New Hampshire
Rising property taxes can overwhelm aging NH residents. A state rep wants to change that
Mike Belcher turned on his ringer and apologized as he sat down to testify. His wife was due to go into labor and he didn’t want to miss a call.
The lawmaker, a Wakefield Republican, has a strong concern that doesn’t affect his young family just yet – older New Hampshire residents losing their houses due to rising property tax bills.
“I do not want to see our seniors being evicted from modest homes they already own because they can’t afford outrageous taxes being levied,” he said.
With that, Belcher proposed a solution: a broad sweeping property tax exemption for homeowners over the age of 72.
House Bill 101, which Belcher sponsored with Loudon Republican representative Mike Moffett as a cosponsor, introduces an elderly home exemption that local communities could vote to adopt.
It would deduct $530,000 from a property’s assessed value – the current median home price in New Hampshire – for homeowners 72 or older. In other words, anyone with a home below this amount in communities that enact the exemption would not pay local property taxes.
Unlike other tax exemptions or credits where income is a factor for eligibility, the only two qualifying requirements for Belcher’s plan are that a resident has lived in New Hampshire for at least 10 consecutive years and owned the property for at least two years.
“This bill is designed to create a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “It is an effort to create a set of circumstances tied to advanced age under which you would no longer have to pay a yearly rent check to the government just to keep the home that you probably already own outright.”
Belcher knows the proposition is generous and would prove costly to local coffers. Yet he sees a clear trade-off: older family members would be incentivized to age in place at home, as opposed to a county nursing home facility or more expensive private retirement community.
The average life expectancy in New Hampshire is 78.5 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on 2021 data, the most recent available.
With that, the age requirement of 72 years old was intentional, said Belcher.
“It almost seems arbitrary, except there was an awful lot of research in order to try to balance the desire to limit the tax of an elderly person so they can stay in their home versus the immediate impact to local revenues,” he said.
New Hampshire already offers a senior exemption – with different deductions available for residents who qualify beginning at 65 years old. Residents over the age of 65 – or those receiving Social Security disability – who have owned a home for at least five years can also defer payment of their tax bill for an annual rate of 5 percent with one caveat – the deferred taxes can not exceed 85 percent of the property value.
With exemptions, though, it’s up to local communities to adopt how much should be forgiven and set income guidelines beyond the state’s suggested metric of $13,400 for a single person and $20,400 for a married couple.
Bow offers one of the most generous elderly exemptions statewide – with deductions starting at $122,000 for homeowners over the age of 65. Income eligibility also exceeds the state baseline with residents needing to make no more than $38,500 if single and $50,000 if married.
In 2023, the town of Bow exempted $4.78 million in taxes through the elderly option. As a whole, communities around the state reduced assessments by $1.13 billion for qualifying homeowners, according to data from the Department of Revenue Administration.
Rep. Eleana Colby, a Bow Democrat and vice chair of the town select board, questioned Belcher how his proposal would add to the billion dollars of property already exempt.
That estimate is hard to predict, due to the numerous hypothetical factors at play, said Belcher. First, a town has to vote – either by a city council or by warrant at Town Meeting – to adopt the exemption. After that, homeowners must apply and be approved to receive the benefit.
“I have no doubt that it would increase it,” he said. “By exactly how much, I don’t know.”
To Brodie Deshaies, a legislative advocate for the New Hampshire Municipal Association, said giving towns like Bow the power to adopt or refuse these exemptions is the type of local control the association typically supports. But that doesn’t mean they support every local option.
With Belcher’s proposal, the inevitable shift in local tax distribution for towns that chose to adopt the exemption is cause for concern.
“There would be a large tax burden shift from those who would now be exempted from paying property taxes to those who will have to continue to pay property taxes,” Deshaies said.
State law in New Hampshire allows for homeowners to lose ownership of their properties if they don’t pay their taxes for three years. A Monitor analysis of 10 years of tax deed transfers – where municipalities claimed ownership of a property – found that nearly 4,000 properties were impacted from 2013 to 2023.
