CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING NEW JERSEY’S PROPERTY TAX LANDSCAPE When I first started helping homeowners compare towns, one of the biggest surprises for many of them was just how inconsistent property taxes are in New Jersey. People know taxes are high, but they often assume they are high everywhere. The truth is more complicated and also more hopeful. Once you understand Why Taxes Differ So Much From Town to Town New Jersey’s property tax system is built on a simple but powerful reality: most of the money that funds schools, municipal services, and certain county responsibilities comes directly from property taxes. But how much each individual homeowner pays depends on the decisions made by their specific town. If a town needs a lot of revenue and does not have much commercial property, the burden falls on homeowners. If a town has a strong commercial base, homeowners often enjoy much lower property taxes. how the state’s tax structure works, you start seeing opportunities you may have never noticed before. This is why towns like Paramus, with its massive shopping district, have taxes that are surprisingly low compared to their home values. Meanwhile, a town like Maplewood, beautiful and popular but with limited commercial areas, relies more heavily on residential taxes to support its services, schools, infrastructure, and community programs.
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