Title I, The State and Its Government

I. (a) Every person, firm, or corporation intending to engage in the business of making appraisals on behalf of a municipality for tax assessment purposes in this state shall notify the commissioner of that intent in writing. No person, firm, or corporation engaged in the busines…

I. The commissioner shall report the degree to which assessments of a municipality achieve substantial compliance with applicable statutes and rules. The commissioner may consider whether: (a) Level of assessments and uniformity of assessments are within acceptable ranges as reco…

I. The commissioner of revenue administration shall adopt a schedule so that each city, town, and unincorporated place has its assessments reviewed within 5 years of April 1, 2007, and shall notify each city, town, and unincorporated place, within 60 days of passage of this act, …

There is established within the department the division of taxpayer services, under the supervision of an unclassified director of taxpayer services who shall be responsible for: I. Processing all tax returns and payments filed with the government. II. Providing general assistanc…

The commissioner shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to: I. The collection of state taxes administered by the department under RSA 21-J:1, II(a). II. The form of inventories used by individuals and corporations to list taxable property for return to selectmen and a…

The commissioner shall be exempt from adopting, as rules pursuant to RSA 541-A, the requirements on all forms.

I. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the records and files of the department are confidential and privileged. Neither the department, nor any employee of the department, nor the legislative budget assistant or any expert…

I. There is hereby established an assessing standards board which shall be administratively attached to the department of revenue administration, as provided in RSA 21-J:1-a. II. The board shall be comprised of the following members: (a) Four members nominated by the New Hampshir…

I. The assessing standards board shall recommend standards and appropriate legislation relative to: (a) Standards to be followed by assessors, selectmen, and boards of assessors throughout the state, relating to the administration of the property tax and assessment of real proper…

Every person, firm, or corporation making appraisals on behalf of a municipality for tax assessment purposes shall maintain records of its appraisal activities and shall make all such records available for inspection by the commissioner or authorized agents, upon request, at reas…

I. Every person, whether working individually, for a firm or corporation, or as a municipal employee, making appraisals of a municipality for tax assessment purposes, except elected officials making appraisals pursuant to RSA 75:1, shall be certified by the assessing certificatio…

I. The commissioner may decertify, suspend, or take other disciplinary action against any person for failure to comply with the rules of the assessing standards board adopted pursuant to RSA 21-J:14-f, II or the assessing certification board adopted pursuant to 310-C. II. Any per…

The general court finds that the encouragement and support of the establishment of multi-jurisdictional assessing districts is in the state's interest in order to ensure the accuracy and fairness of valuations of real property for the purposes of administration of the education t…

I. Any 2 or more municipalities may form a cooperative assessing district under this chapter by utilizing the process set forth in RSA 53-A, relative to agreements between government units. II. A cooperative assessing district agreement may include a county as an administrative p…

I. The intergovernmental agreement used to form a cooperative assessing district shall substantially conform to the provisions outlined in RSA 53-A:3 and shall include the following: (a) A district cost allocation formula based in whole or in part on the number of parcels of real…

The commissioner, or the commissioner's authorized agents, may issue a written cease and desist order against any person, firm, corporation, or municipality that does not comply with RSA 21-J:11, I, RSA 21-J:14-f, or RSA 310-C. Any such act may be enjoined by the superior court, …

There is established within the department a municipal and property division, under the supervision of an unclassified director of the municipal and property division, who shall be responsible for the following functions: I. Providing technical assistance to the political subdivi…

The accounting and reporting procedure for the auditing of county accounts, including each county's annual report, shall be uniform in all counties.

The accounting officers of the several counties, cities, towns, school and village districts, and their departments, shall keep uniform accounts; provided, however, that any community that budgets on a July 1 to June 30 basis shall be permitted to budget teacher salaries on the s…

I. Any town, or school district, or village district or precinct, at the annual meeting or at a special meeting, or the selectmen of any town, or the governing body of any city, or the school board of any school district, or the commissioners of any village district or precinct, …

I. The commissioner of the department of revenue administration shall be appointed by the governor, with the consent of the council, and shall serve for a term of 4 years. The commissioner of revenue administration shall be qualified by reason of professional competence, educatio…

The commissioner may cause an audit to be made of the accounts of any city, town, school district, or village district or precinct, as often as once in 2 years, or whenever conditions appear to him to warrant such audit. The accounts of all county officers shall be audited annual…

I. Upon completion of an audit made pursuant to RSA 21-J:19 or RSA 21-J:20, each city, town, school district, village district, county, or precinct shall provide notification to the department of the completed audit and a copy such audit shall be sent to the department. If a requ…

A written or printed report of every completed audit shall be made to the proper local officials including a summary of the findings and recommendations of the auditors and a copy of such summary shall be published in the next annual report following the fiscal year in which the …

All reasonable expenses incurred by the department in conducting an audit shall be paid in the first instance from the appropriation for the department, but each county, city, town, school district, village district or precinct shall, upon notification by the commissioner of the …

All expenses incurred by a municipality or county in connection with an audit conducted by a licensed public accountant or a certified public accountant shall be paid directly to the accountant by the municipality or county concerned.

