Looking for the best tax expert in Exeter, NH?
NH Tax Advisors provides personal and small business tax services for Exeter, NH and the Seacoast towns around it, working with you online from an office in Bedford
Chris Brown, Enrolled Agent
You work with me directly, start to finish.
How we help Exeter individuals, families, and small businesses
NH Tax Advisors is led by Chris Brown, a federally licensed Enrolled Agent. Most of our Exeter clients are individuals, families, and retirees, along with the people who work at the hospital, the academy, and the small medical, legal, and consulting practices around town. We prepare their returns, plan the retirement and Roth conversion years so they cost as little tax as possible, and take on the self-employed and small-practice returns that come with a town like this. Most of it happens online, wherever you are.
Chris Brown, Enrolled Agent
You work with me directly, start to finish.
Why Exeter taxpayers choose NH Tax Advisors
For a household living on a pension, Social Security, and investments, the return that used to be simple picks up moving parts that are easy to miss. An extra IRA withdrawal or a Roth conversion can quietly pull more of your Social Security into tax and nudge next year's Medicare premium up, and the tipping points sit close enough together that the damage is done before you see it. We look at your income sources together before you take a distribution, read your last year or two of returns for what was left on the table, and stay reachable when a question comes up long after April.
- Licensed to represent you before the IRS
- We work with Exeter clients online, by phone or video, with the Bedford office there by appointment
- Accurate returns, updated for the 2026 tax law and every year after
- Back taxes and IRS notices, resolved quietly and without judgment
- Retirement, Social Security, and Roth conversion planning for the Seacoast's large retiree base
- Self-employed and solo-practice returns for the medical, legal, and consulting people who work around town
“Took time out of his busy day to answer one important question I had even though I was not a client. I appreciate everything.”
How we work with Exeter individuals and families
Working with us usually starts with a conversation and a look back at your last year or two of returns, so we see what they did before we start this one. For a lot of Exeter households that includes retirement income, so we prepare the federal return and then look at the moves that lower the years ahead, whether that is setting the withholding right across a pension and Social Security or timing a Roth conversion so it does not push you into a higher bracket or a bigger Medicare premium. When the return is ready we go through it with you in plain language, so you understand what you are signing.
How we work with Exeter businesses and practices
Most of our business clients around Exeter are one-person operations: a solo physician or therapist, an attorney, a consultant, a tradesperson, someone with steady 1099 work. We learn how the income actually flows, go back through prior returns for deductions that were missed or misclassified, and prepare your Schedule C with the mileage, home office, and equipment sorted out. We set your self-employment tax and quarterly estimates so April is not a surprise, and we get the retirement plan right, since it is often the biggest deduction a small practice has.
How we work with Exeter rental property owners
If you own a rental around Exeter or elsewhere on the Seacoast, we report the income and expenses on Schedule E and set the depreciation up right, since that is the piece most often missed on a rental. We keep repairs apart from improvements, carry the passive losses forward so they are there when you can use them, and handle the setups people ask about, a second home rented seasonally, a converted apartment, or a long-term single-family rental. If the property sits in another state, we file there too and keep the credit straight so the same income is not taxed twice. And when we take over a return where depreciation was skipped, correcting it can put money back in your pocket.
What we handle for Exeter clients
Some people find us by searching for the best or top tax preparer in Exeter or the nearest accountant; others just want one specific problem resolved and do not much care about the title. A few are sent by a bookkeeper, which makes sense, since keeping the books and filing the return are two different jobs. Here is the work we do, and who each part is for.
Individual and family tax returns
Your federal return and any state return that comes with it, prepared and then walked through with you before you sign. Most of our clients are back every year, so the history behind the numbers is already on file with us.
Retirement income and Roth conversions
Pensions, Social Security, 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, required minimum distributions, and inherited IRAs, each with its own rules. We set the withholding so April stays calm and map how much to convert to a Roth before it costs you a bracket or a Medicare surcharge.
Self-employed and solo practices
A Schedule C for the solo physician, attorney, consultant, or tradesperson, built on a full review of your expenses, with the self-employment tax accounted for and a SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) set up to shelter as much of the profit as the numbers allow.
Small business and LLC taxes
Single-member LLCs and sole proprietors, including Section 179 on equipment and the 1099-NEC filings for people you pay. We keep an eye on the New Hampshire Business Profits and Enterprise Tax thresholds so they never sneak up on you.
Investment income and equity comp
Brokerage 1099s with the cost-basis adjustments the software gets wrong, capital gains and losses, and carryforwards. Whether that is a regular brokerage account or RSUs and options from a Seacoast biotech job, we reconcile the basis so you are not taxed twice on the same shares.
Back taxes and unfiled returns
One missed year or a stack of them. We figure out how many you actually have to file, get them filed, and head off the substitute return the IRS will otherwise file for you. Without the lecture.
IRS notices and payment plans
We read what the notice really says, tell you whether it is even correct, and answer it. If the balance is more than you can pay at once, we set up an installment agreement or check whether First Time Abatement can take the penalties off.
