Employee Expense Reimbursement Requirements in New Hampshire
At a glance
| Governing law and coverage | RSA 275:57 covers employee expenses connected with employment and incurred at the employer's request; RSA 275:3 separately protects employees and applicants from employer-required medical-exam and records costs |
|---|---|
| Reimbursable expense standard | Expense must be connected with employment, incurred at employer's request, not normally employee-borne as a precondition of employment, and not already paid by wages, advance, or other employer means (§ 275:57(I)) |
| Authorization, direction, and primary benefit | Employer request is required; statute states no separate necessary, reasonable, primary-benefit, preapproval, or later-ratification test |
| Excluded losses and employee fault | Excludes expenses normally borne by the employee as a precondition of employment; no negligence, ordinary-risk, wear, theft, commuting, or personal-cost schedule stated |
| Request deadline and documentation | Employee must present proof of payment; § 275:57 states no presentation deadline. Department enforcement follows RSA 275:51's wage-claim process, which states a 36-month filing limit and gives employer 20 days to object |
| Employer policy, preapproval, and caps | No statutory policy cap, specification, preapproval form, deadline extension, de minimis rule, or waiver provision; employer may instead pay through wages, cash advance, or another means |
| Payment deadline, method, and interest | Within 30 days after employee presents proof of payment; no reimbursement remains due if employer already paid by wages, cash advance, or other means; willful violation may draw interest, but no rate is stated |
| Enforcement and remedies | Department wage-claim enforcement under RSA 275:51; employee civil action; willful violation may bring interest and civil penalty up to $1,000 per violation (§ 275:57(II)-(IV)); no attorney-fee formula stated |
Requirements one by one
The expense must connect to the job and come at the employer's request
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:57(I) applies when an employee incurs an expense in connection with employment and at the employer's request. It excludes expenses normally borne by the employee as a precondition of employment.
The statute does not add a separate “necessary,” “reasonable,” or primary- benefit test. It also does not supply category-specific mileage, phone, home-office, tool, supply, or uniform rates.
Proof of payment starts a 30-day clock
If the employer has not already paid the expense through wages, a cash advance, or another means, § 275:57(I) requires reimbursement within 30 days after the employee presents proof of payment.
The section states no deadline for presenting that proof and no prescribed receipt form, itemization, certification, or missing-document substitute. It also states no policy cap, specification, de minimis exception, or extension of the 30-day payment period.
Required medical exams and records have a separate protection
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:3 makes it unlawful for a covered employer to require an employee or applicant to pay for a medical examination or for furnishing records that the employer requires as a condition of employment. That rule does not depend on the employee first paying and presenting proof under § 275:57.
Department enforcement uses the wage-claim procedure
Section 275:57(II) directs the Department of Labor to enforce and administer the expense rule as provided for wage claims under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:51(I), (V). That procedure states a 36-month wage-claim filing period and now gives the employer 20 days after receiving the claim notice to file objections.
The 20-day period is current law. 2026 N.H. Laws ch. 50, §§ 50:1-2, approved May 8 and effective July 7, 2026, changed the former 10-day period to 20 days. The compiled section page had not yet folded in that already-effective amendment when this page was verified.
The employee can sue for the unreimbursed expense
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:57(III) expressly permits one or more employees, or a designated agent or representative, to bring an action for unreimbursed expenses in any court of competent jurisdiction.
For a willful violation, § 275:57(IV) permits interest and a civil penalty up to $1,000 for each violation. The statute does not state the interest rate or a separate attorney-fee award for this expense action.
What trips people up
The statute does not reimburse every cost that makes work more convenient. The expense must be connected with employment, incurred at the employer's request, and not one normally borne by the employee as a precondition of employment.
The reimbursement clock also does not begin when the employee spends the money. It begins when the employee presents proof of payment. Keeping a dated copy of that submission matters because the statutory deadline runs from presentation.
Common questions
Does New Hampshire set a mileage rate for private employees?
No private-sector mileage rate appears in § 275:57. A requested mileage expense may meet the statute's general test, but the section itself does not set a per- mile amount.
Can an employer pay the expense in advance?
Yes. Section 275:57(I) recognizes payment by cash advance, wages, or another employer-paid means. The 30-day reimbursement duty applies when the expense has not already been paid that way.
Are ordinary preemployment costs reimbursable?
Not under the general rule if they are expenses normally borne by the employee as a precondition of employment. But § 275:3 separately prevents a covered employer from shifting required medical-examination and required-record costs to an employee or applicant.
What if the employer does not pay within 30 days?
The employee may use the Department of Labor process or sue for unreimbursed expenses. A willful violation may also bring interest and a civil penalty up to $1,000 per violation under § 275:57(IV).
Statutes and sources
- N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:57. States the coverage test, proof requirement, 30-day payment deadline, agency route, civil action, interest, and penalty. Official text, accessed July 14, 2026.
- N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:3. Protects employees and applicants from required medical-examination and required-record costs. Official chapter text, accessed July 14, 2026.
- N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 275:51 and 2026 N.H. Laws ch. 50 (HB 1168). Supply the referenced wage-claim procedure and its effective July 7, 2026 amendment to a 20-day employer objection period. Official enacted text, accessed July 14, 2026.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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