The Massachusetts–New Hampshire border is one of the few places in the country where people routinely live on one side and work on the other specifically because of tax. Massachusetts applies a 5% rate; New Hampshire has no tax on wages at all. Here is what that looks like at four salary levels, computed exactly the way our salary calculator does it.
At $75,000
| Massachusetts | New Hampshire | |
|---|---|---|
| Federal tax | $7,670.00 | $7,670.00 |
| State tax | $2,945.00 | $0.00 |
| FICA | $5,737.50 | $5,737.50 |
| Net take-home | $58,647.50 | $61,592.50 |
New Hampshire take-home is $2,945.00 higher — about $245.42 more per month.
At $100,000
| Massachusetts | New Hampshire | |
|---|---|---|
| Federal tax | $13,170.00 | $13,170.00 |
| State tax | $4,195.00 | $0.00 |
| FICA | $7,650.00 | $7,650.00 |
| Net take-home | $74,985.00 | $79,180.00 |
New Hampshire take-home is $4,195.00 higher — about $349.58 more per month.
At $150,000
| Massachusetts | New Hampshire | |
|---|---|---|
| Federal tax | $24,734.00 | $24,734.00 |
| State tax | $6,695.00 | $0.00 |
| FICA | $11,475.00 | $11,475.00 |
| Net take-home | $107,096.00 | $113,791.00 |
New Hampshire take-home is $6,695.00 higher — about $557.92 more per month.
At $250,000
| Massachusetts | New Hampshire | |
|---|---|---|
| Federal tax | $51,304.00 | $51,304.00 |
| State tax | $11,695.00 | $0.00 |
| FICA | $15,514.00 | $15,514.00 |
| Net take-home | $171,487.00 | $183,182.00 |
New Hampshire take-home is $11,695.00 higher — about $974.58 more per month.
The pattern worth noticing
The gap tracks a clean 5% of taxable income at every level shown. One important caveat this comparison cannot capture: if you live in New Hampshire but physically work in Massachusetts, Massachusetts generally taxes that income anyway. The figures below describe someone who both lives and works in the state listed. At $75,000 the difference is about $245.42 a month; at $250,000 it is $974.58 a month.
What this comparison doesn’t include
State income tax is one line in a much larger budget. Housing costs, sales tax, property tax rates, and general cost of living all move independently of income tax and can comfortably outweigh it in either direction — a smaller state tax bill does not automatically mean more money left at the end of the month once rent or a mortgage is paid. This comparison isolates income tax because that is the part with a precise, calculable answer.
A note on precision: these figures apply each state’s bracket schedule to your federal taxable income. New Hampshire levies no personal income tax on wages, so its column is federal tax and FICA only. Massachusetts’s figure comes from its own published brackets. States also have their own credits, exemptions and deductions that this model does not carry, so treat the numbers as a close estimate of the gap rather than a filled-in tax return. The methodology page sets out exactly what is and is not modelled.
Run your own numbers
Every figure above assumes a single filer taking the standard federal deduction and nothing else. Your own result will move with filing status, deductions, and your actual salary — put your real number into the salary calculator for Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or any other state, and you can share or bookmark the result straight from the page.