But homeowners impacted were often in the same circumstance – they had retired, paid off their mortgage and were living on a fixed income. After a medical incident or family death, their income shifted and they fell behind, risking ownership of their property, which was often their only asset of value.
This is the scenario that Belcher is trying to avoid with his bill, guaranteeing the right for aging New Hampshire residents to retain ownership of their property regardless of their income in retirement.
But to Deshaies, the trade-off of paying taxes is an inherent part of life.
“Tax exemptions are popular. No one likes paying taxes,” he said. “But we recognize we have to pay taxes for basic services that society needs to function.”
Property tax deferrals: Applications for tax deferrals are due February 28 and application materials can be found online at: https://www.revenue.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt736/files/documents/pa-30_pro.pdf or requested by calling the Department of Revenue Administration at 603-230-5001. Town and city offices may also have copies available upon request.
Property tax abatements based on hardship or poverty: Property taxes may be reduced or waived (“abated”) by a town or city if the taxpayer is able to show an inability to pay taxes.
The deadline for applying for an abatement with the assessors or Selectmen is March 1 following the final tax bill for the year. The assessors or Selectmen may also abate prior year’s taxes for good cause.
Applications are available through the Board of Land and Tax Appeals: https://www.btla.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt601/files/inline-documents/sonh/abatement.pdf or by calling the Board of Tax and Land Appeals at 603-271-2578. Town or city offices may have copies available upon request and some municipalities mail to and require taxpayers to complete an inventory form by April 15 of the preceding year as a precondition to an abatement request.
Tax exemptions and credits: The deadline for applying for tax exemptions or credits (including exemptions for older homeowners and credits for veterans, and optional exemptions for people who are legally blind, deaf/hearing impaired, or who have other disabilities) for 2025 property taxes is April 15, 2025.
Applications can be found through the Department of Revenue and Administration: https://www.revenue.nh.gov/resource-center/current-year-forms-and-instructions under property or by emailing Forms@dra.nh.gov or calling the Forms Line at (603) 230-5001.
Homeowners who need advice about property tax relief can contact 603 Legal Aid by submitting an online application at www.603LegalAid.org or by calling (603) 224-3333 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
New Hampshire
Texting and driving? Lawmakers want you to pay steeper fines – Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
If you use your cell phone while driving, you may want to think twice — unless you’re willing to pay twice as much.
A bipartisan bill, backed by state law enforcement, would institute higher fines for drivers who use handheld devices behind the wheel. In some cases, motorists could lose their licenses for a month or more.
Sen. Donovan Fenton, a Democrat from Keene who serves on Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s Highway Safety Task Force, pointed to state crash data as reason for the change proposed in his Senate Bill 649
The number of traffic deaths in New Hampshire has crept up over the past few years. In 2023, there were 127 fatalities, at least six of which stemmed from distracted driving, Fenton said.
“Distracted driving is becoming more pronounced, more dangerous and more deadly,” he said at a public hearing last week. “The current penalties are not enough to change behavior, particularly with repeat offenses.”
There were 133 traffic deaths in 2024 and 138 in 2025, according to the Office of Highway Safety. In 2026 so far, thirteen people have died in car crashes.
Fenton’s bill would increase the amount someone has to pay for violating the prohibition on cell phone use while driving. First-time offenders would pay $250 instead of the current $100, and on the second violation in two years, the offender would pay $500. For the third offense in two years, they would pay $750 and lose their license for 30 days. All those penalties could increase if cell phone use behind the wheel is found to be a contributing factor in a car crash.
Current law allows hands-free operation of a cell phone via Bluetooth but prohibits handheld device use. The state collected more than $568,000 in related fines and penalty assessments in the most recent fiscal year.
