New Hampshire Meals and Rooms Tax: how to register and file (2026)

Every New Hampshire restaurant collects the Meals and Rooms Tax from its customers and sends it to the Department of Revenue Administration (DRA). The rate is 8.5 percent, down from 9 percent on October 1, 2021, and the state has no general sales tax to confuse the matter. This guide, checked in October 2026, walks through how a new restaurant registers, what is and is not taxable, how tips and service charges are treated, and when returns are due. It is general information, not tax advice. Confirm each point with the DRA or your accountant.

Who must collect the tax?

Anyone selling taxable meals, or renting rooms or motor vehicles, must hold a Meals and Rooms Tax operator's license. The tax is assessed on patrons of restaurants and hotels, and it applies to meals and to beer, wine and liquor served in a restaurant, whether or not food is also served. You collect the tax from the customer, and you owe it to the state, so treat the money as the state's, not yours.

How do you register?

You apply for the operator's license with the DRA, which runs an online taxpayer system, Granite Tax Connect, for registration and filing. Confirm the current process, any fee and the timing with the DRA's taxpayer services. Register before your first sale, and keep your license number where the rules require. A business with more than one location may need a license for each; ask.

What is taxable?

Meals served by a restaurant, including alcoholic drinks, are taxable. The DRA's rules for the tax, in Rev 700, and its 2026 booklet define what counts as a meal and how related charges are treated, including takeout, catering, delivery and items sold with a meal. Basic groceries are generally not meals, but items that straddle the line, such as meal kits, hot deli food or catering, need a check. Ask the DRA for written guidance on any item you are not sure about, and keep the answer with your records.

How are tips and service charges handled?

A voluntary tip that a customer adds is not part of the price of the meal. A mandatory gratuity or service charge added by the restaurant is different: the DRA's 2026 booklet says such charges may be taxed in certain circumstances and points to RSA 78-A:6-a for the details. Read that statute and the booklet, and ask the DRA how it treats your own charges, for example an automatic gratuity on large parties that goes to the service staff. Make sure your point-of-sale system labels a service charge clearly and that your payroll records show where staff gratuities go.

How is tax shown on menus and receipts?

You may add the tax as a separate line or include it in the menu price. If you include it, make sure your receipt or menu says so, and ask the DRA how to compute the tax inside a tax-included price. Most restaurants add it as a line, which is simpler for staff and customers.

When are returns due?

The DRA's booklet says returns are due on or before the 15th of the following month, and the DRA assigns your filing frequency after registration. Set a monthly calendar reminder for the 10th, run your sales report by the 5th, and have your bookkeeper reconcile the tax collected with the tax shown on your point-of-sale reports. Late filing carries penalties and interest, so do not skip a month, even if the restaurant was closed.

What records do you keep?

Keep daily sales reports, point-of-sale tax reports, copies of returns, proof of payment and records of mandatory gratuities and payroll for the period the DRA requires. Keep gift card sales separate from taxable sales, since tax is owed when a meal is served, not when the card is sold; confirm this with your accountant. If the DRA audits you, organized records shorten the process.

A worked example of one month's return

Suppose your restaurant rang up $40,000 in taxable food and drink in a month, with $2,000 in catering and no mandatory gratuities. At 8.5 percent, the tax collected is $3,400. Your point-of-sale report should show $3,400 in tax collected, and your return should report taxable sales of $40,000 and tax due of $3,400, due by the 15th of the next month. If your tax collected is a little different because of rounding, adjust according to the return's instructions. If you added an 18 percent service charge on three large parties and it went to the service staff, listed separately, with payroll records, it is not part of taxable sales. If it stayed in the business, it would be added. Sit down with your accountant once to set this up properly, and then repeat the routine every month.

What common mistakes should you avoid?

Not taxing catering, taxing a mandatory gratuity incorrectly, forgetting alcohol, using an old rate in your point-of-sale settings and missing the due date in a month with a holiday. Check your system's tax rate after any change in law. A yearly review with an accountant is inexpensive compared with a back-tax bill.

More guides for your business:

• New Hampshire Meals and Rooms Tax and tipped wages for restaurants
• New Hampshire sick leave law for restaurants: what is required (2026)
• New Hampshire tip pooling and service charge rules for restaurants

More in the US guides for food businesses.