New Hampshire: Employee Wage Deduction Requirements
The short answer
New Hampshire allows a wage deduction only when state or federal law requires or empowers it, or when the employee gives written authorization for a purpose the statute permits. The allowed voluntary purposes are benefit-focused and include detailed documents for employer loans and accidental overpayments; an overpayment deduction may not exceed 20% of gross pay in a pay period. Employer loss or damage charges, items required by and for the employer's benefit, and required-logo uniforms cannot be shifted to the employee through payroll.
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This is the general rule in New Hampshire. Ezel applies current New Hampshire law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and coverage | N.H. Rev. Stat. §§ 275:42 and 275:48, with Lab 800 rules. General private-employer rule; excludes domestic labor in the employer's home and farm labor where fewer than five people are employed (§ 275:42(I)) |
|---|---|
| Deductions required or authorized by law | Allowed when required or empowered by state or federal law, expressly including payroll taxes (§ 275:48(I)(a)). Separate tax, support, and garnishment procedures are outside this survey |
| Voluntary authorization requirements | Written employee authorization or request required. Purpose must accrue to employee's benefit or fit a listed category; mutual-agreement catchall cannot financially advantage employer. Loans, overpayments, tuition, and fitness deductions require start/end dates, amounts, and a final-wage agreement (§ 275:48) |
| Employee-benefit and purchase deductions | Listed categories include union dues; health, welfare, pension and apprenticeship funds; charity; housing/utilities; outside savings; nonrequired-clothing rental/cleaning; certain vehicle use; insurance; required nonuniform clothing; legal/identity-theft plans; cafeteria/flexible benefits; child care, parking, specified hospital purchases, tuition, and fitness (§ 275:48) |
| Employer losses, shortages, and property | Illegal withholding for employee-caused loss/damage triggers no-warning civil-penalty process (§ 273:11-a(III)(f)). Items required by and for employer's benefit and required-logo/distinctive uniforms must be free (Lab 803.02; § 275:48(V)(b)); DOL says no final-wage deduction even if a required uniform is not returned |
| Overpayments, advances, and employer loans | Accidental overpayment: written agreement, deductions start one pay period later, stated start/end and amount, no more than 20% of gross pay per period, plus specific final-wage agreement. Legitimate employer loan requires start/end, amounts, and final-wage term. Final negative commission draw is not recoverable (§§ 275:42(VII), 275:48(I)(d)) |
| Notice, revocation, records, and wage floor | Deduction statement each affected pay period; written itemized accounting at least monthly for § 275:48(I)(d) items; wage/hour records kept three years (§ 275:49). No general statutory revocation timing. Covered employees cannot fall below the federal minimum-wage rate incorporated by § 279:21; DOL identifies current rate as $7.25/hour |
| Enforcement and remedies | DOL wage claim within 36 months (§ 275:51); employee may sue and court may award costs/reasonable fees (§ 275:53). Commissioner civil penalty up to $2,500; no warning for illegal loss/damage withholding (§ 273:11-a). Willful chapter violation is a misdemeanor (§ 275:52); final-wage delay can add liquidated damages (§ 275:44(IV)) |
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Requirements one by one
Written consent must fit a permitted employee-benefit purpose
New Hampshire's baseline is RSA § 275:48(I): an employer may not withhold or
divert wages unless state or federal law requires or empowers the deduction, or
the employee has authorized a permitted voluntary deduction in writing. The
statutory list is not a general “anything the employee signs” rule. Its ordinary
authorization route requires a lawful purpose accruing to the employee's
benefit, and the mutual-agreement catchall may not give the employer a financial
advantage.
The list covers union dues; health, welfare, pension, and apprenticeship funds;
charity; housing and utilities; outside savings; certain clothing rental or
cleaning; vehicle use; insurance; required clothing that is not a uniform;
legal and identity-theft plans; and other mutually agreed benefit purposes.
Section 275:48(I)(d) adds specific routes for cafeteria and flexible-benefit
plans, child care, parking, specified hospital-site purchases, employer loans,
accidental overpayments, nonrequired tuition, and qualifying fitness facilities.
Private agreement cannot waive these limits. RSA § 275:50 preserves the wage
rules and separately bars any agreement to work below the applicable minimum
wage.
Employer loans and accidental overpayments need detailed documents
For a legitimate employer loan, § 275:48(I)(d)(3) requires a document stating
when deductions begin and end, the amounts, and whether any balance may be
deducted from final wages.
Accidental wage overpayments have an additional set of protections under
§ 275:48(I)(d)(4). Recovery must be agreed to in writing, cannot start until one
pay period after the agreement is signed, and must state the recovery start and
end dates. The periodic deduction is whatever the parties agree, but never more
than 20% of gross pay in a pay period. The agreement must also say specifically
whether an unpaid balance may come from final wages.
