New Jersey taxes personal income at 1.4% to 10.75%, and it builds that income its own way rather than starting from your federal return. A sole proprietor or single-member LLC is taxed as an individual, so the profit goes on the owner's Form NJ-1040; an LLC also pays a $75 annual report fee. Partnerships with more than two owners pay $150 for each owner. C corporations pay 6.5% to 9% corporation business tax, or a minimum tax of $500 to $2,000 if that is higher.
Personal income tax
New Jersey residents file Form NJ-1040. The rate rises in steps from 1.4% to 10.75%. If your New Jersey gross income is $10,000 or less ($20,000 for joint, head of household and surviving spouse filers), you owe no New Jersey tax at all.
New Jersey does not start from your federal return. It counts its own list of income, and it differs on purpose. There is no deduction for 401(k) or traditional IRA contributions, so your New Jersey wages are usually higher than your federal ones. A loss in one kind of income, such as a business loss, cannot reduce another, such as wages. There is no standard deduction, only exemptions. Social Security and military pensions are not taxed.
- Return
- Form NJ-1040
- Rates, single and married filing separately
- 1.4% up to $20,000, 1.75% from $20,000, 3.5% from $35,000, 5.525% from $40,000, 6.37% from $75,000, 8.97% from $500,000, 10.75% from $1,000,000
- Rates, married filing jointly, head of household and surviving spouse
- 1.4% up to $20,000, 1.75% from $20,000, 2.45% from $50,000, 3.5% from $70,000, 5.525% from $80,000, 6.37% from $150,000, 8.97% from $500,000, 10.75% from $1,000,000
- No tax at all
- New Jersey gross income of $10,000 or less, or $20,000 for joint, head of household and surviving spouse filers
- Exemptions
- $1,000 for you and for your spouse, another $1,000 each at 65 or older, $1,000 each if blind or disabled, $6,000 each for a veteran, $1,500 per dependent, and another $1,000 per dependent in college
- Retirement income
- At 62 or older, up to $100,000 married filing jointly, $75,000 single or head of household, $50,000 married filing separately, when income is $100,000 or less. Above that only a share of it, and nothing above $150,000
- Property tax
- A deduction of up to $15,000 ($7,500 married filing separately) when it saves at least $50, otherwise a $50 refundable credit. Renters count 18% of rent as property tax
- Child Tax Credit
- Up to $1,000 for each child aged 5 or younger, refundable, ending above $80,000 of taxable income
- Health coverage
- New Jersey still charges a shared responsibility payment to a household without health insurance
Sole proprietor
New Jersey treats a sole proprietor as an individual for income tax. There is no business income tax return and no annual report, and New Jersey charges no fee for the business itself.
Your business profit goes on your own Form NJ-1040. A business loss can bring business income down to zero, but it cannot reduce your wages or other income.
Single-member LLC
A single-member LLC files no business income tax return. New Jersey treats it as an individual, so its profit goes on your own Form NJ-1040.
The LLC does file an annual report every year to stay in good standing. The fee is $75, due by the last day of the month the LLC was formed in, and it is owed whatever the business earned. The $150-per-owner partnership fee does not apply to it.
Partnership
A New Jersey partnership files Form NJ-1065. The profit passes through to the partners, who report it on their own returns.
Once a partnership has more than two owners and any New Jersey income or loss, it pays a filing fee of $150 for each owner, capped at $250,000. The fee is due the 15th day of the fourth month after the year ends, so April 15 for a calendar year. It is owed whether the business made money or lost it, and half of it is also prepaid towards next year at the same time.
If any partner lives outside New Jersey, the partnership itself is taxed on that partner's share, on NJ-CBT-1065.
S corporation
A New Jersey S corporation files Form CBT-100S, the S corporation business tax return.
Shareholders report their share of the profit on their own Form NJ-1040, where partnership and S corporation income is its own category. A loss there cannot reduce other kinds of income.
C corporation
A C corporation files Form CBT-100 and pays corporation business tax on the income allocated to New Jersey. The rate is picked by the corporation's whole entire net income: 6.5% when entire net income is $50,000 or less, 7.5% when entire net income is $100,000 or less, 9% above $100,000. A corporation selling into other states counts only its New Jersey share, measured by sales alone.
If the tax on income comes to less than the minimum tax, the corporation pays the minimum instead. The minimum is set by New Jersey gross receipts: $500 under $100,000, $750 under $250,000, $1,000 under $500,000, $1,500 under $1,000,000, $2,000 at $1,000,000 or more.
- Return
- Form CBT-100
- Corporation business tax
- 6.5% when entire net income is $50,000 or less, 7.5% when entire net income is $100,000 or less, 9% above $100,000
- Minimum tax, by New Jersey receipts
- $500 under $100,000, $750 under $250,000, $1,000 under $500,000, $1,500 under $1,000,000, $2,000 at $1,000,000 or more
- Multi-state profit
- New Jersey sales over total sales
Estimate your state tax
Pick your business type and enter this year's numbers to see the state business tax New Jersey charges. It assumes all your sales are in New Jersey.
An estimate for planning, not tax advice.
Sources
- New Jersey Form NJ-1040 Instructions, 2025
- New Jersey Form NJ-1040, 2025
- nj.gov Partnership Filing Information
- nj.gov Technical Bulletin TB-55, Partnership Filing Fee and Nonresident Partner Tax
- nj.gov 2025 NJ-1065 instructions
- nj.gov Corporation Business Tax Overview (read 2026-08-13)
Last reviewed August 2026.
File your 2025 return for free
The free tax filing tool builds your federal and New Jersey returns from plain-English questions.
Start the free tax filing tool