Behind on Property Taxes in New Jersey?

Back Taxes in New Jersey: Your Options

This page explains what happens in New Jersey when property taxes on land go unpaid. Your municipality collects the tax. The page covers the quarterly due dates, interest, the yearly tax sale, redemption, foreclosure in Superior Court and the 2024 law on the owner's equity.

A New Jersey tax sale sells a certificate, not the land. You keep the land and can redeem or sell it until a foreclosure judgment. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. For your own parcel, ask your municipal tax collector.

When New Jersey property taxes are due and go delinquent

Property taxes are a continuing lien on the land and are due in four installments: February 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1. Late taxes can bear interest of up to 8 percent on the first $1,500 and up to 18 percent above $1,500. If the delinquency is over $10,000 at the end of the fiscal year, the town may add a year-end penalty of up to 6 percent (NJ Division of Local Government Services).

What the town does next: the tax sale

Every municipality with delinquent taxes must hold at least one tax sale a year. The buyer gets a tax sale certificate, which is a lien. Bidders bid down the interest rate from 18 percent. If it reaches 1 percent, they bid a premium instead. Taxes keep accruing after the sale, and the holder can pay them and add them to the lien (NJ Division of Local Government Services).

Redemption

You can redeem by paying the tax collector the certificate amount with the interest rate set at the sale, later taxes the holder paid with interest, and a redemption penalty of 2, 4 or 6 percent based on the certificate size (NJ Division of Local Government Services). Ask for a written payoff.

Foreclosure

A private certificate holder can start a foreclosure case in Superior Court two years after the sale. When the municipality holds the certificate, it can act after six months (NJ Division of Local Government Services, Assembly committee statement on A3772). If the foreclosure is completed, title passes to the holder.

The 2024 surplus law

In 2024 New Jersey changed its tax sale law and In Rem Tax Foreclosure Act to follow the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County (P.L.2024, c.39). The owner or the owner's heirs can ask the Superior Court, before final judgment, to have the property sold at a judicial sale or online auction. After the certificate holder and sale costs are paid, other lienholders have up to seven months to claim, and the rest goes to the owner (Assembly committee statement on A3772).

Your options if you are behind

Your best choice depends on the land, the amount owed and whether a foreclosure has started.

• Pay the full amount owed, with penalties, interest and costs, before the next step in the process.
• Ask the tax office whether it offers a payment plan, and get the terms in writing.
• Sell the land before the deadline. The back taxes are paid from the sale at closing.
• If the land was inherited, gather the death certificate and any will or probate papers early, because a sale needs someone with authority to sign.
• If the numbers are large or a deadline is close, talk to a real estate attorney.

Selling land with back taxes in New Jersey

You can sell land with a tax sale certificate before a final foreclosure judgment. At closing, the title company gets a redemption figure from the tax collector and pays it from the sale price. The certificate is redeemed and the buyer gets clear title.

EasyLotBuyer buys vacant land in New Jersey for cash, including lots with back taxes, liens, title issues or no road access, and land from heirs and estates. We make a cash offer within 24 hours, charge no fees or commissions, and pay the closing costs. We can close in as few as 7 days. Back taxes are paid at closing from the sale.

Where to check your tax status

Your municipal tax collector has the bills, tax sale lists and redemption figures. The NJ Division of Taxation Property Administration page links county and local tax offices.