Commission draws are different from ordinary overpayments. RSA § 275:42(VII)
allows a negative balance to carry forward by written agreement, but a negative
balance at final reconciliation “shall not be recoverable from the employee.”
Loss, damage, and required-item charges do not fit the benefit rule
RSA § 273:11-a(III)(f) treats illegal wage withholding to compensate an
employer for employee actions causing loss or damage as serious enough that the
commissioner need not issue the usual warning before pursuing a civil penalty.
That result matches § 275:48's structure: an employer-loss charge financially
advantages the employer rather than accruing to the employee's benefit.
Lab 803.02(b) also bars requiring an employee or applicant to pay for an
employer-required medical examination, nonrequired drug or alcohol test,
employer-required record, or other item required by and for the employer's
benefit, subject to its exception for examinations, permits, or licenses required
by state or federal law.
A company-logo or distinctively designed required garment is a “uniform” under
§ 275:48(V)(b), and the employer must provide it at no cost. The Department of
Labor's current FAQ says the employer cannot deduct its cost from final wages
even when the employee does not return it.
Statements, records, wage floor, and remedies
RSA § 275:49(IV) requires a deduction statement for every pay period in which a
deduction occurs. For the specially listed § 275:48(I)(d) deductions, the
employer must also provide a written itemized accounting at least monthly.
Section 275:49(VI) requires wage and hour records to be preserved for three
years. The statute states no general deadline or procedure for revoking an
authorization.
RSA § 279:21 incorporates the federal minimum-wage rate for covered employees;
the Department of Labor identifies the current rate as $7.25 an hour. A wage
claim may be filed within 36 months under § 275:51(V). RSA § 275:53 permits a
direct suit and allows the court to award costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
The commissioner may impose a civil penalty up to $2,500 under § 273:11-a(I),
and § 275:52 makes a willful failure to comply with the chapter a misdemeanor.
When an unlawful deduction also leaves final wages unpaid, § 275:44(IV) can add
10% per qualifying day, capped at the amount of unpaid wages.
What trips people up
The mutual-agreement category is not unlimited. It requires written
authorization, duly recorded deductions, and no financial advantage to the
employer. It also cannot offset amounts intended to buy items required for the
job.
The 20% cap is based on gross pay. It applies specifically to an agreed
recovery of an accidental wage overpayment. The statute does not use net pay or
the amount of disposable earnings.
Final-pay language must be explicit. The loan and accidental-overpayment
documents must specifically address whether any outstanding balance may be
deducted at termination. A general repayment promise does not supply that term.
Common questions
Can an employer deduct for damaged equipment or a cash shortage?
Not through the employee-benefit authorization route. A loss or damage charge
financially benefits the employer, and § 273:11-a(III)(f) expressly identifies
illegal wage withholding for employee-caused loss or damage as a no-warning
civil-penalty violation.
Can payroll recover an accidental overpayment all at once?
Only if the agreed amount stays within the statutory cap. The written agreement
must delay the first deduction by one pay period, and no pay period's deduction
may exceed 20% of gross pay.
Can an employer deduct an unreturned company-logo uniform from final pay?
No. Required logo or distinctively designed uniforms must be provided at no
cost, and the Department of Labor says nonreturn does not permit a final-wage
deduction.
How long does an employee have to file a wage claim?
RSA § 275:51(V) allows a Department of Labor wage claim within 36 months after
the wages were due. A direct court action is also available under § 275:53.
Statutes and sources
- N.H. Rev. Stat. §§ 275:42 and 275:48. Coverage and wage definitions;
commission-draw rule; lawful deduction bases; benefit categories; employer
loans; accidental overpayments; uniforms. Definitions
and withholding rule
(accessed July 13, 2026). - N.H. Admin. R. Lab 803.02. Employer-required item, examination, testing,
record, and uniform prohibitions. Official rule
(accessed July 13, 2026). - N.H. Rev. Stat. §§ 275:49-53. Deduction statements, three-year records,
no-waiver rule, 36-month wage claim, misdemeanor, direct suit, costs, and
attorney's fees. Records,
waiver,
claim,
penalty, and
remedies
(accessed July 13, 2026). - N.H. Rev. Stat. § 273:11-a. Civil penalty up to $2,500 and no-warning
treatment for illegal loss or damage withholding. Official text
(accessed July 13, 2026). - N.H. Rev. Stat. § 275:44(IV). Liquidated damages for willful final-wage
nonpayment. Official text
(accessed July 13, 2026). - N.H. Rev. Stat. § 279:21. State incorporation of the federal minimum-wage
rate. Official text
(accessed July 13, 2026). - New Hampshire Department of Labor. Current official FAQ confirming the
$7.25 minimum wage, wage-claim route, deduction rule, and no final-wage
deduction for an unreturned required uniform. Wages and Work Hours FAQs
(accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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