The state’s top law enforcement agency is investigating Vail Resorts for charging a sales tax to New Hampshire residents purchasing the company’s seasonal “Epic Pass,” Gov. Kelly Ayotte announced Monday.
“New Hampshire is proud to have no sales tax, and we’re not going to let an out-of-state company try to sneak one in,” Ayotte said in a statement. “The Attorney General will thoroughly investigate Vail Resorts’ attempt to charge a sales tax on Granite State skiers. We’ll continue to ensure New Hampshire is America’s best place to ski — sales tax-free.”
The Colorado-based company disclosed in March that it will be adding a 3.2% surcharge to all multi-resort “Epic Pass” sales, including those sold and exclusively used in New Hampshire.
Ayotte, a former New Hampshire Attorney General, announced the investigation into “Vail’s Not-So-Epic Sales Tax,” earlier this week.
Vail Resorts owns and operates 42 mountain resorts in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. In New Hampshire, the company runs Attitash, Crotched Mountain and Wildcat Mountain. It also operates Mount Sunapee under a leasing agreement with the state.
“We are pleased to provide a wide variety of options for our guests to access our resorts by offering both lift tickets that are resort-specific and passes that provide access to multiple resorts,” Vail Resorts said in a statement. “Vail Resorts does not charge tax on New Hampshire goods or services, including on lift tickets that provide access to our New Hampshire resorts. The Epic Pass and Northeast Value Pass include access to resorts outside of New Hampshire, so those pass products do include the sales and admission taxes that we are legally required to charge for those resorts.”
For a Northeast Value Pass, Vail Resorts charges $662 for adults and $497 for teens and seniors for the upcoming 2026-27 season. By comparison, a White Mountain Superpass — which includes skiing at Bretton Woods, Cannon Mountain, Cranmore Mountain Resort and Waterville Valley — costs $1,375 for adults and $799 for teens.
“It’s important to note that our passes are priced very competitively, even including the allocated sales tax, and provide more choice than other season passes with access to only New Hampshire resorts,” Vail Resorts said. “We value our relationship with our New Hampshire guests and community and are in contact with the Governor’s Office and Attorney General’s offices.”
