Ayotte orders DOJ probe of Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass sales tax at Mount Sunapee

A 3.2% charge on Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass is now under state scrutiny in New Hampshire, and Mount Sunapee passholders in Sullivan County are squarely in the middle of it. Gov. Kelly Ayotte said the New Hampshire Department of Justice would examine whether the company was improperly charging a sales tax on multi-resort passes sold to Granite State skiers, a move that puts a tax-like line item on purchases in a state that does not levy a statewide sales tax.

Attorney General John Formella has opened an investigation into the legality of the charge. Vail disclosed in a March 2026 investor presentation that it would begin charging a “blended sales tax” rate of 3.2% on all multi-resort Epic Pass products, and the governor’s office said that appears to include passes sold in New Hampshire and even passes that may be used only in New Hampshire. On checkout pages, the charge has been described as a “sales and other taxes” line item, which is driving the dispute over whether Vail is passing through taxes owed elsewhere or imposing a tax-like fee on New Hampshire buyers.

The issue matters in Sullivan County because Mount Sunapee is not just another commercial ski area. The state owns the land and leases the mountain to Vail Resorts under an arrangement that dates back to April 30, 1998, when New Hampshire first entered into a lease with Okemo and the Muellers. The Governor and Executive Council approved that agreement on June 10, 1998. In 2018, the state publicly examined the transfer of the lease to a Vail subsidiary, held a public information session on July 25, 2018, and later approved the lease amendment on December 19, 2018.

That lease now runs through 2048 when option years are included, and it requires the operator to pay the state $150,000 a year plus 3% of gross revenue. A 2025 state parks document said Mount Sunapee’s annual operating plan was conditionally approved and that more than 200 people turned out for a public meeting about wastewater improvements or a possible replacement system, a reminder that the resort is a state-owned asset with ongoing public oversight. Vail also operates Wildcat Mountain, Attitash and Crotched Mountain in New Hampshire.

Ayotte said, “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.” Vail did not immediately respond to requests for comment. For skiers buying Epic Pass products, the key question now is whether the state forces the charge off future sales, whether Vail keeps collecting it, and whether recent buyers are offered refunds or credits if the investigation finds the fee should not have been imposed.