Updated July 26, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from New York to New Hampshire in retirement, you stop paying New York income tax on withdrawals and leave a New York death tax behind. Four separate taxes change when you move — state income tax on withdrawals, state estate tax, state inheritance tax, and what probate costs your heirs. Most comparisons only price the first one.
New York vs New Hampshire: every tax that changes
| What changes | New York (leaving) | New Hampshire (arriving) |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax | graduated, ~4% to 10.9% top rate (top 10.9% bracket in effect through 2027; FY2026 budget cut middle-class bracket rates slightly starting 2026) | none (Interest & Dividends Tax repealed for taxable periods beginning after 12/31/2024) |
| Social Security | Not taxed (full subtraction from NY AGI). | Not taxed. |
| Pension / 401(k) / IRA | Private pensions, annuities, IRA and 401(k) distributions taxable, but taxpayers age 59 1/2+ may exclude up to $20,000/person per year (Tax Law § 612(c)(3-a)); | Not taxed. |
| Estate tax | yes – 2026 basic exclusion amount $7,350,000 (deaths 1/1/2026-12/31/2026), up from $7,160,000 in 2025 (indexed annually); rates 3.06%-16% (top 16%); NOTE the ‘cliff’: taxable estates exceeding 105% of the BEA (~$7,717,500 in 2026) lose the entire exclusion and are taxed from dollar one | none |
| Inheritance tax | none | none |
| Probate fee model | hybrid | reasonable-fee |
| Probate filing fee | Surrogate’s Court probate/administration filing fee is a statutory sliding scale (SCPA §2402): $45 (<$10k); $75 ($10k-<$20k); $215 ($20k-<$50k); $280 ($50k-<$100k); $420 ($100k-<$250k); $625 ($250k-<$500k); $1,250 ($500k+). Verified. | Not verified from an official schedule this pass — NH Circuit Court Probate Division fee schedule applies (commonly cited around $150-$300 to open an estate; treat as unverified). |
| Small-estate limit | $50,000 in personal property — voluntary administration / small estate proceeding (SCPA Art. 13, §1301); excludes real property. | No dollar-based small-estate affidavit. Instead, waiver of full administration under RSA 553:32 (no inventory, bond, or accounting) when e.g. the surviving spouse is sole heir/beneficiary and serves as administrator (statute extends to certain sole-heir situations); completed by affidavit of administration filed 6-12 months after appointment. Verified via gc.nh.gov and courts.nh.gov. |
Every cell is quoted from our statute-cited 51-jurisdiction dataset. Download the full dataset as CSV.
1. What changes on your annual tax bill
New York taxes retirement withdrawals: Private pensions, annuities, IRA and 401(k) distributions taxable, but taxpayers age 59 1/2+ may exclude up to $20,000/person per year (Tax Law § 612(c)(3-a)); New Hampshire does not. On a $100,000 annual withdrawal, the New York bill is whatever its graduated, ~4% to 10.9% top rate (top 10.9% bracket in effect through 2027; schedule produces; in New Hampshire it is $0. Social Security is treated as follows — New York: Not taxed (full subtraction from NY AGI). New Hampshire: Not taxed.
2. What changes at death: state estate tax
This is usually the larger number. New York levies an estate tax — yes – 2026 basic exclusion amount $7,350,000 (deaths 1/1/2026-12/31/2026), up from $7,160,000 in 2025 (indexed annually); rates 3.06%-16% (top 16%); NOTE the ‘cliff’: taxable estates exceeding 105% of the BEA (~$7,717,500 in 2026) lose the entire exclusion and are taxed from dollar one — and New Hampshire levies none (none). Establishing domicile in New Hampshire removes that exposure for assets that are not New York real property.
3. What changes at death: state inheritance tax
Neither state levies an inheritance tax. New York: none New Hampshire: none
4. The one nobody prices: what probate costs your heirs
New York uses a hybrid fee model (Executor commissions are statutory (SCPA §2307): 5% of first $100,000; 4% of next $200,000; 3% of next $700,000; 2.5% of next $4,000,000; 2% above $5,000,000 (computed half for receiving, half for paying out). Attorney fees are reasonable, subject to Surrogate’s Court oversight. Verified on nysenate.gov.); New Hampshire uses a reasonable-fee model (No statutory percentage schedule; executor/administrator and attorney compensation is allowed by the Circuit Court Probate Division as just and reasonable (see RSA ch. 554 et seq. and probate court practice). Exact compensation section not pinned to primary source in this pass.). Filing fees — New York: Surrogate’s Court probate/administration filing fee is a statutory sliding scale (SCPA §2402): $45 (<$10k); $75 ($10k-<$20k); $215 ($20k-<$50k); $280 ($50k-<$100k); $420 ($100k-<$250k); $625 ($250k-<$500k); $1,250 ($500k+). Verified. New Hampshire: Not verified from an official schedule this pass — NH Circuit Court Probate Division fee schedule applies (commonly cited around $150-$300 to open an estate; treat as unverified).
Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.
Does this actually apply to you?
