New Jersey · reference

New Jersey calendar and forms

Every New Jersey date that matters for the 2026 return, from the last estimated payment in January 2027 to the extended due date in October, the property tax relief deadline that falls in between, and a plain-English guide to the forms and schedules a New Jersey filer will meet. With the free filing route, the refund tool and how to reach the Division of Taxation.

By Charles Trautman, EA, editor

Need to Know Tax · written from New Jersey Division of Taxation (Department of the Treasury) sources, November 3, 2026; updated November 12, 2026 after the election · not yet reviewed by a New Jersey practitioner

New Jersey’s calendar tracks the federal one: the NJ-1040 is due April 15, 2027, the estimated payments fall on the federal dates, and the extension runs to October 15, 2027. The rule that is New Jersey’s own, and the one that costs people money, is that the extension is conditional. It is valid only if at least 80% of the tax finally shown on the return was paid by April 15, through withholding, estimates or a payment sent with Form NJ-630. Miss the 80% and the Division of Taxation treats the extension as never granted; the late-filing penalty of 5% a month, up to 25%, runs from April 15 on top of interest. The same 80% runs through the estimated-tax rules, where it replaces the federal 90%.

There is one return for residents, the NJ-1040, and a longer list of schedules than most filers will see. A wage earner who rents touches the NJ-1040 and the health coverage schedule and nothing else. The property tax relief programs have their own forms, PAS-1 and ANC-1, filed with the Division but separate from the return and on a different deadline.

The 2027 filing season, dated

New Jersey dates for the 2026 return and 2027 payments
Date	What happens	Form
Friday, January 15, 2027	Fourth and final 2026 estimated payment due. Not required if the 2026 return is filed and the full balance paid by February 15, 2027.	NJ-1040-ES
Late January 2027; the IRS announces the date in January	The Division begins accepting 2026 returns, on or about the day the IRS opens. For the 2025 return that was January 26, 2026. Paper resident booklets are mailed in early January to households that filed on paper before.	NJ-1040
Thursday, April 15, 2027	NJ-1040 and NJ-1040NR due with full payment. Last day to request an extension (NJ-630 or the online request) and to have 80% of the tax paid. First 2027 estimated payment due.	NJ-1040, NJ-630, NJ-1040-ES
Tuesday, June 15, 2027	Second 2027 estimated payment due.	NJ-1040-ES
Wednesday, September 15, 2027	Third 2027 estimated payment due.	NJ-1040-ES
Friday, October 15, 2027	Extended due date for the 2026 return, if the 80% test was met on April 15.	NJ-1040
Fall 2027 (verify)	Deadline for the 2026 benefit year property tax relief applications. The 2025 benefit year deadline was Monday, November 2, 2026, for both PAS-1 and ANC-1; the 2026 date will be set when the applications open in early 2027.	PAS-1, ANC-1
Tuesday, January 18, 2028	Fourth 2027 estimated payment due. January 15 is a Saturday and the 17th a holiday, so the date moves to the next business day.	NJ-1040-ES
Property tax bills themselves run on the municipal calendar, quarterly on February 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1 in most towns. The property tax deduction on the NJ-1040 counts what was paid during 2026, whichever year’s bill it was.

How the extension really works

The Division grants a six-month extension to file, to October 15, 2027, to anyone who asks by April 15 and has at least 80% of the final tax (Line 45) already paid. Withholding, estimates and a payment sent with the request all count. The request can be made on the Division’s website until 11:59 p.m. on April 15, by mailing Form NJ-630, or, for anyone who filed a federal Form 4868, by enclosing a copy of it or its confirmation number with the New Jersey return.

The 80% test is applied after the fact. If the October return shows only 75% was paid by April 15, the extension is denied retroactively and the return is late from April 16. The late-filing penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month, up to 25%, and the Division may add $100 a month (verify how the $100 is applied). The late-payment penalty is 5% of the balance, and interest runs at prime plus 3 points from April 15 on any unpaid tax, extension or not. There is no extension of time to pay.

Estimated payments

Estimated payments are required when New Jersey tax for the year, after withholding and credits, will be more than $400. That low threshold catches a retiree with a pension and no New Jersey withholding, anyone with a large gain or Roth conversion, and most business owners. The four equal installments fall on April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15, moving to the next business day after a weekend or holiday. The January installment can be skipped by filing and paying in full by February 15. Farmers with two-thirds of their income from farming may pay the whole year by January 15.

