Does NJ Have Income Tax? Brackets, Filing, and Deadlines

Yes, New Jersey does have a state income tax. The Gross Income Tax applies to individuals who earn income in the state, with rates running from 1.4 percent on the lowest bracket to 10.75 percent on income above $1 million.¹ Residents owe tax on all of their income regardless of where it was earned; nonresidents owe tax only on income sourced to New Jersey.

Who Has to File

Filing is tied to your gross income and filing status. Single filers and those married filing separately owe no New Jersey income tax and generally do not need to file when total income for the year is $10,000 or less. For married couples filing jointly, heads of household, and qualifying surviving spouses, the threshold is $20,000.²

File anyway if New Jersey tax was withheld from your pay or you qualify for a refundable credit. That is the only way to get the money back.

Residents, Part-Year Residents, and Nonresidents

A full-year resident maintains a permanent home in New Jersey, or spends more than 183 days in the state during the year while also keeping a place to live there. Crossing 183 days makes you a statutory resident even if you consider somewhere else home.³

Part-year residents report income earned while living in New Jersey plus any New Jersey-sourced income from the rest of the year. Nonresidents report only New Jersey-sourced income: wages from a New Jersey workplace, business profits from a New Jersey operation, rental income from New Jersey property.³

How Much You’ll Pay: Brackets by Filing Status

New Jersey uses a progressive bracket system. The rate you see on a bracket applies only to the dollars that fall inside it, not to your whole income.

Single and Married Filing Separately

$0 to $20,000: 1.4%
$20,001 to $35,000: 1.75%
$35,001 to $40,000: 3.5%
$40,001 to $75,000: 5.525%
$75,001 to $500,000: 6.37%
$500,001 to $1,000,000: 8.97%
Over $1,000,000: 10.75%

Married Filing Jointly and Head of Household

$0 to $20,000: 1.4%
$20,001 to $50,000: 1.75%
$50,001 to $70,000: 2.45%
$70,001 to $80,000: 3.5%
$80,001 to $150,000: 5.525%
$150,001 to $500,000: 6.37%
$500,001 to $1,000,000: 8.97%
Over $1,000,000: 10.75%

What That Looks Like in Practice

A single filer earning $50,000 pays 1.4 percent on the first $20,000, 1.75 percent on the next $15,000, 3.5 percent on the next $5,000, and 5.525 percent on the remaining $10,000. The total comes to about $1,290, an effective rate of roughly 2.6 percent, well below the 5.525 percent marginal rate at the top of that income.¹ The marginal rate is what you pay on your next dollar; the effective rate is what you actually pay overall.

What New Jersey Doesn’t Tax

Several categories of income escape the Gross Income Tax entirely:

Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits are fully excluded from your state return.⁴
Unemployment compensation from any state is not taxable in New Jersey.⁵
Military housing and subsistence allowances, mustering-out payments, military pensions, and survivor’s benefit payments are not subject to New Jersey tax. Combat zone pay is fully exempt for tax years 2021 and later.⁶

Retirees get an additional break. If you are 62 or older (or disabled) and your total income is $100,000 or less, you can exclude taxable pension, annuity, and IRA withdrawals up to $100,000 for married filing jointly, $75,000 for single or head of household, and $50,000 for married filing separately. A partial exclusion applies between $100,001 and $150,000 of income. Above $150,000, no exclusion is available.⁷

New Jersey also does not offer a standard deduction. Instead you get a $1,000 personal exemption (and $1,000 for a spouse on a joint return), $1,500 per dependent, a property tax deduction of up to $15,000 for homeowners (or a $50 refundable credit for renters), and a medical expense deduction for unreimbursed costs above 2 percent of gross income.⁸⁹

Credits That Reduce What You Owe

Two refundable credits are worth knowing about. The New Jersey Earned Income Tax Credit equals 40 percent of your federal EITC and is paid to you even if it exceeds your tax bill.¹⁰ Families with children age five or younger may receive a Child Tax Credit of up to $1,000 per qualifying child, phasing down from $1,000 at $30,000 of taxable income or less to $200 at $60,001 to $80,000, with nothing above $80,000.¹¹

If You Work in One State and Live in Another

New Jersey and Pennsylvania have a reciprocal tax agreement. Pennsylvania residents working in New Jersey owe tax only to Pennsylvania on their wages, and New Jersey residents working in Pennsylvania owe tax only to New Jersey.¹²

The agreement covers compensation only: wages, salaries, tips, fees, commissions, and bonuses. Self-employment income, business profits, and gains from selling property are not covered, so you still file a nonresident return in the other state for those. Pennsylvania residents whose New Jersey employers withheld NJ tax should file a New Jersey nonresident return to recover it, and submit Form NJ-165 to the employer to stop future withholding.¹²

No reciprocal agreement exists with New York, Connecticut, or any other state. If you commute from New Jersey to one of them, you file a nonresident return in the work state and typically claim a credit on your New Jersey return for the tax paid there, which keeps the same income from being taxed twice.

Deadlines, Extensions, and Penalties

New Jersey income tax returns are due April 15, 2026. You can request an extension to October 15, 2026, but the extension covers only filing. You must pay at least 80 percent of what you owe by April 15 to avoid a late-filing penalty.¹³

Filing after the deadline (or after an approved extension) triggers a penalty of 5 percent of unpaid tax per month or partial month, capped at 25 percent, plus a possible additional $100 per month. Interest on unpaid balances runs at 3 percentage points above the prime rate, compounded annually, and at the end of each calendar year the unpaid tax, penalties, and interest are combined into a new balance that keeps accruing.¹⁴

If you expect to owe more than $400 that will not be covered by withholding, which commonly includes freelancers, landlords, and self-employed workers, New Jersey requires quarterly estimated payments on Form NJ-1040-ES.¹⁵

1
Justia. New Jersey Code 54A:2-1 – Imposition of Tax
2
NJ.gov. Gross Income Tax Overview
3
Justia. New Jersey Code 54A:1-2 – Definitions
4
NJ.gov. Retiring in New Jersey – Tax Guide
5
NJ.gov. Exempt (Nontaxable) Income
6
NJ.gov. Military Personnel and Veterans – All Taxes
7
NJ.gov. Retirement Income Exclusions
8
Justia. New Jersey Code 54A:3-1 – Personal Exemptions and Deductions
9
NJ.gov. Property Tax Deduction/Credit for Homeowners and Renters
10
NJ.gov. Calculate NJEITC
11
NJ.gov. Child Tax Credit
12
NJ.gov. PA/NJ Reciprocal Income Tax Agreement
13
NJ.gov. When to File and Pay
14
NJ.gov. NJ-1040 Resident Income Tax Return Instructions
15
NJ.gov. 2025 NJ-1040-ES Instructions