2017 Property Tax Figures Released
2017 Property Tax Figures Released
Annual Property Tax Growth is Declining; Well Below Historical Averages
Trenton, NJ – The Murphy Administration today released the 2017 property tax data for the state’s 565 municipalities. The figures posted on the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) website show that average residential property taxes decreased in 67 communities, increased by less than 1 percent in approximately 74 more, and increased statewide by only 1.64 percent, a decline from the 2016 increase of 2.34 percent, which is below historical averages. When adjusted for inflation, the change in average taxes equates to a reduction of 0.6 percent.
This property tax increase stems mainly from increases in school and county tax levies, which are responsible for 1.4 percent of the 1.64 percent growth in residential property taxes. School levies, which rose by approximately 2 percent statewide, are the largest contributor to the increase, while rising county levies had the second largest impact.
The growth in average property taxes rises when the outlier case of Atlantic City is factored out. In 2017, Atlantic City casino properties were shifted to a Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, which artificially reduced statewide ratable and levy increases over 2016. Excluding Atlantic City, average property taxes rose 1.82 percent and total tax levies rose 2.22 percent.
The 2017 property tax data is available on the DCA website here: http://www.state.nj.us/dca/divisions/dlgs/resources/property_tax.html
There are four views or summaries of tax data. Two views summarize data by municipality or county. A third summarizes major tax statistics of interest to taxpayers on a single page. The fourth is an interactive tool called the Tax Viewer, which can be used to compare a particular municipality’s taxes to average taxes in the surrounding county and the State as a whole.
The website also provides detailed information about the property tax levy in each county, municipality, fire district, and school district as well as other statistical information useful for the public’s understanding of the individual components that make up each taxpayer’s property tax bill. For instance, the data includes the amount of the average residential property tax bill, the number of residential taxpayers who received a homestead credit, and the average homestead credit amount for each municipality. The property tax data also includes information on average tax relief from the “senior freeze” property tax reimbursement and other property tax exemptions and deductions targeted at seniors, veterans, and persons with disabilities.
The DCA was established in 1967 to improve state services to local government; address the issues at the time of urban decline and suburban development; and secure federal funds to fight poverty. Today, the Department offers a wide range of programs and services, including affordable housing production, fire safety and building safety, community planning and development, local government management and finance, and disaster recovery.