The safe harbor is the smaller of 80% of this year’s tax or 100% of last year’s, paid in equal, timely installments; the shortfall interest is figured on Form NJ-2210. The statute adds a 110%-of-last-year rule above $150,000 of gross income ($75,000 married filing separately), but the Division’s notice says it measures the penalty against the 80% / 100% figure for everyone under N.J.S.A. 54A:9-6(c). Pensioners can skip estimates by filing Form NJ-W-4P with the payer.

The forms, in the order a filer meets them

New Jersey individual income tax forms, tax year 2026
Form	What it does	Who needs it
NJ-1040	The resident return. Adds up New Jersey’s categories of income (Lines 15 through 26), subtracts the pension exclusion, exemptions and the New Jersey deductions, applies the rate schedule, then credits and payments. The property tax deduction or $50 credit, the NJEITC and the child credits are on the face of it.	Every full-year and part-year resident
NJ-1040NR	The nonresident return, for New Jersey-source income only. Also the second return for a part-year resident with New Jersey income in the nonresident months.	Nonresidents; people who moved in or out during 2026
NJ-1040-HW	Claims the $50 property tax credit (and the Wounded Warrior Caregivers Credit) for residents 65 or older, blind or disabled whose income is under the filing threshold. Never file both this and an NJ-1040.	Low-income seniors and disabled residents
Schedule NJ-HCC	Health Care Coverage: coverage for each household member, and the Shared Responsibility Payment ($695 to $5,712 for an uninsured individual in 2026) or the exemption.	Everyone who files an NJ-1040
Schedule NJ-DOP	Net Gains or Income from Disposition of Property, with New Jersey basis. Losses offset gains here and nowhere else; a net loss is entered as zero.	Anyone who sold investments or property
Schedule NJ-BUS-1 and NJ-BUS-2	NJ-BUS-1 collects Schedule C, rental, partnership and S corporation income and the GIT-DEP adjustments; NJ-BUS-2 lets 50% of a net loss in one business category offset another (25% above $500,000 of gross income and zero at $1,000,000 for 2026).	Business owners, landlords, partners, S corporation shareholders
Form GIT-DEP	Recomputes depreciation under New Jersey rules: a $25,000 section 179 limit, no 50% or 100% bonus depreciation. Kept, not filed.	Anyone with a business, farm or rental that took bonus depreciation or section 179 federally
Schedule NJ-COJ	Credit for taxes paid to New York, Philadelphia and other jurisdictions, one schedule each, limited to the New Jersey tax on the same income. Not for Pennsylvania wages (reciprocity).	Residents who work or earn income in another state or in Philadelphia
NJ-1040-ES	Estimated payment vouchers and worksheet. Payments on the Division’s site need no voucher.	Anyone expecting to owe more than $400 after withholding
NJ-630	Application for Extension of Time to File. Valid only with 80% of the tax paid by April 15. Can be filed online instead.	Anyone filing after April 15 who did not file a federal extension
NJ-2210	Interest on a late or short estimated installment, or an exception. NJ-2210NR for nonresidents.	Anyone who missed the 80% / 100% safe harbor
NJ-1040X	Amended Resident Income Tax Return. The Division spells it without the second hyphen.	Anyone correcting a filed return
NJ-2450	Credit for excess unemployment, disability and family leave contributions withheld by two or more employers (2025 maximums $184.02, $380.42 and $545.82; 2026 to come).	Workers with two employers in the year
NJ-W4, NJ-W-4P, NJ-165	NJ-W4 for wages; NJ-W-4P for voluntary pension withholding; NJ-165 for a Pennsylvania resident to stop New Jersey withholding under reciprocity.	Given to the employer or payer, not filed with the return
PAS-1 and ANC-1	Property tax relief, separate from the income tax. PAS-1 (65 or older, or on Social Security or Railroad disability) covers ANCHOR, Senior Freeze and Stay NJ in one filing; ANC-1 is ANCHOR alone for everyone else. Most prior ANCHOR recipients under 65 are filed automatically.	Homeowners and renters; the 2025 benefit deadline was November 2, 2026
All current forms, with instructions, are on the Division’s income tax forms page, which carried the 2025 forms and the 2026 NJ-1040-ES when this was written. The 2026 NJ-1040 and its instructions appear there in January 2027.

Filing, paying and checking a refund

Most returns are e-filed with the federal return through software or a preparer. The state’s free route is New Jersey Online Income Tax Filing, reached from the Division’s site, which files the resident NJ-1040 at no charge; it does not file the federal return, and whether part-year residents may use it is not stated (verify). IRS Direct File, which New Jersey joined for the 2025 season, is closed; the Division’s 2025 changes page says so and that Online Filing remains. Payments are made on the Division’s site by e-check at no charge or by card with a fee, or by check payable to “State of New Jersey – TGI.”

