Housing

New Hampshire Standard and Optional Veterans’ Tax Credit

A $50 credit against the property tax bill everywhere in the state, which a town may raise to as much as $750, and to $1,000 from April 1, 2027 if it votes again. It needs 90 days of wartime service from a list that runs wider than the federal one, and an honorable discharge.

Also called: 72:28, standard veterans tax credit, optional veterans tax credit, $50, $750, $1,000, qualifying war or armed conflict, ninety days, 2026 chapter 96.

For: Veteran or service member, survivor.

Where it applies

Written for the jurisdictions listed here.

New HampshireState

RSA 72:28 is the oldest and most widely adopted of the New Hampshire veteran credits, and it is a credit rather than an exemption: RSA 72:29, IV defines a tax credit as "the amount of money to be deducted from the person's tax bill". It comes off the bottom line, not off the assessed value, which makes it worth the same to a veteran in a cheap house as in an expensive one. Two amounts. Paragraph I: "The standard veterans' tax credit shall be $50." That applies in every municipality with no vote required. Paragraph II: the optional veterans' tax credit, on adoption under RSA 72:27-a, "shall be an amount from $51 up to $750", and it "shall replace the standard veterans' tax credit in its entirety and shall not be in addition thereto". The statute currently prints paragraph II twice, with bracketed headers. The version effective until April 1, 2027 caps the band at $750. The version effective April 1, 2027, from 2026 chapter 96, caps it at $1,000. Read RSA 72:27-a, IV with that: the higher ceiling does not raise anybody's credit until the town votes for a higher number. Paragraph III puts the credit against "the property tax on the veteran's residential property", defined in RSA 72:29, II as the real estate the person occupies as a principal place of abode together with appurtenant land and buildings, including manufactured housing. One exception is written in: the surviving spouse of a resident who suffered a service-connected death may take the credit against the tax on any real property in the same municipality where the spouse lives, not only a residence. Who qualifies, from paragraph IV, is three groups. The first is a resident who is a veteran as defined in RSA 21:50 and "served not less than 90 days on active service in the armed forces of the United States in any qualifying war or armed conflict listed in this section, and continues to serve or was honorably discharged or an officer who continues to serve or was honorably separated from service", or that person's spouse or surviving spouse. Note two things. Training for active duty by a National Guard or reserve member counts as service for this subparagraph. And a person still serving qualifies, which is consistent with the RSA 21:50 definition. Note a third thing, which matters after August 31, 2026. This subparagraph still says "honorably discharged". Its neighbour, RSA 72:28-b, was pointed at the RSA 21:50 discharge standard by 2026 chapter 252 and now reaches a general discharge under honorable conditions and an uncharacterized discharge based on a service-connected injury. RSA 72:28 was not amended. So a veteran with a general discharge is inside the all veterans' credit and outside this one. The second group is a resident "who was terminated from the armed forces because of service-connected disability", or that person's surviving spouse. No wartime service and no 90 days is required on this route, and no rating percentage is named. The third is the surviving spouse of any resident who suffered a service-connected death. The wartime list in paragraph V is wider than the federal one in two places and it is worth checking against a discharge date. World War I runs April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918, extended to April 1, 1920 for service in Russia, with a bridging rule for service to July 2, 1921 where there was prior service in the war. World War II is December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946. The Korean Conflict is June 25, 1950 to January 31, 1955. The Vietnam Conflict is December 22, 1961 to May 7, 1975, and separately July 1, 1958 to December 22, 1961 for a resident who earned the Vietnam service medal or the armed forces expeditionary medal. The Persian Gulf War runs from August 2, 1990 to a date "thereafter prescribed by Presidential proclamation or by law", which has not happened, so it is still open. And there is a catch-all: any other war or armed conflict since May 8, 1975 in which the resident earned an armed forces expeditionary medal or a theater of operations service medal. That catch-all is the useful one. RSA 72:29, VII defines a theater of operations service medal as any medal, ribbon or badge awarded to a member of the armed forces establishing that the member served in a theater of war or armed conflict, "as determined by the director of the division of veterans services with written notification to the department of revenue administration". So the list of qualifying post-1975 operations is maintained administratively by the director, not by the legislature. If an assessor says an operation does not count, that is the office to ask. "Resident" is defined narrowly for this credit. RSA 72:29, I: a person who has resided in the state for at least one year preceding April 1 of the year the credit is claimed. Ownership is defined generously. RSA 72:29, VI extends "owner", "owned" and "own" to a person who has placed the property in a grantor or revocable trust, or who holds equitable title or a beneficial interest for life. The surviving spouse rule in RSA 72:29, V is unusually specific and cuts both ways: a remarried surviving spouse is not a surviving spouse, but "if the surviving spouse is later divorced, his or her status as the surviving spouse of a veteran is regained". If the spouse remarries and the new husband or wife dies, the spouse is the widow or widower of the latest spouse and does not revert to veteran survivor status.

