New Jersey Minimum Tax: C Corp, S Corp, and Affiliated Group Rates

Every corporation with nexus in New Jersey owes an annual New Jersey corporation minimum tax, even in a year with no profit. The amount runs from $500 to $2,000 for C corporations and $375 to $1,500 for S corporations, tied to New Jersey gross receipts. It sits underneath the regular Corporation Business Tax as a floor: a corporation always pays the greater of the two, and credits, deductions, and net operating losses cannot reduce it below the minimum.¹

Who Has to Pay It

Under N.J.S.A. 54:10A-5(e), every domestic and foreign corporation with nexus in New Jersey owes the minimum tax each year. Domestic corporations are organized under New Jersey law; foreign corporations are formed elsewhere but do business in the state. Profitability is irrelevant. A corporation posting a large loss owes the same minimum as one earning millions.

For privilege periods ending on or after July 31, 2023, New Jersey uses a bright-line economic nexus test. A corporation has nexus if it derives more than $100,000 in receipts from New Jersey sources during the tax year, or completes 200 or more separate transactions delivered to New Jersey customers during the year.² Either threshold triggers a filing obligation and the minimum tax.

Federal P.L. 86-272 does not help here. It shields companies whose only in-state activity is soliciting orders for tangible goods from net-income-based taxes, but New Jersey treats the minimum tax as a franchise tax for the privilege of doing business, not a net income tax. Protected corporations still owe the minimum.³

Inactive Corporations Still Owe

A corporation that conducted no business, had no income, receipts, or expenses, and owned no assets for the entire return period is inactive. It still must file (pages 1 through 4 of Form CBT-100, plus the Schedule I Certification of Inactivity) and still owes the minimum. The minimum tax cannot be prorated for short years, and New Jersey does not accept zero-dollar returns.⁴ The only way to stop the annual bill is to formally dissolve the corporation or withdraw its certificate of authority to do business in the state.

C Corporation Minimum Tax Amounts

C corporations filing Form CBT-100 pay a minimum tax set by New Jersey gross receipts for the privilege period:⁵

Less than $100,000: $500
$100,000 to less than $250,000: $750
$250,000 to less than $500,000: $1,000
$500,000 to less than $1,000,000: $1,500
$1,000,000 or more: $2,000

The amounts are fixed within each bracket. A corporation with $999,000 in New Jersey gross receipts pays $1,500; one with $1,000,001 pays $2,000. Whenever the regular CBT calculation on net income comes out below the applicable minimum, the minimum controls.¹

S Corporation Minimum Tax Amounts

S corporations filing Form CBT-100S follow a parallel schedule at lower dollar amounts:⁵

Less than $100,000: $375
$100,000 to less than $250,000: $562.50
$250,000 to less than $500,000: $750
$500,000 to less than $1,000,000: $1,125
$1,000,000 or more: $1,500

S corporation status must be properly registered with New Jersey. A corporation that qualifies as an S corporation federally and files Form CBT-100S generally pays only the statutory minimum, unless it has income taxed at the federal corporate level, in which case it owes the greater of the tax computed on that income or the minimum.⁶

Affiliated Groups Pay a Flat $2,000 Per Member

The graduated schedule is for standalone corporations. When a corporation belongs to an affiliated or controlled group (as defined under I.R.C. § 1504 or § 1563) and the group’s total payroll is $5,000,000 or more for the privilege period, the minimum tax becomes a flat $2,000 per member, regardless of each member’s individual gross receipts.⁴ Total payroll means the group’s entire payroll, not only the New Jersey share.⁷ For a tax year of less than 12 months, the higher minimum applies if the prorated total payroll exceeds $416,667 per month.

Combined groups filing a mandatory or elective New Jersey combined return follow the same rule. Each taxable member owes a $2,000 minimum tax for the group privilege period.⁵

How Your Bracket Is Determined

Your bracket is set by New Jersey gross receipts, meaning the portion of your revenue attributable to New Jersey operations for the accounting period. These include receipts from tangible goods delivered to New Jersey locations, income from services performed in the state, rent from New Jersey properties, and royalties from patents or trademarks used in the state.⁷

An allocation factor determines how much of your total revenue counts as New Jersey gross receipts. It represents the ratio of state-specific receipts to worldwide receipts. A company earning everything in New Jersey allocates 100%; a multistate business allocates a smaller share. The resulting figure, reported on Schedule J of the CBT-100, places you into a bracket on the minimum tax schedule.

When You Pay: Deadlines and Estimated Installments

The CBT return is due on the 15th day of the month following the month the federal corporate return is originally due. For calendar-year C corporations, the federal return is due April 15, so the New Jersey return is due May 15. If the date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day.⁴

Even a corporation that owes only the minimum has to pay throughout the year. C corporations with prior-year gross receipts under $50 million and a tax liability above $500 make four equal installments of 25%, due on the 15th of the 4th, 6th, 9th, and 12th months of the privilege period. If prior-year gross receipts were $50 million or more, the schedule compresses to three payments: 25% in the 4th month, 50% in the 6th month, and 25% in the 12th month. Corporations with a total liability of $500 or less can either make four equal installments or prepay 50% by the return due date. S corporations follow the same structure, with the simplified-payment threshold set at $375, matching the lowest S corporation minimum.⁸

A six-month filing extension is available by submitting Form CBT-200-T through the online Corporation Business Tax Filing and Payments system. The extension only extends filing, not payment. You must include a tentative tax payment, and if less than 90% of total liability is paid by the original due date, the extension is denied.⁹ The Division of Taxation only notifies you when an extension is denied, and that notice comes after you file the return, so a short payment can quietly turn into penalties before you learn the extension failed.

What Late Payment Costs

Missing the deadline on a $500 return still gets expensive. The late filing penalty is 5% of the tax due for each month or partial month the return is late, capped at 25% of the balance. On top of that, the state may charge $100 for each month the return is overdue. A separate late payment penalty of 5% of the unpaid tax applies as well.¹⁰

Interest accrues on any unpaid balance at the prime rate plus 3%, compounded annually. For 2026, that rate is 10%.¹¹ At the end of each calendar year, unpaid tax plus previously accrued penalties and interest roll into the base on which future interest is calculated, so the balance compounds on itself. If the debt is referred to a collection agency, an additional 11% referral cost recovery fee is added.¹⁰

Penalties can be abated if you can show reasonable cause for failing to file or pay on time. Interest cannot be waived.

1
New Jersey Division of Taxation. Corporation Business Tax Overview
2
New Jersey Division of Taxation. Nexus for Corporation Business Tax – TB-108(R)
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. Nexus for Corporation Business Tax – TB-79(R)
4
New Jersey Division of Taxation. 2025 CBT-100 General Instructions
5
Justia. New Jersey Code 54:10A-5 – Franchise Tax
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State of New Jersey. 2025 CBT-100S General Instructions
7
New Jersey Division of Taxation. Corporation Filing Responsibilities
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. Installment Payments of Estimated Tax
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. Corporation Business Tax (CBT) – Extensions
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. Penalties, Interest, and Collection Fees
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. Interest Rate Assessed on Tax Balances