New Hampshire LLC formation: a practical guide
$100 to file, $100 annual report, no sales tax — and two business-level taxes you need to know about.
Contents 13 sections
- Why New Hampshire
- At a glance
- Step 1 — Pick a name
- Step 2 — Appoint a registered agent
- Step 3 — File the Certificate of Formation
- Step 4 — Operating agreement
- Step 5 — EIN and BOI
- Step 6 — New Hampshire business registrations
- Step 7 — Annual report
- Taxation — the BPT and BET
- When New Hampshire is the right answer
- When it is not
- The honest summary
ew Hampshire is the Northeast's quiet favorite. It has no general sales tax (one of only five states), no personal income tax on wages, and a well-run Corporation Division with a usable online filing system. For Granite State founders — consultants, trades, small manufacturers, craft brewers — this is a friendly place to form.
Why New Hampshire
The catch, and it is not a secret, is that New Hampshire replaces the tax revenue other states collect through sales and income tax with two business-level taxes: the Business Profits Tax (BPT) and the Business Enterprise Tax (BET). They are not large, and for very small LLCs they are often zero, but they exist and they require filings.
At a glance
| Filing fee (LLC) | $100 |
| Annual report fee | $100, due April 1 |
| Secretary of State | sos.nh.gov/corporation |
| State sales tax | None |
| Personal income tax on wages | None |
| Interest & dividends tax | Being phased out (0% from 2025) |
| Business Profits Tax (BPT) | 7.5% on net profits (above filing threshold) |
| Business Enterprise Tax (BET) | 0.55% on enterprise value (above filing threshold) |
| Publication requirement | None |
| Registered agent required | Yes — New Hampshire street address |
Step 1 — Pick a name
Your LLC name must include "Limited Liability Company," "L.L.C.," or "LLC." It must be distinguishable on the SOS register. Use the NH QuickStart business search before filing. Name reservation is $15 for 120 days.
Step 2 — Appoint a registered agent
New Hampshire calls this an "agent for service of process." The agent must have a physical New Hampshire street address. You may serve as your own agent if you live or have a place of business in NH; otherwise use a commercial agent ($50–$150/year).
Step 3 — File the Certificate of Formation
New Hampshire uses a Certificate of Formation (Form LLC-1). File online through QuickStart, the NH Corporation Division's portal. The certificate requires:
- LLC name
- Nature of primary business
- Principal office address
- Registered agent's name and NH address
- Whether the LLC is member-managed or manager-managed
- Names and addresses of members or managers
- Signature of an authorized person
Online filings are typically processed in 3–7 business days. Paper filings take longer.
Step 4 — Operating agreement
NH does not require a written operating agreement. For single-member LLCs, a written agreement is still the most important thing you can do to preserve the liability shield; courts look for evidence that the entity was treated as separate from the owner.
Step 5 — EIN and BOI
Federal EIN: free and direct from the IRS. Ten minutes with an SSN or ITIN.
File a BOI report with FinCEN within 30 days (or 90 days for entities formed in 2024). This reports the individual beneficial owners of the entity.
Step 6 — New Hampshire business registrations
Depending on what you sell and whether you have employees, you may also need to:
- Register with the Department of Revenue Administration for BPT/BET filings.
- Register with NH Employment Security for unemployment insurance tax.
- Register for Meals & Rooms tax if you operate a restaurant, hotel, or short-term rental.
Step 7 — Annual report
The annual report is due April 1 every year, fee $100, filed online. Miss it and the state assesses a $50 late fee and will administratively dissolve the LLC if the failure persists into the following year.
Taxation — the BPT and BET
New Hampshire has no sales tax and no wage income tax, but two business-level taxes apply above filing thresholds:
- Business Profits Tax (BPT) — 7.5% of taxable business profits. Filing threshold: $92,000 of gross business income (2024); below that, no return required. Applies to LLC net profit after reasonable compensation.
- Business Enterprise Tax (BET) — 0.55% of the "enterprise value tax base" (wages + interest + dividends paid). Filing threshold: $298,000 of gross business receipts OR $298,000 of enterprise value tax base (2024).
BET paid can be credited against BPT, so in practice businesses do not pay both on the same dollar. For most micro-LLCs below the thresholds, no NH business return is required at all.
The Interest & Dividends Tax that historically applied to NH individuals (5% on I&D income) was repealed effective January 1, 2025 — there is now no state-level I&D tax.
When New Hampshire is the right answer
- You or your business actually operate in New Hampshire.
- You sell physical products to consumers and value the lack of state sales tax (retailers love this).
- You are a service business below the BPT/BET thresholds — often no NH tax return at all.
- You want a low-friction, well-run state filing system.
When it is not
- You have no NH nexus. Foreign-qualifying from out of state pays fees twice and provides no tax advantage — your home state taxes you anyway.
- You want strong privacy. NH publishes members and managers on the annual report.
- You are taking institutional venture capital — Delaware is still the default.
The honest summary
For anyone living or operating in New Hampshire, this is a sensible place to form. The $100/$100 fee structure is not the cheapest in the country, but the state runs a competent Corporation Division, the lack of sales tax is genuinely valuable for retail, and the BPT/BET filing thresholds exclude most micro-businesses. Out-of-staters have no business forming here.