Thresholds

Thresholds for New Hampshire Standard and Optional Veterans’ Tax Credit
Gate	Rule
90 days of active service in a listed qualifying war or armed conflict	RSA 72:28, IV(a) and V. Training for active duty by a National Guard or reserve member counts. The post-1975 route requires an armed forces expeditionary medal or a theater of operations service medal, the latter determined by the director of the division of veterans services under RSA 72:29, VII.
An honorable discharge, or still serving	RSA 72:28, IV(a) requires that the veteran "continues to serve or was honorably discharged", or for an officer was honorably separated. Unlike RSA 72:28-b and RSA 72:35, this section was not pointed at the wider RSA 21:50 discharge standard by 2026 chapter 252.
Or termination from service because of a service-connected disability, with no wartime test	RSA 72:28, IV(b) reaches a resident terminated from the armed forces because of service-connected disability, and that person’s surviving spouse. It names no rating and no wartime period.
New Hampshire residence for at least one year before April 1	RSA 72:29, I defines resident for RSA 72:28, 72:28-b and 72:28-c as a person who has resided in the state for at least one year preceding April 1 in the year the credit is claimed.
$50 everywhere; $51 to $750 where the town voted, and up to $1,000 from April 1, 2027	RSA 72:28, I and II. The optional credit replaces the standard credit entirely rather than adding to it. 2026 chapter 96 raises the band ceiling to $1,000 effective April 1, 2027, and RSA 72:27-a, IV requires a town that already adopted to vote again before the higher figure applies there.

Sources

Legislation

Law the tracker is watching for this entry. See the legislation tracker for every jurisdiction.

Laws of New Hampshire 2026, chapter 96 Raised three veteran property tax credit ceilings effective April 1, 2027

Watching a later dateEnactedFigure moved

Signed 2026-05-28Takes effect 2027-04-01

Introduced Done, 2026-01-07, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2026-01-07, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2026-02-05, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2026-04-09, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2026-05-28, step 5 of 6
In effect Scheduled for 2027-04-01, step 6 of 6

Expands benefits Raises the ceilings on the optional veterans', combat service and surviving spouse credits, though a town must vote again before its amount rises.

Amends RSA 72:28, II to raise the optional veterans’ tax credit band from $51 to $750 up to $51 to $1,000; RSA 72:28-c, II to raise the optional tax credit for combat service from $50 to $500 up to $50 to $750; and RSA 72:29-a, II to raise the optional surviving spouse credit from $701 to $2,000 up to $701 to $2,500. All three take effect April 1, 2027, and the published statutes print the current and future versions of each paragraph side by side under bracketed effective-date headers. Tracked as watching a later date, and flagged in substance for a reason particular to New Hampshire: none of these increases reaches a single veteran automatically. RSA 72:27-a, IV provides that an amendment to a credit amount applies in a municipality that previously adopted the provision only after the municipality complies with the adoption procedure, so a town that adopted a credit in an earlier year keeps its voted amount until a fresh warrant article or council vote passes. The act raises ceilings, not credits, and a veteran told their credit is going up in April 2027 should ask whether their town has voted.

Sponsor

Touches N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 72:28, II · N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 72:28-c, II · N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 72:29-a, II

Also touches

Official record

Updated

Last updated 2026-09-29.

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Disclaimer

VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.