State revenue collections in February received a final boost from the one-time Tax Amnesty Program, pushing the total revenue surplus higher while key, ongoing revenue sources offered underwhelming returns.
The New Hampshire General Fund and Education Trust Fund collected a combined $178.2 million in revenue in February, which was $46.3 million (35.1%) more than planned.
Tax Amnesty Program Ends with High Receipts
The Tax Amnesty Program allowed people and businesses with unpaid taxes to pay past-due amounts without the usual nonpayment penalties that the State typically charges, and permitted lower interest costs due to the later payments than typically would be charged. The Tax Amnesty Program generated most of the surplus for the month, but not all of it.
While January’s surplus was entirely due to collections from the 2.5-month-long Tax Amnesty Program, February’s tax amnesty receipts totaled $40.6 million above the planned amount of $0.9 million. The Program, which was established by the State Budget and ran from December 1 to February 15, was projected to generate $5.0 million for the combined General and Education Trust Funds in the Legislature’s forecasting.
Instead, the Tax Amnesty Program has erased the revenue deficit thus far in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2026 and generated a healthy surplus, well above original expectations. This cost-saving measure for people and businesses with overdue and unpaid taxes brought in $103.8 million do during its short existence, generating nearly 21 times the amount of revenue the Legislature forecast. The updated forecast from the State in mid-January, as the Program was ongoing, also only forecast $58.0 million in total revenue collected. The February collections showed the volume of unpaid taxes, or at least those that would be subsequently paid through tax amnesty, was much higher than expected.
The previous tax amnesty program, implemented in SFY 2016, generated $19.0 million. Total revenue to the General and Education Trust Funds in SFY 2025 was 26.2% higher than in SFY 2016, unadjusted for inflation. The latest iteration of the Tax Amnesty Program brought in about 546.3% more revenue than to SFY 2016 program.
Lottery Receipts Up, but Little Luck with Video Lottery Terminals
If the Tax Amnesty Program were not generating such significant surpluses, the bright spot in State revenues would be Lottery and Gaming Commission revenues. Transfers from the Lottery Commission continued to overperform in February, generating twice as much revenue for the Education Trust Fund as was forecast for the month in the State Revenue Plan. The Lottery Commission reports that sports betting and historic horse racing generated much more revenue than anticipated in February. For the first eight months of SFY 2026, which began on July 1, Lottery and Gaming Commission revenues were $45.3 million (40.1%) above their target and $37.8 million (31.4%) ahead of this same point in SFY 2025.