By Slava Zborovsky · Updated
Moving from New York City to New Jersey ends New York City income tax, since the city taxes only its residents. If you keep working in New York, the state still taxes those wages and New Jersey credits you for it. Sales tax drops from 8.875% in New York City to 6.625% in New Jersey, and property tax rises: the average 2025 bill was $14,200 in Bergen County.
Income tax: what stops and what stays
New York City income tax stops. New York State's tax department: "All city residents' income, no matter where it is earned, is subject to New York City personal income tax. Nonresidents of New York City are not liable for New York City personal income tax."
New York State tax on New York wages stays. As a nonresident, "you only pay tax on New York source income, which includes earnings from work performed in New York State, and income from real property located in the state."
New Jersey taxes all of your income, then credits what you paid New York. New Jersey's Division of Taxation says you may qualify for a credit "if you paid income or wage tax on the same income in the same year to both New Jersey and to another jurisdiction," and that the credit "cannot be more than the amount you would have paid if you earned the income in New Jersey." It is claimed on Schedule NJ-COJ.
Watch the apartment you keep. New York treats you as a city resident if "you have a permanent place of abode there and you spend 184 days or more in the city." Keeping a pied-a-terre and spending most of the year there can keep you a New York City resident for tax purposes.
The year you move
New York requires Form IT-203, its nonresident and part-year resident return, if you "moved into or out of New York State during the tax year." New Jersey's top income tax rate is 10.75%. A tax adviser can model both returns for your income before you choose a closing date.
Sales tax
New Jersey's sales tax is 6.625% on most goods and certain services. New York State's Publication 718 lists the combined New York City rate at 8.875%.
Property tax, town by town
This is where New Jersey costs more. The state's 2025 figures put the average residential tax bill at $14,200 in Bergen County and $10,340 statewide. The effective rate below is each town's tax as a share of what homes actually sell for, which is the fair way to compare towns; price any home with the property tax calculator.
- Washington Township
- Average 2025 tax bill$13,480Effective rate1.04%Median sale, 12 months$775K
- Park Ridge
- Average 2025 tax bill$15,830Effective rate1.76%Median sale, 12 months$800K
- River Vale
- Average 2025 tax bill$17,198Effective rate1.72%Median sale, 12 months$943K
- Old Tappan
- Average 2025 tax bill$19,377Effective rate1.13%Median sale, 12 months$1.13M
- Saddle River
- Average 2025 tax bill$20,339Effective rate0.73%Median sale, 12 months$2.45M
- Upper Saddle River
- Average 2025 tax bill$20,432Effective rate1.30%Median sale, 12 months$1.4M
- Woodcliff Lake
- Average 2025 tax bill$20,637Effective rate1.62%Median sale, 12 months$1.2M
- Franklin Lakes
- Average 2025 tax bill$20,718Effective rate1.13%Median sale, 12 months$1.72M
Average bills: NJ Division of Taxation, 2025 Average Residential Tax Statistics. Effective rate: our calculation from the 2026 tax list and recorded sale prices.
What the numbers mean for a move
Effective rates in these towns run from 0.61% in Alpine to 1.85% in Hillsdale. A higher-priced town can carry a lower rate, so compare the bill on the house you would buy, not the town's reputation. New Jersey also runs property tax relief programs (ANCHOR, Stay NJ and the Senior Freeze) whose eligibility turns on when you owned and lived in the home; see our guide to them.
Slava has sold homes in northern Bergen County since becoming a licensed New Jersey broker in 2007. If you are weighing towns, tell him what you need and he will walk you through the trade-offs in person.
- Is New Jersey cheaper than New York for taxes?
- It depends on where you work and what you buy. Leaving New York City ends city income tax and lowers sales tax from 8.875% to 6.625%, but property tax is higher: the average 2025 bill in Bergen County was $14,200. If you still work in New York, the state taxes those wages and New Jersey credits you for them.
- Do I pay taxes to both New York and New Jersey if I live in NJ and work in NY?
- You file in both. New York taxes the income you earn working in New York; New Jersey taxes all of your income but gives a credit for income tax paid to New York on the same income, up to what New Jersey would have charged on it.
- Is sales tax lower in New Jersey than in New York City?
- Yes. New Jersey's sales tax is 6.625% on most goods and certain services; New York State's Publication 718 lists the combined New York City rate at 8.875%.
- Which Bergen County towns have the lowest property taxes?
- Of the towns Slava covers, the lowest effective rates belong to Alpine (0.61%), Saddle River (0.73%) and Ho-Ho-Kus (0.82%). The lowest average bill is Mahwah at $10,236 (2025).
Sources
- NY Department of Taxation and Finance, nonresident FAQs
- NY Department of Taxation and Finance, IT-203 information
- NJ Division of Taxation, Credit for Taxes Paid to Other Jurisdictions
- NJ Division of Taxation, GIT/REP FAQs (top rate 10.75%)
- NJ Division of Taxation, Sales and Use Tax
- NY Publication 718, sales and use tax rates by jurisdiction
- NJ Division of Taxation, 2025 Average Residential Tax Statistics