Delinquent Property Taxes in New Hampshire: The Rate Jumps to 14 Percent the Day the Lien Is Executed
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · New Hampshire · Last updated October 21, 2026
New Hampshire collection turns on one document, the real estate tax lien a town or city collector executes and reports to the register of deeds, and the date on that document is the clock everything else is measured from. Delinquent property taxes are taxes an owner did not pay by the date the law fixed, after which interest is added and the property can eventually be taken and sold to satisfy them. The taking happens in two moves. The collector first executes a lien, which in a municipality that has adopted RSA 80:58-86 runs to the municipality, county or state, because tax sales to private individuals are prohibited there (RSA 80:20-a). Then, after 2 years from that execution, the collector deeds the land to the lienholder if it has not been redeemed (RSA 80:76, I). The price of fixing it steps up at the same moment. Before the lien, unpaid taxes carry interest at 8 percent per annum from the December 1 due date (RSA 76:13). From the execution date, the whole recorded lien amount carries 14 percent per annum until payment in full (RSA 80:69). Both figures come from 2018, 282, and by section 7 of that act they apply to taxes assessed on or after April 1, 2019, while taxes assessed earlier carry the prior 12 and 18 percent rates. The deadline is not an anniversary: redemption stays open until the deed is given, and certified notice of the pending deeding comes 30 days ahead (RSA 80:77). Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in New Hampshire
Where are you with the unpaid property taxes?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
When can a New Hampshire town take my house for unpaid property taxes?
Not at an auction. The collector first executes a real estate tax lien, which it may do where taxes are not paid in full on or before December 1 next after assessment (RSA 80:59), after at least 30 days notice (RSA 80:60). Only after 2 years from that execution may the collector deed the land (RSA 80:76, I).
How much interest does it cost to redeem a New Hampshire tax lien?
One annual rate, not a rate bid down at a sale and not a flat penalty. Interest runs at 14 percent per annum upon the whole amount of the recorded lien from the date of execution to the time of payment in full (RSA 80:69), plus redemption costs and the cost of notifying mortgagees.
When exactly does the right to redeem end in New Hampshire?
When the collector hands over the deed, not on a fixed calendar date. The right runs at any time before a deed thereof is given by the collector (RSA 80:69), that deed cannot issue until 2 years from the lien execution (RSA 80:76, I), and 30 days of certified notice comes first (RSA 80:77).
When do New Hampshire property taxes become delinquent each year?
Interest is charged on taxes not paid on or before December 1 after their assessment (RSA 76:13), and where a bill goes out on or after November 2 interest waits until 30 days after mailing. Municipalities on semi-annual collection take a July 1 partial payment and the December 1 remainder (RSA 76:15-a, II).
New Hampshire delinquent property tax rules at a glance
New Hampshire hands the file to your own town or city rather than to an investor, so the creditor on the other side of the table is usually the municipality itself. Delinquent property taxes are taxes left unpaid past the statutory date, after which interest is added and the property can be taken and sold to satisfy the debt. Which chapter governs a given house depends on a ballot question the municipality voted on under RSA 80:87. Where the lien procedure was adopted, only a municipality, county or the state may acquire the lien and tax sales to private individuals are prohibited (RSA 80:20-a). What is unusual is the shape of the deadline. Two years from the lien execution is the earliest the collector may deed the land (RSA 80:76, I), not the moment the right to redeem expires, which runs until the deed is actually given (RSA 80:69).
An Exeter cape, traced from a missed December bill to the earliest possible deeding date
Work this one forward from the lien execution date. An Exeter owner leaves 4,870 dollars of 2025 taxes unpaid past the December 1 due date, so 8 percent per annum runs from then (RSA 76:13). The collector mails a notice of impending lien naming the last hour for payment (RSA 80:60), the hour passes, and the lien is executed on May 14, 2026, which is the figure the register of deeds records (RSA 80:64). From that date the whole recorded amount carries 14 percent per annum (RSA 80:69). The earliest the collector may deed the land to the town is May 14, 2028 (RSA 80:76, I), and a certified notice of the pending deeding must go out at least 30 days before that (RSA 80:77). What the office actually credits and when is for the collector's records.
Relevant Laws
RSA 76:13 (interest at 8 percent on unpaid taxes from December 1)
Provides that interest at 8 percent per annum shall be charged upon all taxes except resident taxes, except as otherwise provided by statute, not paid on or before December 1 after their assessment, with interest instead running from 30 days after mailing where a bill is sent on or after November 2 and before April 1 of the following year. It also lets the collector waive interest due in an amount up to 25 dollars with the approval and consent of the board of selectmen and the board of assessors.
