxes that people forget about often hurt the most.
Paid family and medical leave mandates. Massachusetts charges 0.88% of payroll. Rhode Island charges 1.1%. Maine charges 1.0%. New York charges 0.455%. Connecticut charges 0.5%. For a company with $4 million in payroll, that's $18–44K per year in a tax that New Hampshire simply doesn't have.
Sales tax on business purchases. Every piece of equipment, every office supply, every software license purchased in MA (6.25%), CT (6.35%), NY (8%), or RI (7%) comes with a tax that doesn't exist in New Hampshire. For a construction company buying $600K in materials, that's $33–48K per year.
The owner's personal income tax. This is the one people underestimate. A business owner taking $300K in salary pays $0 in state income tax in New Hampshire. The same owner in New York pays $18,721. In Maine, $20,956. In Connecticut, $16,850. In New Jersey, $16,984. That money comes directly out of the owner's pocket, every year, forever.
The Regional Scoreboard
| Tax | NH | MA | CT | NY | NJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate rate | 7.5% | 8.0% | 7.5% | 6.5–7.25% | 6.5–11.5% |
| Personal income tax | None | 5–9% | 3–6.99% | 4–10.9% | 1.4–10.75% |
| Sales tax | None | 6.25% | 6.35% | 8% | 6.625% |
| Comm. property (eff.) | 1.86% | 1.75% | 2.10% | 2.50% | 3.00% |
| UI wage base | $14,000 | $15,000 | $15,000 | $12,500 | $42,300 |
| Paid family leave | None | 0.88% | 0.5% | 0.455% | 0.28% |
| TF Business Climate | #3 | #43 | #47 | #49 | #50 |
Source: Tax Foundation, 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index
What This Means
Every year, New Hampshire's neighbors debate whether to raise rates, add surcharges, or expand mandates. And every year, business owners do the same math we just did. The ones who can move, do.
SynQor didn't leave Massachusetts for the weather. Analogic didn't pick Salem, NH for the nightlife. They ran the numbers. The numbers looked like the tables above. And they loaded the trucks.
The question for New Hampshire isn't whether this advantage exists. The data is unambiguous. The question is whether we keep it. An income tax or a sales tax doesn't just change one line in a spreadsheet. It changes every line. And the companies running these models are watching.
Run the Numbers for Your Business
Councilor Joe Sweeney built an interactive calculator so you can plug in your own revenue, employees, and property and see exactly what you'd save in New Hampshire.
Try the Calculator →Stay in the Fight
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