How to dissolve an LLC in New Hampshire

What does it cost to dissolve an LLC in New Hampshire?

Dissolving a New Hampshire LLC has two sides: a small filing fee paid to the state, and the tax housekeeping that surrounds it. The fee to cancel an LLC is modest, it is often cited around $35but fees change and you should confirm the current amount with the New Hampshire Secretary of State before filing. New Hampshire does not impose an annual franchise tax on LLCs, so there is no large privilege tax to clear before you can close.

What New Hampshire does have is a pair of business taxes, the Business Profits Tax and the Business Enterprise Tax, administered by the Department of Revenue Administration. Neither blocks the filing, but final returns are part of a clean closure. The real “cost” of a New Hampshire dissolution is less the filing fee and more the discipline of filing those final returns and closing the IRS account so nothing keeps running after the company is gone.

Fees and forms change; we confirm the current figures with the Secretary of State and Department of Revenue Administration before we file. Compare states on the main dissolution guide.

How do you dissolve an LLC in New Hampshire, step by step?

The order is what keeps a New Hampshire dissolution clean. Filing the cancellation while business-tax returns or the federal account are still open is the most common way people leave a loose end behind.

1. Vote to dissolve and record it. Approve the dissolution the way your operating agreement requires, usually a member vote, and put it in a short written resolution.
2. Wind up the business. Notify known creditors, settle or set aside money for debts, collect receivables, and distribute anything left to members. Handle debts before distributionsnot after.
3. File the Certificate of Cancellation. Submit it to the New Hampshire Secretary of State and pay the fee. This is the step that ends the entity, it is New Hampshire's version of the articles of dissolution used in other states.
4. File final state business-tax returns. File final Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax returns with the Department of Revenue Administration where those taxes apply, marked final.
5. Close the IRS account. File final federal returns and send the IRS a letter to close the business account attached to your EIN.
6. Cancel everything else. Local licenses, permits, DBAs, and any registrations in other states, plus your registered agent.

Which form do you file in New Hampshire?

A New Hampshire LLC ends its existence by filing a Certificate of Cancellation with the New Hampshire Secretary of State's Corporation Division. Different states use different names for the same idea, Articles of Dissolution in some, a Certificate of Termination in others, and New Hampshire's term for an LLC is cancellation. The form asks for the LLC's name and registration details and a statement that the company has wound up its affairs.

The exact form and current fee are set by the Secretary of State and can be filed through the state's online business system. Because those specifics move, verify the form and fee on the state's filing portal rather than relying on a downloaded copy that may be out of date. Corporations follow a separate track from LLCs, so make sure you are on the LLC cancellation path.

Does New Hampshire require tax clearance first?

New Hampshire's business filing office and its tax authority are separate desks, and for a routine LLC cancellation the Secretary of State will generally accept your filing without a clearance certificate attached. What the state expects is that your business-tax obligations are settled: final BPT and BET returns filed with the Department of Revenue Administration. Because requirements can differ by account and circumstance, confirm whether any clearance step applies to you with the Department of Revenue Administration.

Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax

New Hampshire is unusual among states in having no general sales tax and no broad personal income tax. Instead, it taxes businesses through the Business Profits Tax (BPT), a tax on business income, and the Business Enterprise Tax (BET), a tax on the enterprise value tax base, compensation, interest and dividends paid. Whether either applies depends on the size and activity of your LLC.

For a dissolving LLC, the point is simple: file final BPT and BET returns where they apply, marked final, so the Department of Revenue Administration stops expecting returns next year. Winding up the entity does not erase tax already owed, and an unfiled final return is a common loose end after a New Hampshire company stops trading. Filing the final returns is what closes that door.

How long does it take in New Hampshire?

The paperwork itself is quick, a day or two to prepare the Certificate of Cancellation correctly. After that, you are waiting on the Secretary of State's processing queue, which fluctuates with volume and filing method. Online filings generally clear faster than mailed ones. Filing final business-tax returns runs alongside the state filing and is governed by the Department of Revenue Administration's schedule.

Confirm the current processing window with the Secretary of State before relying on a date, the queue moves.

What about your EIN and final taxes?

Filing the Certificate of Cancellation closes the New Hampshire entity. It does not touch your federal tax life. The IRS does not cancel an EIN, the number is permanent and never reassigned, so what you actually do is close the IRS business account behind it. The IRS will not close that account while final returns are outstanding, and the New Hampshire filing gives the IRS no signal at all.

On the state tax side, file your final BPT and BET returns marked final. Getting the “final” markers right is what ends the annual cycle with both the Department of Revenue Administration and the IRS.

What if you never used the New Hampshire LLC?

A dormant New Hampshire LLC, formed, maybe given an EIN, never traded, still has to be closed properly, but the work is lighter. If it never triggered a BPT or BET filing and never got an EIN, a state-only cancellation is usually the whole job: file the Certificate of Cancellation and you are done. Filing sooner also ends the annual report obligation before another year is added.

If it did obtain an EIN or trigger a business-tax filing, those accounts still need closing even though the company never really operated. The honest answer depends on those facts, and a specialist can confirm which route your situation puts you in before you pay for anything you do not need.

Rather have it handled?

We prepare and file the Certificate of Cancellation, guide the final BPT and BET returns, and, if your LLC ever had an EIN, close the IRS business account too. Two situations, two prices, a specialist call in both. If you're not sure which is yours, a specialist is on WhatsApp 24/7 and will tell you straight, even when the honest answer is the $99 or nothing at all.