How to Fill Out and Submit the NJ Seller’s Residency Certification (GIT/REP-3)

The NJ GIT/REP-3 form is a one-page Seller’s Residency Certification/Exemption that a property seller signs and submits with the deed at closing to avoid the estimated Gross Income Tax payment New Jersey otherwise requires on a real property sale. The form goes to the county recording officer along with the deed, and without it (or another GIT/REP form), the county will refuse to record the deed. Any individual, estate, trust, or business entity selling New Jersey real property can use it, as long as one of 16 listed assurances applies to the seller’s situation.

Who Qualifies to Use the Form

The GIT/REP-3 lists 16 “Seller’s Assurances,” and you only need one to apply. Despite the form’s informal name, several of these have nothing to do with residency.¹ The ones sellers rely on most often:

Box 1: The seller is a New Jersey resident who will file a state income tax return and pay any tax owed on the gain.
Box 2: The property is used exclusively as the seller’s principal residence under IRC Section 121.
Box 3: The seller is conveying the mortgaged property to the lender in foreclosure or in lieu of foreclosure, with no additional consideration.
Box 5: The seller is not an individual, estate, or trust — meaning corporations, LLCs taxed as corporations, and similar entities that don’t pay New Jersey Gross Income Tax.
Box 6: The total consideration is $1,000 or less.
Box 7a/7b: The gain isn’t recognized for federal tax purposes under IRC Sections 721, 1031, or 1033 (like-kind exchange).
Box 8: An executor or administrator is transferring property to a devisee or heir under the decedent’s will or intestate law.
Box 9: Short sale — the seller receives no proceeds and the mortgagee gets everything.
Box 12: Transfer between spouses or as part of a divorce decree under IRC Section 1041.
Box 14: The seller isn’t receiving any net proceeds per the settlement sheet.
Box 15: The seller is a retirement trust with an IRS acknowledgment letter.

If none of the 16 assurances applies, you can’t use the GIT/REP-3. Instead you’ll file the GIT/REP-1 (Nonresident Seller’s Tax Declaration) with an estimated tax payment, or apply for a GIT/REP-4 waiver from the Division of Taxation.²

The Residency Test Behind Box 1

Box 1 is where most individual sellers land, but the rules are layered. If New Jersey is your domicile — the state you consider your permanent home and intend to return to — you’re a resident in almost all cases. You lose that status only if you didn’t maintain a permanent home in New Jersey, you did maintain one outside it, and you spent 30 days or fewer in the state during the tax year.³

If New Jersey is not your domicile, you’re a resident only if you both maintain a permanent home in the state and spend more than 183 days here. Meeting just one condition isn’t enough.³ Part-year residents — people who moved into or out of New Jersey during the tax year — are treated as nonresidents for GIT/REP purposes and cannot check Box 1.¹ A part-year resident selling their home may still qualify under a different assurance, most often Box 2 for a principal residence.

How to Fill Out the GIT/REP-3

Download the current version directly from the New Jersey Division of Taxation website. The form was last updated in August 2025.¹ It’s one page and can be printed or typed.

Seller Information

Enter the seller’s full legal name exactly as it appears on the deed, along with a mailing address. For individuals, that means your primary residence. For a business entity, use the principal place of business. Don’t enter the address of the property being sold unless it’s also your home address; the Division of Taxation uses this to verify residency.

Property Information

Fill in the Block and Lot numbers, the qualifier if any, and the full street address of the property being sold, exactly as they appear on the deed.¹ If you don’t have the deed handy, the Block and Lot numbers appear on your most recent property tax bill or in the county tax assessor’s records. Getting these wrong is one of the easiest ways to create a problem at recording.

You’ll also enter the seller’s percentage of ownership, the owner’s share of the consideration, the total consideration for the property, and the anticipated closing date. Consideration means the full compensation paid for the transfer, not just the cash at closing. It includes any mortgage the buyer assumes, liens that remain on the property, and any non-cash value exchanged. The total consideration figure must match the amount stated on the deed.¹

Seller’s Assurances

Check the one box that applies to your situation. If you’re a New Jersey resident filing a state return, that’s Box 1. If more than one assurance fits, pick the most directly applicable. Do not leave this section blank; the declaration is the entire point of the form.

