NJ Homeowner Property Tax Guide: 2026 Update

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — When you live in the county with New Jersey’s highest property taxes, it’s always a good time to brush up on the basics.

The Essex County-based New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants recently teamed up with New Jersey Realtors and the Association of Municipal Assessors of New Jersey to publish an update to their “New Jersey Homeowner’s Guide to Property Taxes.”

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The guide offers insight into where the money raised by property taxes goes, how property taxes are determined by taxing district and how to appeal the assessment of a home.

The 16-page guide – first published in 2018 – breaks down what assessments are based on, what role assessors play in the process and how tax bills are calculated. It also includes a calendar showing the entire property tax cycle, along with a homeowner’s checklist.

Included in this update is a new description of New Jersey’s property tax relief programs for homeowners and renters, as well as updates to disbursement.

“At a time when property taxes are a central concern for homeowners across the state, giving residents the tools to understand how their tax bills are calculated, what the money pays for and what rights they have as taxpayers is a meaningful contribution to civic literacy,” said the report’s author, Marc Pfeiffer, associate director in the Center for Urban Policy Research at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University,

“Informed citizens make better decisions and ask better questions of their government,” Pfeiffer said.

View the 2026 guide online here.

TAXES IN ESSEX COUNTY

Essex County homeowners were the most heavily taxed residents in New Jersey last year, state data shows.

According to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, the average Garden State resident paid $10,570 in property taxes on a home assessed at $405,153 in 2025.

The average homeowner in Essex County paid $14,460 in property taxes on a home valued at $494,335, not counting credits and deductions – the highest in New Jersey.

>> RELATED: Essex County Ranked By Property Taxes: See Town-By-Town Map

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