RSA 76:15-a (semi-annual collection: a July 1 partial payment and a December 1 remainder)
Sets out how taxes are collected in municipalities that adopt semi-annual collection. Bills for the partial payment are mailed no later than June 15, the partial payment is due and payable July 1, and the remainder of the taxes assessed April 1 is due and payable December 1, with interest as prescribed in RSA 76:13 except that where the partial payment bills are mailed on or after June 1 interest waits until 30 days after the last bill is mailed.
RSA 76:15-aa (quarterly billing: July 1, October 1, January 2 and March 31)
Governs municipalities that have adopted both an optional fiscal year and quarterly billing. Tax payments are due July 1, October 1, January 2 and March 31 of each fiscal year, bills for the two quarterly payments are mailed no later than 30 days before their due dates, and paragraph IV charges interest at the rate of 8 percent per annum on all taxes not paid on or before their due dates or 30 days after mailing, whichever is later.
RSA 76:11-b (the arrearage summary the collector must send)
Requires the tax collector to provide to the owner as of April 1, or the current owner if known, a summary of all uncollected and unredeemed taxes on the property, which may be included on or with the tax bill or sent by separate mailing within 90 days of the due date of the final tax bill.
RSA 80:59 (when real estate becomes subject to the lien procedure)
Provides that the real estate of every person or corporation may be subject to the tax lien procedure by the collector in case all taxes against the owner shall not be paid in full on or before December 1 next after its assessment, provided that the municipality has adopted the provisions of RSA 80:58-86 in accordance with RSA 80:87, and that a real estate tax lien so imposed has priority over all other liens.
RSA 80:20-a and RSA 80:63 (only the municipality, county or state may take the lien)
Section 80:20-a provides that in a town or city which adopts RSA 80:58-86 the provisions of RSA 80 relative to tax sales shall not apply, that only a municipality, county or the state where the property is located may acquire a tax lien against land and buildings for unpaid taxes, and that tax sales to private individuals shall be prohibited. Section 80:63 restates that limit, excepting transfers under RSA 80:80, II-a.
RSA 80:87 (the ballot question that decides which route applies)
Sets the procedure by which a town or city adopts the real estate tax lien procedure, including a public hearing 15 to 30 days before the vote and the prescribed wording of the question, which explains that tax sales to private individuals for nonpayment of property taxes on real estate are replaced with a real estate tax lien procedure. Paragraph III provides that where it is adopted the tax sale provisions do not apply, and paragraph IV that where the question is not approved the tax sale provisions remain in effect.
RSA 80:60 (notice of the impending lien, at least 30 days ahead)
Requires the collector to give notice of the impending lien at least 30 days prior to its execution, by certified or registered mail return receipt requested to the last known post office address, stating the description of the property as committed to the tax collector, the date and time on which the last payment shall be accepted, and the amount of the tax, interest and costs to the date of executing the tax lien. The returned receipt or returned unclaimed notice is prima facie evidence of compliance.
RSA 80:61 and RSA 80:64 (when the lien is executed and recorded)
Section 80:61 provides that the affidavit of execution of the tax lien to the municipality, county or state is delivered to the municipality by the tax collector on the day following the last date for payment of taxes stated in the RSA 80:60 notice, and that the collector executes only a 100 percent common and undivided interest. Section 80:64 requires the collector, within 30 days after executing the lien, to forward to the register of deeds a certified statement including the total amount of each tax lien and the date and place of its execution, to be recorded and indexed.
RSA 80:69 (redemption, and interest at 14 percent per annum)
Provides that any person with a legal interest in land subject to a real estate tax lien may redeem by paying or tendering to the collector, at any time before a deed thereof is given by the collector, the amount of the real estate lien, with interest at 14 percent per annum upon the whole amount of the recorded lien from the date of execution to the time of payment in full, except that on partial payments in redemption under RSA 80:71 the interest is computed on the unpaid balance, together with redemption costs and costs for identifying and notifying the mortgagees. It also provides for tender to the collector then in office where the executing collector has died or left office.
2018, 282 (HB 1673), sections 1, 3 to 6 and 7 (the rate change and which taxes it reaches)
The enrolled text of the act that set the current figures. It amended RSA 76:13 from 12 to 8 percent, RSA 76:15-aa, IV to 8 percent, and RSA 80:32, 80:69 and 80:75, III from 18 to 14 percent. Section 7 is an express applicability clause providing that the interest rate of 8 percent established in sections 1 and 2 and the interest rate of 14 percent established in sections 3 to 6 shall apply to taxes assessed on or after April 1, 2019. Section 9 made the remainder of the act take effect April 1, 2019.
