“Cut my property taxes.” “I can’t keep up.” “I’m going to lose my home.”
If you serve in public life in New Hampshire, you hear this every day. And people are right. Property taxes are crushing working families, retirees on fixed incomes and young homeowners just trying to build a life here. Yet for decades, we’ve heard proposals that nibble at the edges — never solutions bold enough to actually fix the problem.
There is a real solution. It’s called the 3-3 Tax Savings Plan, and it would lower property taxes, stabilize school funding and restore fairness to our system.
The plan is simple: A flat 3% income tax with generous exemptions and a $3 true statewide school property tax, with a $250,000 exemption on residents’ primary homes.
Both are structured to be far more progressive than the system we use today — one that relies overwhelmingly on local property taxes, regardless of whether your income rises, falls, or disappears entirely.
Under our current system, if you lose your job, your spouse, get sick, or retire, your property tax bill does not care. It keeps climbing. The 3-3 Plan fixes that. Your contribution adjusts with your income.
Using 2024 data — the most recent complete statewide numbers — the results are striking.
Today, the state covers only about 20% of public school costs. The 3-3 Plan raises that to roughly two-thirds. Funding is distributed by student need, so communities with higher poverty or special education populations receive more support — but every district benefits.
Base per-pupil state aid would rise from about $4,300 to $10,000. Aid for children living in poverty increases from $2,300 to $5,000. Special education adequacy state aid jumps from $2,100 per student to $25,000. There is also a $1,000 transportation stipend per pupil.
The impact on property tax rates would be dramatic: Manchester’s school tax rate falls to $3, Claremont drops from $13.81 to $3.67, Concord falls by about one-third and Portsmouth drops by 10%.
Half measures will not solve this crisis. Marijuana revenue — $25 million to $35 million — won’t do it. Reinstating the Interest & Dividends Tax won’t do it. Reversing business tax cuts won’t do it. Even eliminating every school administrator in the state would save only about 5% — nowhere near enough.
A properly structured income tax will.
Under the plan, the first $35,000 of income per taxpayer is exempt. There is a $15,000 exemption per dependent and for heads of household. A two-parent household earning $100,000 with two children pays zero income tax — and sees their property taxes plummet. A single worker pays no income tax on their first $35,000.
Because income taxes don’t capture second homes or commercial property, the plan also includes a $3.00 statewide school tax with a $250,000 homestead exemption. A homeowner with a home assessed at $500,000 would pay just $750 in state school tax. Renters receive a $750 credit because they pay property taxes indirectly.
The revenue is dedicated exclusively to education and must replace — not supplement — local school taxes. If voters choose, that protection can be enshrined in the Constitution.
New Hampshire is at a breaking point. Housing costs are soaring. Young families are leaving. Retirees are squeezed. Meanwhile, our schools remain unevenly funded and our property tax system grows more unstable each year.
The 3-3 Plan is fair. It’s transparent. And it works.
You can test the plan yourself to see how your taxes are affected by going to nhtaxsavingscalculator.com and entering your assessed property value and income level from 2024. The math is public. Run your numbers. Then tell your legislators it’s time to finally fix New Hampshire’s broken tax system.