HB 1597 New Hampshire House · 2026 Regular Session

relative to business profits tax expense deductions.

HB 1597 raises the maximum deductible amount for business property purchases from $500,000 to $2.5 million for property placed in service on or after January 1, 2027. This directly affects businesses making significant capital investments in equipment or property, aligning New Hampshire’s tax code with federal deduction limits. The key provision modifies the expense deduction cap under the Business Profits Tax statute, allowing larger upfront deductions for qualifying assets. The bill takes effect 60 days after passage, with potential revenue impacts noted as indeterminable starting in fiscal year 2027.

Issues: ✗ Budget & Taxes

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Governor

Introduced Dec 10, 2025 Last action May 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Amended by the Senate → As Amended by the Senate (2nd) · 2 edits

MINOR

The second Senate amendment to HB 1597 replaces a formula-based cap increase with explicitly stated dollar caps for each specific year. Instead of saying the cap starts at $1,000,000 in 2027 and increases by $500,000 every two years until reaching $2,500,000, the bill now lists each cap individually: $500,000 for property placed in service on or after January 1, 2018; $1,000,000 for 2027; $1,500,000 for 2029; $2,000,000 for 2031; and $2,500,000 for 2033. The practical tax outcome is the same, but the amendment makes each threshold explicit and clarifies that the existing $500,000 cap continues to apply to property placed in service between 2018 and 2026.

REQUIREMENT

Replaced a formula-based cap increase (starting at $1M in 2027, increasing by $500K every 2 years until reaching $2.5M) with explicitly stated caps for each specific year: $500,000 (2018+), $1,000,000 (2027+), $1,500,000 (2029+), $2,000,000 (2031+), and $2,500,000 (2033+).

SCOPE

Explicitly preserved the existing $500,000 cap for property placed in service on or after January 1, 2018, making clear this baseline cap remains in effect for that period rather than being superseded by the new higher caps.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 7, 2026

Upper · Passed

Ought to Pass with Amendment #2026-1640s, MA, VV; 05/07/2026; SJ 11

upper

May 7, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee Amendment # 2026-1640s, AA, VV; 05/07/2026; SJ 11

upper

Apr 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-1640s, 05/07/2026, Vote 7-0; SC 17

upper

Apr 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Ought to Pass with Amendment #2026-1322s, MA, VV; Refer to Finance Rule 4-5; 04/09/2026; SJ 8

upper

Apr 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee Amendment # 2026-1322s, AA, VV; 04/09/2026; SJ 8

upper

Apr 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-1322s, 04/09/2026; Vote 5-0; CC; SC 13

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Introduced

Introduced 03/12/2026 and Referred to Ways and Means; SJ 7

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Ought to Pass: MA VV 03/12/2026 HJ 8 P. 81

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Minority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Majority Committee Report: Ought to Pass 01/28/2026 (Vote 13-6; RC) HC 10 P. 75

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Full Committee Work Session: 01/28/2026 01:00 pm GP 159

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

==CANCELLED== Full Committee Work Session: 01/26/2026 01:00 pm GP 159

lower

Dec 10, 2025

Introduced

Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Ways and Means HJ 1 P. 27

lower

1 primary · 5 co-sponsors