RSA 80:71 (partial payments in redemption, and the refund if the deed issues)
Allows any person with a legal interest in real estate on which a tax lien has been executed to make partial payments in redemption to the collector, who receives them and gives a receipt. If complete redemption is not made before a deed of the real estate is given to the lienholder, the collector must within 10 days direct the selectmen to issue an order upon the town treasurer refunding the partial payments, and the sum draws interest at 6 percent per annum if the order is not issued within 30 days.
RSA 80:75 (subsequent taxes the lienholder pays, also at 14 percent)
Defines subsequent tax as any tax assessed on the real estate after the tax for which it was liened, lets the lienholder pay it once the final installment for that year is delinquent, and requires notice to the register of deeds, the current owner and any previously notified mortgagee. Paragraph III provides that the amount of subsequent taxes paid, together with interest on such taxes at the rate of 14 percent per annum from the date of payment, shall be paid by the person making redemption in addition to the lien amount with interest and costs.
RSA 80:76 (the collector's deed after 2 years, and the indefinite extension)
Paragraph I provides that the collector, after 2 years from the execution of the real estate tax lien, shall execute to the lienholder a deed of the land subject to the lien and not redeemed, and sets out the form of deed. Paragraphs II and II-a let a municipal governing body refuse the deed for environmental liability or other undesirable obligations or liability risks. Paragraph III provides that where the deed is refused the tax lien remains in effect indefinitely and the taxpayer's right of redemption under RSA 80:69 is likewise extended indefinitely, with interest continuing to accrue.
RSA 80:77 and RSA 80:77-a (30 days notice of the pending deeding, to owner and mortgagees)
Section 80:77 requires the collector, at least 30 days prior to executing the deed under RSA 80:76, to notify the current owner or a representative or executor by certified mail return receipt requested of the pending deeding, and allows 10 dollars plus incidental expenses of printed notice. Section 80:77-a requires the same 30 days notice to each mortgagee, and that notice must contain the amount of the lien, the fees and expenses necessary for redemption, the expiration date of the right of redemption, and a warning that the interests of the taxpayer and each mortgagee will be extinguished by the tax lien deed.
RSA 80:81 (the collector's statutory fees charged as costs)
Lists the fees charged as costs in connection with executing the lien: 10 dollars for notice of the impending tax lien against a delinquent taxpayer covering all unpaid taxes listed under that name, 2 dollars for each parcel listed, 10 dollars for executing the lien against each delinquent taxpayer, 2 dollars for executing it against each parcel, 2 dollars plus the register's fees for notice of redemption or discharge, and 10 dollars plus recording fees for each deed made. Paragraph II also allows postage, notary fees, printed forms and other necessary and actual expenses, divided pro rata among the delinquent taxpayers.
RSA 80:80 (transfer of the lien, and disposal of deeded property)
Bars any transfer of a tax lien acquired by a town or city during the 2 year period allowed for redemption, and any conveyance of real estate taken in default of redemption, unless the town meeting or city council authorizes it. Paragraph II-a provides that authorized lien transfers go by public auction or advertised sealed bids, that no fractional interest may be sold, and that the transfer does not affect the right to redeem under RSA 80:69 or to make partial payments under RSA 80:71. Paragraph VI(c) lets the governing body convey the property back to a former owner on agreed written terms including a payment schedule.
RSA 80:88 and RSA 80:90 (what the municipality may keep, and the interpleader for the rest)
Section 80:88 limits a municipality's recovery from the sale of property acquired by tax deed to back taxes, interest, costs and penalty as defined in RSA 80:90, and requires it, within 60 days of settlement by the purchaser, to file a bill of interpleader with the superior court for the county, naming the former owners and all persons having a recorded interest, and to pay in all amounts above what it may retain, with no interpleader needed where there were no record lienholders and a single easily located owner. Section 80:90 defines the retained items, including an additional penalty equal to 10 percent of the assessed value of the property as of the date of the tax deed, adjusted by the equalization ratio.
RSA 80:89 (the former owner's 3 year right to repurchase)
Requires the municipality, at least 90 days before offering tax-deeded property for sale, to notify the former owner by certified mail with address service and return receipt requested and to copy any mortgagee notified under RSA 80:77-a. The former owner may give certified mail notice of intent to repurchase within 30 days of that notice or, if no notice is received, at any time within 3 years after the date of recording the tax deed, and must tender all back taxes, interest, costs and penalty within 30 days, except that the additional RSA 80:90, I(f) penalty does not apply where the property is or was the former owner's principal residence. Paragraph VII terminates the right 3 years after recording.