Massachusetts commuter returns
For the Exeter residents who ride the Downeaster or drive to Boston, Massachusetts taxes only the days worked in the state, not the whole salary. We apportion the wages by day count so a part-time-in-Boston worker is not quietly overpaying.
Rental property
Schedule E income and expenses, depreciation set up right, and repairs kept separate from improvements. Passive losses get tracked so they are there when you need them, and a rental where depreciation was missed early is usually worth fixing.
Amended returns
A return already filed that came out wrong, whether you did it yourself or someone else did. We find what was missed, amend it, and go after the refund if one is owed.
What New Hampshire taxes, and what it doesn't
New Hampshire does not tax the wages you earn and has no sales tax, so there is no state return on your paycheck the way there would be in most other states. For a town with a lot of retirement and investment income, it also helps that New Hampshire does not tax your pension, your Social Security, or your retirement withdrawals. The one time the state enters the picture is Massachusetts income, for the Exeter residents who work part of the week in Boston.
One legacy detail matters if you are cleaning up an older return. New Hampshire used to tax interest and dividends on the DP-10, which mattered to a town with this much investment income, and that tax was repealed starting with 2025. It still applied through 2024, so a back-year filing or an amended 2024 return may carry a little New Hampshire tax on that income. From 2025 forward, the form is gone.
You don't have to be in Exeter to work with us
Almost all of our Exeter work happens online, which is the point: your documents come to us through a secure portal instead of loose email, we go through the finished return with you by phone or video, and you sign electronically, so nobody drives 40 minutes to sit across a desk. The Bedford office (ZIP 03110) is there by appointment if you would rather come in. Someone in the historic downtown in 03833, out toward the hospital, or across the Seacoast gets the same attention, and the same care with their information, as a client in the next town over. We work the same way with clients in Stratham, Newfields, Brentwood, Kensington, East Kingston, Hampton Falls, and Epping, and over toward Portsmouth and Hampton.
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose a good tax preparer in Exeter?
Start with the credential. An Enrolled Agent or a CPA can represent you before the IRS; a preparer without one has limited standing the day a notice arrives. Ask whether they have done your kind of return before, because a retirement with pensions and required minimum distributions, a solo medical or legal practice, and a return with a lot of investment income are all different kinds of work. Ask whether you can reach them after April, since a lot of questions land in the summer and fall. And be wary of anyone who sets the fee as a share of your refund or promises a bigger refund than the next person before seeing a single document.
How much of my Social Security is taxed, and does New Hampshire tax it?
New Hampshire does not tax Social Security, a pension, or any retirement income, and it has no wage or income tax, so none of it shows up on a state return here. The federal side is another matter. Depending on your other income for the year, somewhere between zero and 85 percent of your Social Security can be taxable on your federal return, and the tipping points are close enough together that an extra IRA withdrawal or a Roth conversion can quietly pull more of your benefit into tax. We look at the whole picture before you take a distribution, so the timing works in your favor instead of against it.
I run a small practice in Exeter. What retirement plan can I set up to lower my taxes?
If you are a solo doctor, attorney, consultant, or any one-person practice, you have better options than most employees. A SEP-IRA lets you put away a big share of your net profit and deduct it, and it is simple to set up. A Solo 401(k) can shelter even more once you add the employee side, and it allows a Roth piece if you want it. Which one wins depends on your income and whether you have any employees, so we run the numbers against your actual return rather than picking one off a chart.
I take the train to Boston for work. Do I still owe Massachusetts tax?
Yes, on the days you actually work in Massachusetts, whether you got there on the Downeaster or in your car. Massachusetts taxes the income you earn on days physically worked in the state, so the days you ride down to Boston are Massachusetts days, and the days you work from home in Exeter are not. If your employer withholds Massachusetts tax on your whole salary, the days you were not in the state should come back to you on a nonresident return. We apportion the wages by your real day count so you are not overpaying a state you only worked in part-time.
I inherited an IRA. What are the rules now?
They changed, and they trip people up. If you inherited it from someone other than your spouse and the death was in 2020 or later, in most cases you have to empty the account within ten years. And if the original owner was already taking required minimum distributions, you also have to take one each year along the way. Get it wrong and the penalty is steep. We map out a withdrawal plan across those years so the money comes out in a way that does not needlessly spike your tax in any single year, and we coordinate it with the rest of your retirement income.
What clients say
Real reviews from real Southern NH clients
“I truly cannot say enough good things about my experience with Chris & Maria at NH Tax Advisors! I came to them with a rather daunting & messy self-employed tax situation, needing resolution for some previous years' filings.”
“We had an unexpected situation this tax season when our original accountant suddenly became ill and had to retire. My husband and I were scrambling to find someone new, especially so close to the deadline.”
“I had a great experience working with Chris Brown. He was incredibly easy to work with and always very reachable. He would respond within minutes or at most a few hours whenever I had a question.”
Talk to your tax professional today
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