Industry News
New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte announced Monday, April 27, 2026, that the state has officially opened an investigation into Vail Resorts’ recent decision to charge a blended sales tax on Epic Pass products sold to Granite State residents. The investigation, spearheaded by the Office of the Attorney General, seeks to determine the legality of an out-of-state corporation imposing a tax-like surcharge in a state that famously has no retail sales tax.
“New Hampshire is proud to have no sales tax, and we’re not going to let an out-of-state company try to sneak one in,” Governor Ayotte stated in an official press release. The move follows a policy shift first disclosed by Vail Resorts in a March investor presentation, where the company revealed it would begin charging a 3.2% “blended” rate across its multi-resort pass products to simplify tax compliance across its sprawling national portfolio.
While Vail Resorts — which operates Attitash, Wildcat, Crotched Mountain, and Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire — frames the 3.2% charge as a “compliance realignment,” local skiers were quick to notice the added cost at checkout. Because New Hampshire does not collect sales tax, the money generated from this surcharge does not flow to the state treasury in Concord. Instead, the blended rate is an average derived from the various taxable jurisdictions across Vail’s network, including high-tax states like Vermont and Colorado.
In a statement provided to SnowBrains, Vail Resorts clarified its position on the new pricing structure:
“We are pleased to provide a wide variety of options for our guests to access our resorts by offering both lift tickets that are resort-specific and passes that provide access to multiple resorts. Vail Resorts does not charge tax on New Hampshire goods or services, including on lift tickets that provide access to our New Hampshire resorts. The Epic Pass and Northeast Value Pass include access to resorts outside of New Hampshire, so those pass products do include the sales and admission taxes that we are legally required to charge for those resorts. It’s important to note that our passes are priced very competitively, even including the allocated sales tax, and provide more choice than other season passes with access to only New Hampshire resorts. We value our relationship with our New Hampshire guests and community and are in contact with the Governor’s Office and Attorney General’s offices.”
Vail Resorts further emphasized that all taxes collected are submitted to the appropriate government taxing authorities and that their pass products remain priced competitively within the state. For example, the 2026-27 Northeast Value Pass is priced at $662 for adults, whereas other NH-specific multi-mountain passes can exceed $1,200.
The timing of the new charge has nonetheless frustrated many consumers. According to previous financial reporting, the base price for the 2026-27 Epic Unlimited Pass already increased by 3.6%. When combined with the new 3.2% surcharge, New Hampshire residents are facing an effective price hike of nearly 7%. Critics argue that implementing the charge without clear consumer-facing communication has made the “tax” appear more like a revenue recovery mechanism following a season of below-expectation earnings.
The Attorney General’s investigation will focus on whether Vail Resorts can legally apply a national bundled tax rate to transactions occurring in “NOMAD” states (New Hampshire, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, and Delaware), where retail sales taxes are explicitly prohibited. As the state moves to protect its tax-free identity, the outcome could force a significant shift in how national ski passes are priced and taxed across the country.
Updated: April 28, 2026 This article has been updated to include an official statement and additional background information from Vail Resorts regarding their tax compliance and pricing strategy.
