Navigating New Jersey’s sales tax guidelines
All online sellers and businesses must be compliant with New Jersey’s sales tax laws if they have sales in the state. Businesses that meet the sales threshold requirements in New Jersey or that have a physical presence in the state must file sales tax returns and remit the applicable tax. Learn more about economic nexus guidelines in New Jersey and use TaxJar’s sales tax calculator to estimate how much your business may owe in sales tax.
Do you need to collect sales tax in New Jersey?
Businesses need to collect sales tax in New Jersey if they have either a physical or an economic nexus. Physical nexus means that a business has a tangible presence or activity in a state. Economic nexus means that a business meets a states’ economic threshold for total revenue or the number of transactions in that state.
Do you have physical nexus in New Jersey?
New Jersey considers a seller to have physical nexus if they meet any of these criteria:
- An office or place of business in New Jersey
- An employee present in the state
- Goods in a warehouse
- Ownership of real or personal property
- Delivery of merchandise in New Jersey
- Independent contractors or other representatives in New Jersey
- Provide any maintenance program in New Jersey
The New Jersey Division of Taxation provides additional context about sales tax nexus in New Jersey.
Do you have economic nexus in New Jersey?
Effective November 1, 2018, New Jersey considers vendors who make more than $100,000 in sales annually in the state or more than 200 transactions in the state to have economic nexus. These vendors are obligated to collect sales tax from buyers in the state. New Jersey offers additional guidance about economic nexus for sellers. Business leaders can also explore more about economic nexus in each state.
Is what you’re selling taxable?
Many services are taxable in New Jersey. Tangible products are taxable in New Jersey, with a few exceptions that include clothes, groceries, and prescription drugs.
Is SaaS taxable in New Jersey?
SaaS is non-taxable in New Jersey.
How to get a sales tax permit in New Jersey
There are two options to register your business for a sales tax permit in New Jersey: online and filling out forms and mailing them in. Businesses can register for a sales tax permit in New Jersey by applying online or completing a tax permit form and mailing it to Client Registration.
For sellers who live in New Jersey, we recommend registering online via the New Jersey Department of the Treasury Business and Employer Registration..
For sellers who live outside of New Jersey but have nexus in the state for another reason, register using the mail-in form. New Jersey’s automated system assumes all registrants are in-state and will prompt all businesses to register with the Secretary of State, which is not required for online business and sellers. The New Jersey Department of the Treasury includes step-by-step instructions for businesses to enroll online. Or download this form,
Businesses can also visit TaxJar’s registration page to request for TaxJar to manage their New Jersey registration.
All businesses need the following information to register for a sales tax permit in New Jersey:
- Federal Identification Number
- SSN
- Name
- Trade Name
- Type of Ownership
- New Jersey Business Code
- Owner, partnership, corporate officers info
- Other basic info (if business is seasonal, entity, subsidiary, info about what you sell, etc.)
There is no fee required to file Form NJ-REG and register your business. Other business registration fees may apply.
For businesses who need to mail their sales tax permit form, remit correspondence to:
Client Registration
PO Box 252
Trenton, NJ 08646-0252
Overnight Delivery:
Client Registration
33 West State St 3rd Floor
Trenton, NJ 08608
Collecting sales tax
Businesses that have physical nexus have different sales tax collection directives than businesses that hold an economic nexus in the state. Learn more about how to collect sales tax when you are a remote seller.
How to collect sales tax in New Jersey if you are based in New Jersey
Collecting sales tax in New Jersey is easy because New Jersey doesn’t have local sales tax rates. If you have sales tax nexus in New Jersey and sell to buyers in New Jersey, then you should charge the 6.625% state and use tax rate. (If you need to calculate sales and use tax rates in any other state, use the TaxJar sales tax calculator.
Should you collect sales tax on shipping charges in New Jersey?
New Jersey requires you to charge sales tax on shipping of taxable items. If you ship a taxable item and a non-taxable item, you must separate the shipping costs based on their respective weights. This ensures that your business will not have to charge sales tax on the shipping of the non-taxable item.
If you do not separate the shipping charges between taxable and non-taxable items, you will have to charge sales tax on all shipping charges you bill the customer.
When are returns due?
When you file and pay New Jersey sales tax depends on your assigned filing frequency and your state’s due dates.
How often will you file sales tax returns in New Jersey?
States assign you a filing frequency when you register for your sales tax permit. In most states, how often you file sales tax is based on the amount of sales tax you collect from buyers in the state.
In New Jersey, you will be required to file and remit sales tax either monthly or quarterly.
New Jersey sales tax returns are always due the 20th of the month following the reporting period. If the filing due date falls on a weekend or holiday, sales tax is generally due the next business day.
Filing sales tax
There are three basic steps when filing sales tax in New Jersey:
- Calculate how much sales tax you owe
- File a sales tax return
- Make a payment
How to calculate how much sales tax you owe in New Jersey
Calculating how much sales tax you should remit to the state of New Jersey is easy with TaxJar’s New Jersey sales tax report.
Connect the channels through which you sell – including Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Square and more – and we’ll calculate exactly how much sales tax you collected. All the information you need to file your New Jersey sales tax return will be waiting for you in TaxJar. All you have to do is login.
How to file and pay sales tax in New Jersey
You have three options for filing and paying your New Jersey sales tax:
- File online. File online at the New Jersey Division of Taxation. You can remit your payment through their online system. You can also use our step-by-step guide to filing a New Jersey sales tax return.
- File by mail. You can use ST-50 to file and pay by mail.
- AutoFile – Let TaxJar file your sales tax for you. We take care of the payments, too. You’ll never have to worry about spreadsheets, calculations or filling out complex sales tax returns.