Below $1,000,000 no US state estate tax applies anywhere — Oregon has the lowest threshold in the country and that is where it starts. So for most estates the whole “escape the death tax” framing is irrelevant, and the only thing that changes when you move is your annual income tax. Here is exactly where the line falls for this pair:
| Estate value | New York | New Hampshire |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500,000 | Under $7,350,000 | No estate tax |
| $3,000,000 | Under $7,350,000 | No estate tax |
| $6,000,000 | Under $7,350,000 | No estate tax |
| $10,000,000 | Taxed (over $7,350,000) | No estate tax |
Thresholds are the 2026 figures in our verified dataset and apply to the taxable estate. Federal estate tax is separate and far higher. Test your own number with the comparison tool.
Probate cost in each state, specifically
New York uses a hybrid standard — a statutory bound with reasonableness inside it, and its small-estate route does not clear a solely owned house. New Hampshire uses a “reasonable fee” standard with no schedule, and its statute does not say whether that route reaches real property. The two states differ on that question, which is exactly the kind of thing a move changes. Full figures with the governing statute, the court filing fee and the small-estate threshold: New York probate cost and New Hampshire probate cost.
Four taxes, two states, one order of operations
Everything above changes together: what New York stops taking on withdrawals, what New Hampshire does not take at death, and what probate costs in each. The order you do things in — when you establish domicile, when you convert, when you retitle property — changes the total, and some of it cannot be undone afterwards. If a move is genuinely on the table, here is what to look for in an advisor who knows both New York and New Hampshire. If you would rather price it yourself first, the two-state comparison tool is free and asks for no email.
Will New York still tax me after I move to New Hampshire?
Not on your retirement withdrawals, once you genuinely change domicile — but that is a harder test than a change of address, and what you leave behind stays in reach.
- Domicile is a test, not a mailing address. A departing state can and does audit residency. Days present, voter registration, driver’s licence, where your doctors and advisers are, and where you keep what you value all count.
- Real property left behind stays taxable. Keeping a home in New York can keep part of the estate within reach of New York rules even after you become a New Hampshire resident.
- A Roth conversion is taxed where you live in the year you convert. Sequencing a conversion after establishing the new domicile is often worth more than the annual saving — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.
If you keep a home in New York, what happens at death?
Changing domicile moves you. It does not move the house. New York levies an estate tax, and it reaches a nonresident decedent’s real property situated there — so a home kept behind after the move stays within New York’s reach even once New Hampshire is your legal home for every other purpose. Taxes transfer from a nonresident decedent of real and tangible personal property having an actual situs in New York. Intangibles excluded.
Return required if the estate includes NY real or tangible property AND the federal gross estate plus includible gifts exceeds the basic exclusion amount. The practical consequence is the part most summaries skip: the trigger is measured on the whole federal estate, not just the New York property. Authority: N.Y. Tax Law §960 (Nonresident’s estate tax).
This is the exposure that survives a move, and it is the one worth pricing before the move rather than after. The house also stays within that state’s probate jurisdiction, so the estate faces a separate ancillary proceeding there on top of the probate where you live — the ancillary probate calculator prices that second proceeding. Confirm the current figures with the state revenue department or a licensed professional before acting — thresholds move, and the arithmetic depends on the whole estate, not just the house.
Full state detail
Every figure above is summarized. The complete statute-cited breakdown for each state: New York retirement taxes and New Hampshire retirement taxes. To compare any other pair, start at the retirement tax relocation hub.
Widen the comparison
This page prices one corridor. To see every destination New York retirees consider and every origin state moving to New Hampshire, start there instead. For any pair not covered, the retirement tax comparison tool runs all 51 jurisdictions, and the probate cost calculator works out what settling the estate costs in each.
Talking this through
Relocation timing, Roth conversion sequencing and estate exposure interact, and the order you do them in changes the total. If you want a second opinion, understand what it should cost first — see our advisor cost guide.
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Cite or share this comparison
Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “New York to New Hampshire Retirement Taxes (2026),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/new-york-to-new-hampshire-retirement-taxes/. Free to cite with attribution. Download the full dataset as CSV, or contact contact@clearmoneyguide.com for custom cuts.
Primary sources
- N.Y. Tax Law § 612(c)(3) and (3-a)
- NY Dept. of Taxation & Finance pension exclusion guidance (Pub 36 / IT-201 line 29)
- N.Y. Tax Law sec. 952
- N.Y. Tax Law sec. 951(a)
- NH DRA Technical Information Release 2025-001 (I&D repeal)
- former RSA 77 (repealed)
- N.Y. SCPA §2307
- N.Y. SCPA §1301
- N.Y. SCPA §2402
- N.H. RSA 553:32
- N.H. RSA ch. 554
Methodology: every figure is quoted from Clear Money Guide’s statute-cited 51-jurisdiction datasets, compiled from state statutes, session laws and revenue-department publications and adversarially verified in July 2026. Nothing here is personalized tax or legal advice. Confirm your own facts with a qualified adviser before you move.