New Hampshire State Revenues On Target For May; State Surplus Around $157 Million

By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH

CONCORD, NH — State revenues for May, the next-to-last month in the 2026 fiscal year, are slightly more than budget writers anticipated.

The state appears to be in good shape for the fiscal year with a revenue surplus of $156.7 million and $124 million more than last year. To date total revenues are $2.92 billion with one month to go in the fiscal year.

The state continues to depend on one-time money, including a $103.8 million tax amnesty program, gambling and interest payments on invested funds to run in the black, as many traditional revenue streams are in deficit for the year to date.

Business taxes, the single biggest state levy, are still less than anticipated for the year, and were $6.2 million below estimates for May, producing $26.4 million, $5.9 million less than last year.

For the year to date, business taxes have returned $947.2 million, which is $12.6 million below estimates, but $24.3 million more than last fiscal year.

According to the Department of Revenue Administration, the decrease was due to an increase in refunds as well as a decrease in tax payments.

The state’s second largest levy, the rooms and meals tax, produced $24.5 million in May, which was $400,000 below estimates, but $600,000 more than a year ago.

For the year to date, the levy has produced $318 million, which is $4.4 million less than estimates, but $9.5 million more than a year ago.

According to the DRA, taxable meals were down 0.1 percent and hotels were down 0.6 percent.

The Lottery Commission continues to roll along, producing $17.1 million in May, which is $1.7 million more than estimates and $700,000 more than a year ago.

For the year to date, the commission has produced $216.5 million, which is $55.8 million more than estimates and $44.1 million more than a year ago.

Lottery revenues go into the Education Trust Fund.

The new video lottery terminals continue to lag in their first year of operation, producing $4.1 million for May, which is $5.2 million below estimates. For the year to date, the terminals have produced $16 million which is $35 million below estimates.

The DRA said, after a late start, terminal revenues are expected to steadily increase each month as more units are installed.

The real estate transfer tax produced $14.6 million in May, which is $200,000 more than estimates, and the same as last year.

For the year to date, the tax produced $211 million, which is $15.3 million more than estimates and $27.2 million more than a year ago.

According to the DRA, for the month of May the number of transactions was down 11 percent from a year ago, while the values were down 3 percent.

Securities revenues for May were $12 million, which is $4.5 million more than estimates and $4.7 million more than a year ago.

Other levies and collections ahead of estimates for the month were the tobacco, insurance, and utility property tax, along with the tobacco settlement.

Below estimates for the month were the communications and beer taxes, court fines and fees, and liquor commission transfers.

The Highway Fund comprised largely of the gas tax and vehicle registrations produced $25.2 million for May, which is $2.4 million more than estimates and $3.2 million more than a year ago.

For the year to date, the fund totaled $248 million, which is $2.3 million more than estimates and $2 million more than a year ago.

The Fish and Game Fund, comprised of fishing and hunting licenses, collected $1.5 million for the month, which is $200,000 less than estimates and $900,000 less than a year ago.

For the year-to-date, the fund collected $12.3 million, which is $100,000 more than estimates and $700,000 less than a year ago.

Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.