New Jersey property tax answers · Updated June 2026
How do I appeal my property taxes in New Jersey?
The short answer
File a Petition of Appeal (Form A-1) with your County Board of Taxation, typically by April 1, or May 1 if your town did a revaluation or reassessment that year. A filing fee scaled to your assessed value applies. New Jersey appeals start with a presumption that the assessment is correct, so you need credible comparable sales near the October 1 valuation date to overcome it. Homes assessed over $1 million may file directly with the State Tax Court.
The New Jersey appeal, step by step
- Review the assessment postcard your municipal assessor mails by early February. New Jersey assesses at a percentage of market value, so check your town's equalization ratio to see what your assessment implies your home is worth.
- File Form A-1, the Petition of Appeal, with your County Board of Taxation by the deadline. The standard date is April 1, but it moves to May 1 in any town that did a revaluation or reassessment that year, and some counties (Monmouth, for example) run on an earlier January calendar.
- Pay the filing fee, which is scaled to your assessed value. Confirm the exact amount with your County Board of Taxation before filing.
- Build comparable-sales evidence. New Jersey appeals begin with a presumption that the assessment is correct, and you overcome it with usable, arm's-length sales near the October 1 valuation date. Three to five strong comps is the standard.
- Present at the County Board of Taxation hearing, usually in spring or summer. If you disagree with the judgment, you generally have 45 days to appeal to the New Jersey Tax Court. Homes assessed over $1,000,000 may file there directly.
Why the math almost always favors appealing
New Jersey homeowners pay the highest property taxes in the country, an average bill around $9,300 a year, roughly double the national average. Against that, even a 5% reduction is a few hundred dollars that repeats every year you hold the lower assessment. The deciding question is rarely the deadline, it is whether your assessment is actually out of line with comparable sales.
One New Jersey-specific caution worth knowing before you file: the County Board can, in narrow circumstances tied to the state's ratio rules, adjust an assessment in either direction. For a clearly over-assessed home that is not a concern, but it is a reason to file with real comps rather than a hunch. Your county's data and a free address check are on our New Jersey page.
Hire a pro, or do it yourself with the evidence
For a standard home the County Board hearing is built for self-representation, and you do not need an attorney. Hiring makes sense mainly for homes around $500K and up with a large likely reduction, or for commercial and multi-family property where valuation gets technical. Either way, start with the free check, it shows whether the gap between your assessment and comparable properties is big enough to bother. If it is, the $49 protest kit comes with the comparable evidence pre-filled, ready to sign and submit, and you keep 100% of the savings.
See if your home is over-assessed, free
Search your address and see how your assessment compares against similar properties from the public assessment roll. Free, no signup, about 30 seconds. If the record shows a gap, the $49 protest kit comes pre-filled with your comparable evidence and the filing steps for your jurisdiction, you sign and submit, and you keep 100% of the savings. No contingency, ever.
Check my address · FreeFlat $49, one time. Filing your own appeal is free in every state; what you're buying is the evidence and the steps, done.