Form DP-10 New Hampshire: What Executors Need to Know in 2026

If you're settling a New Hampshire estate and searching for Form DP-10, you're likely encountering conflicting information online. Some sources tell you to file it; others say it no longer exists. Both are partially right, depending on when the decedent died. Getting this wrong exposes the executor to audit liability or unnecessary compliance work on a form that may have nothing to do with the estate.

Here is the straightforward breakdown.

What Form DP-10 Was

Form DP-10 was the New Hampshire Interest and Dividends Tax Return. It was used to report and pay the state's tax on investment income — specifically, interest and dividends received from all sources.

For decades, New Hampshire took an unusual position among states: it imposed no general income tax on wages, but it did tax unearned investment income. The Interest and Dividends (I&D) tax applied at a flat rate on gross interest and dividend income above $2,400 during a taxable period (for individuals, estates, and trusts), or $4,800 for married couples filing jointly. This meant retirees living off investment portfolios — and estates holding dividend-paying assets during probate — faced a state tax bill that wage earners did not.

Taxable income under Form DP-10 included dividends, interest, and actual distributions from S-corporations, partnerships, LLCs, and trusts.

The Repeal Timeline

New Hampshire phased out the I&D tax over three years:

Effective January 1, 2025, the New Hampshire Interest and Dividends Tax was permanently and completely eliminated. The NHDRA will not publish a 2025 or 2026 version of Form DP-10. The form is officially obsolete for current tax periods.

This is unambiguously good news for estates being opened today. A New Hampshire estate that began generating investment income in 2025 or later faces zero state fiduciary income tax obligations — a significant reduction in administrative burden.

When You Still Owe It: The Residual Audit Risk

The repeal is not retroactive. Taxable periods that began before January 1, 2025 remain subject to full NHDRA audit and collection enforcement under applicable laws and administrative rules (Rev 900).

Executors need to assess two scenarios:

Scenario 1: The decedent died before January 1, 2025. The decedent's final tax period ended before the repeal. If the decedent received more than $2,400 in interest and dividends during that period, a Form DP-10 is required for that final period — even if the death certificate is dated in 2024. The return is due by April 15 of the following year for calendar-year filers, along with full payment of the applicable rate (3% for periods ending in 2024, 4% for periods ending in 2023).

Scenario 2: The estate was open and earning income before January 1, 2025. If an estate generated more than $2,400 in interest or dividend income during a taxable period that began before January 1, 2025 — even if the period overlapped into 2025 — a Form DP-10 is owed for that pre-repeal period. The executor remains liable to file even though the tax no longer exists going forward.

In both scenarios, the NHDRA will still audit for the pre-2025 period. The repeal created a clean cut-off, not an amnesty for prior obligations.

Scenario 3: The decedent died on or after January 1, 2025, and the estate opened in 2025 or 2026. No Form DP-10 is required at any point. The tax does not apply to any income generated by this estate, regardless of how long probate remains open or how much investment income accumulates.

Where to Get the Form if You Need It

For estates with pre-2025 filing obligations, the NHDRA no longer maintains the form prominently on its website — since there is no 2025 version, the form may be harder to locate. Executors in this situation should:

1. Search the NHDRA website archives (revenue.nh.gov) for prior-year DP-10 forms
2. Call the NHDRA directly at (603) 230-5000 to confirm the correct form version for the applicable tax year
3. Submit the return to the NHDRA's Audit Division, not a general tax submission address, if responding to an audit notice

If an overpayment was made in prior tax years before 2024, a refund is available upon formal request — but only after the state applies the overpayment against any other outstanding balances.

What Actually Applies to New Hampshire Estates in 2026

With Form DP-10 gone, the income tax picture for a 2026 New Hampshire estate looks like this:

Federal Form 1040 (Final Return). The executor files the decedent's final individual income tax return for income earned from January 1 through the date of death. Due April 15 of the following year. New Hampshire has no equivalent state filing requirement for wage income.

Federal Form 1041 (Estate Income Tax). If the estate generates more than $600 in gross income during the probate administration period — rent, dividends, interest, capital gains — the executor must file a federal fiduciary income tax return. New Hampshire's mandatory six-month creditor waiting period means many estates with any investment assets will hit this threshold.

State NH-1041. New Hampshire's Business Organization Tax requires a separate state fiduciary return only if the estate conducts business activity within New Hampshire and generates gross business income exceeding $109,000. Most residential estates do not meet this threshold, but estates holding active businesses or rental portfolios generating that level of income should assess it with a CPA.

No state capital gains tax. New Hampshire does not tax capital gains at the state level, regardless of the repeal of the I&D tax. The step-up in basis on inherited assets combined with the absence of state capital gains makes post-inheritance property sales highly tax-efficient.

Why Outdated Online Advice Is Dangerous

A large volume of online content about New Hampshire estate taxes was written before the I&D tax repeal took full effect. That content tells executors they need to file Form DP-10, calculate the 5% or 4% rate, and plan accordingly. For 2026 estates, that advice is wrong — potentially prompting unnecessary compliance work and confusing the actual obligations that remain.

At the same time, some newer content overstates the benefit of the repeal by implying there are no state-level tax obligations at all. The NHDRA's audit authority over pre-2025 periods is real, and executors handling estates with earlier income-generating periods need to clear those liabilities before distributing assets to heirs.

The practical rule: if the decedent or the estate generated investment income in any period ending before January 1, 2025, audit that period and file if required. If all income was generated in 2025 or later, Form DP-10 plays no role in the estate settlement.

Pulling It Together

Form DP-10 is not something most 2026 executors will ever file. But understanding exactly why it no longer applies — and when it might still — is essential for avoiding both unnecessary compliance work and genuine audit exposure.

The New Hampshire Final Tax & Estate Tax Guide walks through the full income tax picture for New Hampshire estates: the final 1040, federal fiduciary obligations, the I&D tax repeal and its limits, Medicaid liens, real estate transfer tax exemptions, and the complete probate timeline from court filing through final distribution.

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