New Jersey has a graduated state individual income tax, with rates ranging from 1.40 percent to 10.75 percent. New Jersey has a graduated corporate income tax with a top rate of 11.50 percent—the highest in the nation—a 6.625 percent state sales tax rate, and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 6.60 percent. New Jersey has a 1.88 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value—also the highest in the nation. New Jersey has an inheritance tax. New Jersey’s gas tax is 49.15 cents per gallon, and its cigarette excise tax is $3.00 per pack of 20 cigarettes.
New Jersey raises tax revenue primarily through property taxes (39.1 percent of total state and local tax revenue), individual income taxes (21.6 percent), and general sales taxes (17.2 percent). New Jersey collects $9,178 in state and local tax collections per capita, carries $9,375 in state and local debt per capita, and has a 60 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. New Jersey’s tax system ranks 49th overall on the 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and New Jersey is no exception. Use the tabs below to compare New Jersey taxes with other states and to see how New Jersey raises tax revenue. You can also browse our tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2026: How Does Your State Compare?
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The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
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Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
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Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
9 min read
Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for nearly a quarter of combined state and local tax collections.
18 min read
Forty-four states levy a corporate income tax, with top rates ranging from a 2 percent flat rate in North Carolina to an 11.5 percent top marginal rate in New Jersey. Four states—Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania—reduced their corporate income tax rates effective January 1, 2026.
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Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments. While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, property taxes are largely rooted in the benefit principle of taxation: the people paying the property tax bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services.
9 min read
Tax collections vary widely by state, making per capita collections figures—a measure of collections per person—especially useful, as they allow comparisons across differences in tax rates and bases, economic capacities, and policy decisions that impact the size and scope of government.
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Rental cars are some of the most heavily taxed transactions in the US. Rather than levying additional taxes on rental cars by trying to export the tax burden to nonresidents, municipalities should enact principled, neutral transportation tax policy that is unlikely to discourage visitors, tourists, and other economic activity.
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These debates are often framed in terms of fairness. Raise taxes on a few to provide benefits for most, the thinking goes. But in policy, the more important question should focus on mechanics: will this change achieve its stated goal?
Millions of Americans, along with significant amounts of income and economic activity, are moving from high-tax states to those with more competitive tax systems and lower overall costs of living.
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Nearly half of US states regulate and tax recreational markets, and only 10 states still lack a comprehensive medical marijuana program.
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Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
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The amount of revenue states raise through roadway-related revenues varies significantly across the US. Only two states raise enough revenue to fully cover their highway spending.
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Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments. While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, property taxes are largely rooted in the benefit principle of taxation: the people paying the property tax bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services.
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The vaping industry has grown rapidly in recent decades, becoming a well-established product category and a viable alternative to cigarettes for those trying to quit smoking. US states levy a variety of tax structures on vaping products.
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Notably, the OBBBA makes permanent the individual tax changes first put in place by the TCJA, which avoids a tax hike on an estimated 62 percent of tax filers in 2026.
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