What New Jersey taxes
New Jersey charges 6.625% on sales of most tangible personal property, specified digital products and certain services, unless a specific exemption applies. The services are where most small businesses get caught.
- Repair and maintenance. Labor to repair or maintain property is generally taxable, including maintenance of real property.
- Landscaping. Lawn mowing, fertilizing, tree trimming and weed or insect control are taxable, and so is planting trees, shrubs and new lawns. Installing a fence, a patio, a driveway or an underground sprinkler is an exempt capital improvement.
- Some installations. Installing carpeting and other flooring, and hard-wired alarm and security systems, is taxable even though it is permanent.
- Capital improvements. Most work that adds to the value of real property is exempt from tax on the labor. The property owner gives the contractor a Form ST-8 to document it.
Register before you sell
New Jersey requires businesses to register at least 15 business days before starting, on Form NJ-REG. You receive a Certificate of Authority, which lets you collect sales tax and accept exemption certificates. It must be displayed at your place of sale.
Filing: ST-50 and ST-51
- ST-50, every quarter. Due by the 20th of the month after the quarter ends: April 20, July 20, October 20 and January 20. It is filed online, and it is required even for a quarter with no sales.
- ST-51, monthly payments. If you collected more than $30,000 of New Jersey sales tax in the prior calendar year, you also pay for the first and second months of each quarter on Form ST-51, by the 20th of the next month, when that month’s tax is over $500. The ST-50 then reports the full quarter and pays what is left.
A worked example
Alexander owns a hardware store in Bergen County, outside an Urban Enterprise Zone. Last year he collected a little over $30,000 in sales tax, so this year he pays monthly. His taxable sales for the first quarter of 2026 were $38,000 in January, $34,000 in February and $46,000 in March. Sales to other retailers for resale, backed by Form ST-3, are not included.
| January: $38,000. ST-51 paid by February 20 | $2,517.50 |
| February: $34,000. ST-51 paid by March 20 | $2,252.50 |
| March: $46,000 | $3,047.50 |
| Tax on $118,000 for the quarter, reported on the ST-50 | $7,817.50 |
| Less ST-51 payments already made | ($4,770.00) |
| Paid with the ST-50 by April 20 | $3,047.50 |
At this pace Alexander collects $31,270 for the year, still over $30,000, so he stays on monthly payments next year. If his store were a certified business in an Urban Enterprise Zone, the same in-person sales would carry 3.3125%, or $3,908.75 for the quarter.
Exemption certificates
- Form ST-3, resale certificate. A registered business uses it to buy goods it will resell without paying tax.
- Form ST-4, exempt use certificate. For purchases whose use is specifically exempt under New Jersey law.
- Keep them. Certificates you accept must be kept for at least four years. Without a completed certificate, you can be held responsible for the tax you did not collect.
Selling from out of state or online
A seller with no location in New Jersey must register and collect if its sales into New Jersey were more than $100,000, or 200 or more separate transactions, in the current or prior calendar year. Online marketplaces collect the tax on sales made through them. A seller who sells only through marketplaces still registers, but can ask to be placed on a non-reporting basis.
Collected tax is not your money
New Jersey treats sales tax as a trust fund tax. For a corporation or LLC, any officer or employee responsible for collecting and paying it can be held personally liable for tax the business collected and did not pay. Keep the tax you collect separate from operating cash, and file on time even when you cannot pay in full.
New York is a separate system
If you also sell in New York, it is a separate registration and return. New York’s rate is the 4% state rate plus local rates that vary by county and city, and small businesses usually file quarterly, on quarters that end in February, May, August and November, due by the 20th of the following month. We file both. See what monthly bookkeeping includes.
This guide is general information based on the law as of the date above, not advice for your situation. Tax rules change, and the right answer depends on your numbers.