New Jersey 2026 Tax Rates and Brackets Explained for Individual Filers

New Jersey uses a progressive state income tax system for 2026, with marginal rates ranging from 1.4% to 10.75%. If your taxable income is $100,000 or more, you must compute your New Jersey tax using the state’s NJ Tax Rate Schedules, and you must use the schedule that matches your filing status.

This matters right away if you’re a new resident, a recent immigrant, or you earn income in New Jersey through work, self-employment, or investments. Using the wrong schedule (or the wrong tool) can give you the wrong estimate and lead to underpaying or overpaying.

Two ways to estimate your 2026 New Jersey income tax (and which one to trust)

You usually face a practical choice when you’re trying to plan for withholding, quarterly estimates, or a move: calculate using New Jersey’s official method, or rely on a third‑party summary/calculator.

Comparison: Official NJ schedules vs. third‑party summaries

Option A (recommended): Calculate using New Jersey’s official tax rate schedules

If you want a number you can rely on for planning, use the official approach New Jersey expects—especially once your taxable income reaches the point where the schedules apply.

What New Jersey’s 2026 rates look like in plain language

For 2026, New Jersey’s individual income tax uses graduated marginal rates from 1.4% up to 10.75%. Here’s the rate structure you’ll see referenced in official schedules and in reputable summaries:

• 1.40% is the lowest marginal rate on the first portion of taxable income for most filers.
• Intermediate marginal rates include 1.75%, 2.45%, 3.50%, 5.525%, and 6.37% (the income ranges differ by filing status).
• 8.97% applies beginning at the $500,001 bracket.
• 10.75% is the top marginal rate for the highest incomes.

⚠️ Important: These are marginal rates, not a single flat rate on your whole income. Only the portion of income within each bracket is taxed at that bracket’s rate.

Why filing status matters more than most people expect

New Jersey does not use one single bracket chart for everyone. You must use the schedule that matches your filing status:

• Single / Married filing separately (MFS)
• Married filing jointly / Head of household (HOH)

Even when the marginal rates are the same, the bracket cutoffs and the step-by-step calculation differ. That difference changes your total tax.

When the official schedules aren’t optional

New Jersey’s guidance is clear: once your taxable income is $100,000 or more, you use the NJ Tax Rate Schedules to compute tax. That’s where many quick calculators break down, because the schedules can involve stepwise calculations rather than a simple “multiply by X%” approach.

A simple 4-step process to estimate correctly (without getting lost)

1. Confirm your filing status
   Decide whether you will file as single, MFS, joint, or HOH. Match that status to the correct schedule.

2. Start with taxable income (not gross pay)
   Your taxable income is what remains after deductions and adjustments that New Jersey allows. Your W‑2 wages alone don’t tell the full story.

3. Apply the marginal structure and the schedule method
   Use the bracketed approach New Jersey publishes. This is where the $100,000 threshold matters.

4. Sanity-check your result against the marginal-rate list
   If your estimate implies that all your income was taxed at 10.75%, something went wrong. Only the top slice gets the top rate.

Extra notes for immigrants and new residents in New Jersey

If you’re new to the U.S. system, your tax planning often depends on paperwork timing and residency dates. Keep these points in mind:

• Your residency start date matters for state tax questions like whether you file as a full-year or part-year resident.
• Your entry record can help you document timing if you need it for any legal or tax purpose. You can retrieve your I‑94 admission record through U.S. Customs and Border Protection at CBP’s I‑94 page.

(That CBP link is not a tax form. It’s a practical record many immigrants use when building a timeline of U.S. presence.)

Option B: Use third‑party summaries and calculators (fast, but treat the number as a draft)

Third‑party sites often show New Jersey income tax rates in a clean chart, and many people like them because they’re easy to scan. Reputable summaries usually list the same marginal rates you’ll see in the official method, including:

• 1.4% at the low end
• intermediate rates like 1.75%, 2.45%, 3.50%, 5.525%, and 6.37%
• 8.97% starting at $500,001
• 10.75% at the top

That’s useful context. The risk is that presentation can blur the parts that change your actual tax, like the filing-status schedule choice and how the state computes tax when your taxable income reaches the schedule threshold.

Where third‑party tools help most

Use a third-party tool when you want to:

• compare a rough New Jersey estimate to another state while you’re considering a move
• get a quick sense of whether your marginal rate will reach 6.37%, 8.97%, or 10.75%
• estimate your cash flow before you have final numbers for the year

Where third‑party tools tend to mislead

Treat the result as a draft if any of these apply:

• Your taxable income is $100,000 or more, and the tool doesn’t clearly use New Jersey’s rate schedules.
• You’re unsure whether you should file as single/MFS or joint/HOH, or the tool doesn’t separate those schedules clearly.
• You’re mixing wage income, self-employment, and investment income and entering only one number (the tool may oversimplify).

💡 Practical rule: If you will change jobs, change filing status, or move into New Jersey mid-year, rely on the official schedule method for any number you plan to use for withholding or quarterly estimates.

Which option is right for you? Common New Jersey scenarios

Use the choice that matches what you’re doing with the number.

Choose Option A if you need a number you can act on

Option A fits you if:

• you’re planning withholding at a new job in New Jersey
• you’re deciding whether to make estimated payments
• your taxable income is $100,000 or more
• you’re filing jointly and want to see the impact of using the correct joint/HOH schedule

This is also the better route if you’re a new immigrant building financial stability and you want fewer surprises at tax time.

Choose Option B if you’re still in the early planning stage

Option B fits you if:

• you’re comparing New Jersey to another state and need a quick sense of income tax rates
• you’re months away from having your real taxable income number
• you want a fast “order of magnitude” estimate and you won’t rely on it for payments

Just don’t lock your budget around a calculator result if you haven’t confirmed the schedule rules and filing status.

Next steps — I can help

If you tell me:

1. your filing status, and
2. your estimated New Jersey taxable income for 2026,

I can show you how the progressive rates apply and how to structure a clean estimate.

For more immigration guides that connect money planning with real-life status issues, you can also visit VisaVerge.com.