Distracted driving was a contributing factor in 4,520 of the state’s nearly 28,000 non-fatal crashes in 2023, according to the Department of Safety. That’s a little over 16%, though a report from the task force said officials suspect distracted driving is difficult to track and underreported in more serious collisions. Cell phones are a common culprit in distracted driving.
Ayotte’s task force has highlighted other policies that it says would increase public safety, including doubling the license suspension period for refusing a breathalyzer test.
In the first 10 weeks of 2026, three-quarters of the people arrested for impaired driving in New Hampshire refused to take a breath alcohol test, Ayotte said in a recent press release. The governor has waged a public campaign for the proposed law, Senate Bill 260, which she says would disincentivize drivers from refusing the test.
What’s next: Senate Bill 649 breezed through the Senate earlier this year. The House of Representatives is set to vote on it in the coming weeks after a committee recommended its passage almost unanimously.
New Hampshire
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Are you ready for your mornings reimagined?
Hi! I’m Garret Doll (like Ken, but less hair and not as handsome), and I’m teaming up with Katie Killourhy for 97.5 WOKQ’s new morning show, Garret & Katie in the Morning!
You ready to join us?
So, Who Is Garret Doll?
I’ve learned something about myself… I don’t like clutter. Unless it’s my clutter. Then it’s not clutter, it’s a system.
That’s probably a pretty accurate starting point for who I am. A little self-aware, a little stubborn, and definitely someone who knows what he likes. I like tacos, steak tips and lobster rolls. (Fun fact: I’ve never had a lobster roll until moving here.)
How It All Started
This whole radio thing started for me when I was 15. My mom helped me land a job at a radio station in my hometown (cause she worked there), and I fell in love with radio. I’ve never left this career.
I’ve spent my entire adult life doing this job, and I still feel like I lucked into the best job in the world. No two days are the same. One minute you’re talking about life, the next you’re playing your favorite songs, then suddenly you’re out in the community meeting people who feel like friends you’ve known forever.
Most of my career took me to places like Denver, Charleston, and Richmond. Now, somehow, it’s brought me here to New Hampshire.
Honestly, I look at it like a “this is exactly where I’m supposed to be” moment. It’s a new start on life, so to speak. You will learn more about that as we get to know each other and you listen to the show on 97.5 WOKQ.
Why WOKQ Matters to Me
WOKQ is one of those stations you hear about in radio. It’s got history. It’s got heart. And it’s built around a community that actually cares about local connection and country music throughout New England.
That matters to me.
I don’t want to just “be on the radio.” I want to be part of what’s happening here. The towns, the events, the random conversations at a bar, the places you tell your friends they have to check out.
That’s the fun part of all of this.
What I’m All About
I’m a pretty simple dude:
I’m the guy who would give you the shirt off my back
Glass half full (even when it probably shouldn’t be)
Always smiling
Authentic… sometimes too authentic
And yeah, there are definitely moments where I say something before thinking it all the way through.
So if you ever hear me and think, “Did he really just say that?” There’s a decent chance the answer is yes.
Some Quick Hits About Me
Coffee order: Americano
Drink Order: Old Fashioned or just a good local beer
Favorite food: Tacos (not even close)
Guilty pleasure show: The Big Bang Theory
Pet peeve: Close talkers… and people who are late
Random fact: I once got a tattoo of Dopey from the Seven Dwarfs because a girl I was dating wanted one. We got them together. (Don’t worry, it’s been covered up by a microphone and a rose… and I haven’t heard from her in about 20 years)
Let’s Do This Together
I’m new to town, which means I could really use your help.
Where’s your go-to spot when you just want to get outside? Best place to hike? Kayak? Local bar? Just disappear for a few hours?
READ MORE: Hidden Gems in New Hampshire: 5 Secret Places Worth Discovering
Drop me your favorites, because if there’s one thing I know, it’s that the best recommendations don’t come from Google… they come from you! The ones who actually live it.
And I’m ready to start exploring and getting to know you. So make sure to tune in to Garret & Katie in the Morning! See you there.
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