Does New Hampshire Tax Retirement Income?

New Hampshire has no individual income tax, so Social Security benefits is not taxed at the state level.

New Hampshire does not tax Social Security benefits because it has no individual income tax.

With no state return to file, the only Social Security tax question for a New Hampshire retiree is the federal one: depending on combined income, up to 85% of benefits can be taxable on the federal return. Retirees comparing New Hampshire with a state that does tax benefits can see the full list in our guide to states that do not tax Social Security.

New Hampshire has no individual income tax, so pension income is not taxed at the state level.

Public, private, and military pension income is not subject to any New Hampshire income tax.

There is nothing to calculate. Through tax year 2024, residents paid a 3% tax on interest and dividends above $2,400 (single) or $4,800 (joint); that tax no longer exists, so taxable-account dividends are also free of state tax. What New Hampshire does tax is property (among the highest effective rates in the country), meals and rooms, and business profits.

Public and private pensions, annuities, and retirement-plan distributions do not always get the same treatment. The pension comparison lists which states exempt pensions broadly, partly, or only for certain plans.

New Hampshire has no individual income tax, so traditional 401(k) and IRA withdrawals is not taxed at the state level.

Traditional 401(k) and IRA withdrawals are not taxed by New Hampshire.

Because New Hampshire does not tax the withdrawal, the timing of Roth conversions and required minimum distributions is a purely federal decision for a New Hampshire resident. That is one reason retirees convert after establishing New Hampshire residency: the conversion income is taxed federally in the year of conversion, but no state layer is added on top.

Every state page on this site runs the same retiree profile so the states can be compared: $30,000 of Social Security, $40,000 withdrawn from a traditional 401(k), and a $20,000 private pension, $90,000 in total.

A retiree with $30,000 of Social Security, $40,000 from a 401(k), and a $20,000 private pension owes no New Hampshire income tax on the $90,000. Federal income tax still applies to the taxable portion.

There is no New Hampshire return to file for this profile and no state tax on any of the $90,000. A $150,000 lump-sum IRA withdrawal changes nothing at the state level, and a married couple with two pensions gets the same zero. The only line that would have mattered before 2025, a portfolio throwing off more than $2,400 of dividends and interest, is also untaxed now. The costs that do move for a New Hampshire retiree are property taxes and the 8.5% meals and rooms tax, not income tax.

The same $90,000 profile looks different a state line away. The rows below come from the reviewed 51-state table; each state name links to its own guide.

• Massachusetts: treats Social Security as exempt, pensions as partially taxed, and 401(k) and IRA withdrawals as taxed, with a top rate of 9.00% and many government pensions are exempt.
• Maine: treats Social Security as exempt, pensions as partially taxed, and 401(k) and IRA withdrawals as taxed, with a top rate of 7.15% and pension-income deduction tied to Social Security benefit.
• Vermont: treats Social Security as partially taxed, pensions as partially taxed, and 401(k) and IRA withdrawals as taxed, with a top rate of 8.75% and income-tested Social Security and pension exemptions.

Older guides still list New Hampshire as taxing investment income, which made it look worse than Florida for retirees living off a taxable portfolio. Since 2025 that distinction is gone.

Military retirement: Military retirement pay is not taxed by New Hampshire. See the military retirement tax map for every state's treatment.

Estate and inheritance tax: New Hampshire has no estate or inheritance tax. Its legacy and succession tax was repealed for deaths on or after January 1, 2003.

Selling a home or investments in New Hampshire: retirement-income rules do not cover capital gains. See New Hampshire capital gains tax before selling appreciated property or a brokerage position in the year you move or retire.

• Confirm the exclusion you are claiming. There is nothing to calculate. Through tax year 2024, residents paid a 3% tax on interest and dividends above $2,400 (single) or $4,800 (joint); that tax no longer exists, so taxable-account dividends are also free of state tax. What New Hampshire does tax is property (among the highest effective rates in the country), meals and rooms, and business profits.
• Part-year residents. If you moved into or out of New Hampshire during the year, retirement income is generally allocated to the period of residency, and the former state may still tax distributions received before the move. Document the move date, the new domicile, and where each distribution was received.
• No state withholding to set up. Custodians withhold federal tax only for a New Hampshire resident. If you moved from a state that taxes retirement income, stop that state's withholding once residency changes, and keep proof of the move date.
• Federal side. The federal return has its own rules: up to 85% of Social Security can be taxable, the temporary $6,000 federal senior deduction is available for 2025 through 2028 subject to income limits, and Roth conversions are taxed in the conversion year. State exemptions do not change any of that.
• Large one-time distributions. Property tax is the real budget line. Compare the town-level effective rate and any elderly exemption (which New Hampshire towns set locally with age and asset tests) before choosing where in the state to buy, because two towns ten miles apart can differ by thousands of dollars a year.

Comparing states before a move? Use the retirement taxes by state table and the moving states tax guide, and read retirement tax planning for how distributions, conversions, and a move are sequenced together.