The commissioner shall provide municipalities with technical assistance relative to taxation and finance, which shall not be binding upon the municipalities.

I. The commissioner shall establish a revolving fund in order to provide training for and to publish and distribute training and educational materials to municipal officers and employees. II. The nonlapsing revolving fund, which shall not exceed $5,000 on June 30 of each year, sh…

Justices of the peace and all other magistrates empowered to issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses in the courts of this state shall have the same power to compel their attendance and the production of evidence in any proceeding before the commissioner.

In any investigation or hearing, the commissioner shall not be bound by the technical rules of evidence.

For the purpose of administering any state tax as allowed under 42 U.S.C. section 405, the commissioner of the department of revenue administration is authorized to require the submission of a social security number, a federal employer identification number, or any other identify…

I. For all taxes administered by the department, interest on amounts not paid when due shall be computed at the annual underpayment rate determined from time to time pursuant to paragraph II from the prescribed payment date or original statutory due date to the date payment is ac…

I. Except as otherwise provided by law, any claim for refund or credit of overpayment of taxes administered by the department shall be filed with the department in writing in such form as the department may by rule prescribe, and shall state the specific grounds upon which it is …

I. Except as otherwise provided by law, any taxpayer against whom an assessment has been made by the department may petition for redetermination of such assessment within 60 days after notice of the assessment. II. Any taxpayer aggrieved by the denial of the department to make a …

I. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, with respect to the collection of any tax administered by the department, the department shall cause a certified copy of the notice and demand for payment of such tax, penalties and interest to be filed in accordance with RSA 45…

Upon neglect or refusal of any person or corporation to pay the taxes assessed upon them, the department may distrain the personal estate, property interest, right or credit of such person or corporation.

I. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any taxpayer aggrieved by a fraudulent investment scheme may petition for a refund of overpayment of taxes resulting from a fraudulent investment scheme for which an amended federal tax return has been filed claiming a theft loss for…

I. (a) Except as otherwise provided, all taxes administered by the department shall be assessed within 3 years after the return is filed or within 3 years after the last day prescribed by law for filing such return, whichever is later, or in the event no return is required, withi…

In addition to the powers, duties, and functions otherwise vested by law, including RSA 21-G, in the commissioner of the department of revenue administration, the commissioner shall: I. Represent the public interest in the administration of the department and be responsible to th…

I. The commissioner of the department of revenue administration may require a background investigation and a criminal history records check on any candidate for employment in a position in the department prior to a final offer of employment. The commissioner may request only a st…

Except as otherwise provided, the interest and penalties specified in this subdivision are applicable to all taxes administered by the department.

Any taxpayer who fails to file a return when due, unless an extension has been granted by the department, shall pay a penalty equal to 5 percent of the amount of the tax due or $10, whichever is greater, for each month or part of a month during which the return remains unfiled. T…

I. Except as provided in paragraph IV, in the case of any underpayment of estimated tax by a taxpayer, there shall be added to the tax for the taxable period an amount determined at the underpayment rate as determined from time to time pursuant to RSA 21-J:28, II, on the amount o…

In addition to amounts due under this subdivision, penalties shall be imposed for failure to pay taxes when, and as, due as follows: I. If the failure to pay is not due to fraud, the penalty shall be equal to 10 percent of the amount of the nonpayment or underpayment. This penalt…

I. If there is a substantial understatement of tax imposed under RSA 77-A, RSA 77-E, RSA 78-A, RSA 78-C, RSA 82-A, RSA 83-C, or RSA 84-A for any taxable period, there shall be added to the tax an amount equal to 25 percent of the amount of any underpayment attributable to such un…

I. The term "tax preparer," as used in this section, shall include any person who prepares for compensation, or who employs one or more persons who prepare for compensation, any return of taxes administered by the department, or any claim for refund of such taxes. The preparation…