RSA 80:32 and RSA 80:38 (redemption and the deed on the older tax sale route)
These govern municipalities that have not adopted the lien procedure. Section 80:32 provides that any person with a legal interest in land so sold may redeem at any time before a deed is given by the collector, by paying the amount for which the land was sold with interest at 14 percent per annum upon that whole amount from the time of sale to the time of payment in full, together with redemption costs and mortgagee notification costs. Section 80:38, I provides that the collector, after 2 years from the sale, shall execute to the purchaser a deed of the land so sold and not redeemed.
RSA 80:78 (10 years to contest a lien execution or a collector's deed)
Provides that no action, suit or other proceeding shall be brought to contest the validity of an execution of the real estate tax lien, or any collector's deed based on it, after 10 years from the date of record of the collector's deed.
RSA 72:38-a (tax deferral for elderly and disabled owners at 5 percent)
Lets a resident property owner who is at least 65, or eligible under Title II or Title XVI of the federal Social Security Act for benefits for the disabled, who has owned the homestead for 5 consecutive years if elderly or one year if disabled, and who is living in the home, apply for a tax deferral. The assessing officials may grant a deferral of all or part of the taxes due plus annual interest at 5 percent where the tax liability causes undue hardship or possible loss of the property, limited to 85 percent of equity value, with a permanent application due by March 1 and the mortgage holder's approval required where the property is mortgaged.
City of Manchester Tax Collector: the real estate collection process
A municipal collector page showing how the statute is run in practice: bills are semi-annual under RSA 76:15-a, interest accrues at 8 percent per annum under RSA 76:13 after each due date, a notice of impending lien under RSA 80:60 goes out at least 30 days before execution, interest accrues at 14 percent per annum once the lien has been executed under RSA 80:69, the lien is recorded at the registry within 30 days, and two years after execution the collector executes a tax deed to the city under RSA 80:76, preceded by notices under RSA 80:77 and 80:77-a.
Town of Exeter Tax Collection: unpaid taxes, tax liens and deeding
A municipal collector page stating that interest is charged at 8 percent per annum past the due date of the bill, that a certified notice of intent to lien goes out at least 30 days before the lien is placed under RSA 80:60, that placing the lien combines principal, interest and costs into one new principal amount and changes the interest rate to 14 percent per annum, that owners then have 2 years to redeem before the collector deeds the property to the town under RSA 80:76, and that there are no formal property tax payment agreements, only partial payments.
New Hampshire General Court, Revised Statutes Online (currency of the code copy)
The publisher's landing page for the Revised Statutes, which states that the statutes are current through the 2026 regular legislative session and were last updated September 2026. It also hosts the List of Sections Affected for prior sessions, identifying the changes made to the statutes in each one. This is the basis for treating the 8 and 14 percent figures as the current rates rather than a stale edition.
Regional Variances
New Hampshire delinquent property tax rules at a glance
Sale mechanism
Lien first, then a collector's deed, with the municipality itself usually holding the lien. Where RSA 80:58-86 has been adopted, only a municipality, county or the state may acquire the lien and tax sales to private individuals are prohibited (RSA 80:20-a, RSA 80:63). The collector deeds the land to the lienholder after 2 years if it is not redeemed (RSA 80:76, I). A town meeting or city council may authorize transferring liens during the 2 year window at public auction or by advertised sealed bids, and the transferee becomes the lienholder without affecting the right to redeem (RSA 80:80, II-a). In a municipality that did not adopt, the older tax sale under RSA 80:19 to 80:42-a still applies (RSA 80:87, IV).
Delinquency dates
Interest runs on taxes not paid on or before December 1 after their assessment, except that where a bill is sent on or after November 2 and before April 1 of the following year it runs from 30 days after mailing (RSA 76:13). On semi-annual collection, a partial payment is due July 1 and the remainder December 1 (RSA 76:15-a, II). On quarterly billing, payments are due July 1, October 1, January 2 and March 31 (RSA 76:15-aa, II).
Charge before the lien
Interest rather than a percentage penalty: 8 percent per annum on the unpaid tax from the due date (RSA 76:13, RSA 76:15-aa, IV). The collector may waive interest due in an amount up to 25 dollars with the approval and consent of the board of selectmen and the board of assessors. The 8 percent figure applies to taxes assessed on or after April 1, 2019; earlier assessments carry the prior 12 percent rate (2018, 282:1 and 282:7).