Signature and Declaration

Sign and date the form. By signing, you’re declaring under penalty of fine, imprisonment, or both that everything on the form is true and correct. Notarization isn’t required. If someone is signing on your behalf under a power of attorney, check the “Power of Attorney or Attorney in Fact” indicator on the signature line. The power of attorney document must either already be recorded with the county or be recorded at the same time as the deed.¹

When a Property Has Multiple Sellers

Each seller must complete a separate GIT/REP-3. The only exception is a married or civil union couple that files their New Jersey Gross Income Tax returns jointly; they can share one form.¹

Each seller enters their own percentage of ownership and individual share of the consideration. This matters most when co-owners have different residency statuses. A New Jersey resident co-owner checks Box 1 on their own form. A nonresident co-owner who doesn’t qualify under any of the other 15 assurances files a GIT/REP-1 and makes an estimated tax payment on their share of the gain. One co-owner’s status doesn’t affect the other’s; each is evaluated independently.

Business Entities and Trusts

Corporations, partnerships, and LLCs selling New Jersey real property also file a GIT/REP form. An entity that is not an individual, estate, or trust — and that is not subject to the Gross Income Tax — uses Box 5.¹ A C corporation pays Corporation Business Tax rather than Gross Income Tax, so it qualifies under Box 5.

Trusts are more nuanced. A retirement trust with an IRS acknowledgment letter checks Box 15. Other trusts that are New Jersey residents (created by a New Jersey resident, administered here, or with their principal place of administration in the state) may qualify under Box 1 if they’ll file a resident Gross Income Tax return. An authorized representative signs on the entity’s behalf and should have documentation of that authority available at closing.

Submitting the Form at Closing

Bring the completed, signed GIT/REP-3 to closing and hand it to your settlement agent, typically the buyer’s attorney or title company. The settlement agent submits the original form to the county recording officer along with the deed, and the county clerk attaches the form to the deed when recording it.²

If no GIT/REP form accompanies the deed — whether a GIT/REP-1 with payment, a GIT/REP-3 exemption, or a GIT/REP-4 waiver — the county recording officer will refuse to record the deed. The sale cannot close in the public record without it. Keep a copy of the recorded form with your tax records.

If You Don’t Qualify for a GIT/REP-3

A nonresident seller who doesn’t qualify for any of the 16 assurances files a GIT/REP-1 and makes an estimated Gross Income Tax payment before the deed is recorded. The payment equals the gain on the sale multiplied by 10.75% (the highest Gross Income Tax rate) and can never be less than 2% of the total consideration.⁴ The seller or settlement agent must remit that payment before or at closing regardless of whether there’s actually a gain on the sale.² If the seller overpays, they claim the overpayment as a credit on their New Jersey nonresident income tax return for the year of the sale.

Sellers who believe their estimated tax should be lower than the statutory minimum can apply for a GIT/REP-4 waiver before closing. If granted, the waiver replaces the need for any other GIT/REP form, and the county recording officer accepts it without any tax payment.⁵

Correcting Errors After Recording

Form GIT/REP-4A handles corrective deed situations: the originally filed deed had a typo, a misspelled name, or an incorrect property description, and a new deed needs to be recorded to fix it. The GIT/REP-4A applies only when there’s no change in the consideration amount.⁶ For anything beyond a simple correction, such as a change in sale price, a different buyer, or a reclassification of residency status, contact the Division of Taxation directly. There’s no standardized amendment form for the GIT/REP-3 itself.

Penalties for a False Certification

The declaration you sign carries real consequences. Filing a false statement can be punished by fine, imprisonment, or both.¹ Beyond criminal exposure, claiming an exemption you don’t qualify for means the estimated tax that should have been paid at closing wasn’t, and the Division of Taxation will come looking for it.

Outstanding tax balances accrue interest at the prime rate plus 3%. For 2026 that rate is 10%, compounded annually, with any unpaid tax, penalties, and accumulated interest rolling into the balance at year-end.⁷ The most common mistake isn’t outright fraud. It’s a seller who moved out of New Jersey mid-year, still thinks of themselves as a resident, and checks Box 1. Part-year residents are treated as nonresidents for GIT/REP purposes, so Box 1 doesn’t apply to them. If you’re unsure about your status, working through the residency test above or consulting a tax professional before closing is far cheaper than sorting it out with the Division of Taxation afterward.

1
State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Seller’s Residency Certification/Exemption
2
New Jersey Department of the Treasury Division of Taxation. Estimated Payment Requirements on Sales of New Jersey Real Property by Nonresidents
3
New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Taxation. Part-Year Residents and Nonresidents
4
State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Nonresident Seller’s Tax Declaration Instructions
5
State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury. GIT/REP-4 Waiver of Seller’s GIT/REP Filing Requirement
6
NJ Division of Taxation. FAQs on Gross Income Tax Forms Required For Sale or Transfer of Real Property in New Jersey
7
New Jersey Division of Taxation. Interest Rate Assessed on Tax Balances