Homeowners have until the end of June to participate in an underutilized program that provides property tax relief to people with lower incomes.

The state’s Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief Program provides assistance to individual homeowners who have less than $37,000 in annual adjusted gross income, or $42,000 for married couples or heads of households.

Lack of awareness of the program, as well as the relatively small amount of relief it provides, likely reduces participation in N.H. Fiscal Policy Institute Research Director Phil Sletten said in an interview on Friday.

“Many more people are likely eligible for this program than apply for it and use it,” he said.

The average property tax relief per claim in New Hampshire last year was $163, an amount that has generally declined over time and is so small compared to average property tax bills that some people might not want to take the time and energy to apply for it, Sletten said.

For example, the property tax rate in Keene is $34.37 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, meaning an owner of a home assessed at $300,000 would have a yearly property tax bill of $10,311.

“Also, if it were a larger amount of relief, there might be more awareness of it,” he added. “More people might discuss it, and through conversations and word of mouth, they might seek out that credit if they heard it was a more substantial amount of relief.”

His analysis, released this week, shows that, according to U.S. Census data, about 92,000 New Hampshire households had incomes below $35,000 in 2024, including 42,000 that owned homes and paid property taxes.

Meanwhile, there were about 5,000 claims for tax relief under the program in 2024.

The amount of relief is calculated by dividing the capped eligible assessed home value of $220,000 by 1,000, and then multiplying that figure by the Statewide Education Property Tax rate, which averaged $1.12 per $1,000 of property value statewide in 2025.

That total, $246.40, is adjusted by a sliding scale of the subsidy amount based on household income.

Many towns and cities also offer other property tax breaks, such as exemptions for veterans and people who are disabled, blind, or elderly, and for certain home improvements.

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