Time before the property can be taken
No auction of the property. The lien may be executed where taxes are not paid in full on or before December 1 next after assessment (RSA 80:59), after at least 30 days notice of the impending lien (RSA 80:60), with the affidavit of execution delivered the day following the last payment date stated in that notice (RSA 80:61). The collector may not deed the land until 2 years from that execution, and must give a further 30 days notice first (RSA 80:76, I, RSA 80:77).
Redemption period and clock
The clock starts on the date the lien was executed, which the collector reports to the register of deeds within 30 days (RSA 80:64), not on the December 1 delinquency date. Redemption is open at any time before a deed thereof is given by the collector (RSA 80:69), and the deed cannot issue until 2 years from execution (RSA 80:76, I), so 2 years is the floor rather than the expiry. Where the governing body refuses the deed, the right is extended indefinitely with interest still accruing (RSA 80:76, III).
Redeemer's charge
A single statutory annual rate, not bid down, with no minimum return and no flat penalty: 14 percent per annum upon the whole amount of the recorded lien from the date of execution to the time of payment in full, computed on the unpaid balance where partial payments are made under RSA 80:71 (RSA 80:69). That figure applies to taxes assessed on or after April 1, 2019; for earlier assessments the prior rate was 18 percent (2018, 282:5 and 282:7).
Other redemption costs
Redemption costs and the costs of identifying and notifying mortgagees (RSA 80:69). The collector's fees are charged as costs: 10 dollars for the impending lien notice per taxpayer and 2 dollars per parcel, 10 dollars for executing the lien per taxpayer and 2 dollars per parcel, and 2 dollars plus register's fees for the discharge notice (RSA 80:81, I), plus postage, notary fees and printed forms (RSA 80:81, II). Add 10 dollars for the impending deed notice (RSA 80:77), reasonable title search costs plus 10 dollars for the mortgagee notice (RSA 80:77-a), and any subsequent year's tax the lienholder paid with 14 percent from its payment date (RSA 80:75, III).
Notice to the owner
An arrearage summary on or with the tax bill or within 90 days of the final bill's due date (RSA 76:11-b). Notice of the impending lien at least 30 days before execution, by certified or registered mail return receipt requested, stating the last date and time for payment (RSA 80:60). Notice of the pending deeding at least 30 days before the deed, by certified mail return receipt requested (RSA 80:77), with the same notice to each mortgagee stating the expiration date of the right of redemption and warning that both interests will be extinguished (RSA 80:77-a). Mortgagees are identified and notified within 60 days of execution (RSA 80:65).
Where to redeem
The municipality's collector of taxes, by paying or tendering the money to that collector, or to the collector then in office if the one who executed the lien has died, been removed or been discharged from the bond (RSA 80:69). On complete redemption the collector gives a receipt and pays the money over to the lienholder on demand (RSA 80:72), and notifies the register of deeds within 30 days (RSA 80:70).
Surplus proceeds
Claimable, through the superior court. On a sale of tax-deeded property the municipality may recover only back taxes, interest, costs and penalty as defined in RSA 80:90, which includes a penalty of 10 percent of the assessed value as of the date of the deed adjusted by the equalization ratio. Within 60 days of settlement it must file a bill of interpleader naming the former owners and all recorded interests and pay the excess into court (RSA 80:88). No interpleader is needed where there were no record lienholders and a single easily located owner. The duty ends 3 years after the deed is recorded (RSA 80:89, VII).
Payment plan
No statutory installment plan suspends the deeding. Partial payments in redemption may be made in any amount and reduce the interest base, but are refunded if complete redemption is not made before the deed is given (RSA 80:69, RSA 80:71). A municipality that has voted for it may accept prepayment of taxes not yet billed, up to 2 years ahead and without interest to the taxpayer (RSA 80:52-a). Owners at least 65 or eligible for Social Security disability benefits may seek a deferral of taxes due plus 5 percent annual interest, capped at 85 percent of equity value (RSA 72:38-a). After a deed, the governing body may convey back to a former owner on an agreed payment schedule (RSA 80:80, VI(c)).
Frequently Asked Questions
Other New Hampshire guides
Adult Guardianship in New Hampshire
Adverse Possession in New Hampshire: Twenty Years and No Tax Element
Asset Protection Planning in New Hampshire (2026)
Dealing With Debt Collectors in New Hampshire (2026)
Expunging a Criminal Record in New Hampshire (2026)
Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in New Hampshire
Ready to Draft Your Document?
Get AI-powered legal documents with attorney review included. Plans start at $39.99/mo.
Get Started