Refund status is on the Where Is My Refund tool or at 1-800-323-4400, around the clock. For returns filed after January 26, 2026 the Division quoted four weeks or more for e-filed returns, at least twelve weeks for paper, and fifteen weeks or more for a return pulled for review. Refunds that include the NJEITC take longer, and the state pays no interest on them.

Paper returns go to Revenue Processing Center – Refunds, PO Box 555, Trenton, NJ 08647-0555 with a refund or nothing due, and to Revenue Processing Center – Payments, PO Box 111, Trenton, NJ 08645-0111 with a payment; nonresident returns to PO Box 244, Trenton, NJ 08646-0244. The Division’s general number is 609-292-6400, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; property tax relief, 1-888-238-1233. In-person help at the Regional Information Centers is by appointment only; the Division says no walk-ins.

Worked example: the extension that failed the 80% test

A self-employed filer in Morris County owes $10,000 of New Jersey tax for 2026. By April 15, 2027 she has paid $7,500 in estimates, 75%, and files Form NJ-630. She files the return October 1, 2027 with the balance. Compare paying $500 more on April 15.

	Paid $7,500 by April 15 (75%)	Paid $8,000 by April 15 (80%)
Extension	Denied retroactively	Valid to October 15
Balance paid October 1	$2,500	$2,000
Late-filing penalty, 5% a month for 6 months, capped at 25%	$625	$0
Additional $100 a month late-filing charge (verify)	up to $600	$0
Late-payment penalty, 5% of the balance	$125	$100
Interest, prime plus 3%, April 15 to October 1	on $2,500	on $2,000
Cost of filing in October, before interest	$750 to $1,350	$100

The $500 that moved on April 15 was never a cost; it was tax she owed anyway. What it bought was a valid extension. The arithmetic is why a preparer who is unsure of the final figure rounds the April payment up, not down.

Behind the scenes: why 80%

The federal rules use 90% as the measure of a good-faith estimate. New Jersey wrote 80% into its Gross Income Tax Act for both the estimated-tax safe harbor and the extension test. The lower figure is forgiving on the estimates, where a filer can underpay by a fifth and owe nothing, and harsh on the extension, where missing it costs the extension itself rather than a small interest charge. The two work together: a filer who meets the 80% safe harbor through timely estimates has, by April 15, met the extension test too. The Division’s estimated-tax notice shows how literally the statute is read: the Legislature added a 110% rule for high earners in one subsection and left the penalty subsection alone, so the Division enforces the penalty against the lower figure for everyone.

What to bring

Every W-2 and 1099 with New Jersey withholding, and the Box 16 state wage figure, which differs from Box 1 for 403(b), 457 and HSA savers
The 2026 estimated payments made, with dates and amounts; the Division’s site lists them
Last year’s NJ-1040, for the 100% safe harbor and the depreciation carryforwards
Form 1095 or other proof of health coverage for each household member, for Schedule NJ-HCC
Property tax bills paid in 2026, or rent paid and the landlord’s name and address
For anyone who worked in New York, Philadelphia or another state: that return and the W-2 showing the other jurisdiction’s tax, for Schedule NJ-COJ
The ANCHOR, Senior Freeze and Stay NJ confirmation letters and the PAS-1 or ANC-1 filing confirmation
Any letter from the Division, and the confirmation number of a federal extension if one was filed

Questions people ask

Do I need to file anything to get the New Jersey extension?

Yes, by April 15: Form NJ-630, the online request, or a federal Form 4868 whose copy or confirmation number you enclose with the New Jersey return. And 80% of the final tax must be paid by April 15 or the extension is void. There is no automatic extension in New Jersey.

I paid 100% of last year’s tax in estimates. Am I safe?

From the underpayment penalty, yes; the safe harbor is the smaller of 80% of this year’s tax or 100% of last year’s. For the extension test the question is different: 80% of this year’s final tax must be paid by April 15. If income rose sharply, last year’s tax may not reach it.

Do I have to file a New Jersey return if I owe nothing?

If gross income for the year was over $10,000 single or $20,000 joint, yes. Below that, file anyway if New Jersey tax was withheld or if you qualify for the NJEITC, the Child Tax Credit or the $50 property tax credit; they are paid only through a return (or, for the $50 credit, Form NJ-1040-HW).

Where do I apply for ANCHOR, Senior Freeze and Stay NJ?

Not on the NJ-1040. Homeowners 65 or older, or on Social Security disability, file one combined Form PAS-1; everyone else files ANC-1 for ANCHOR alone. Applications are online at the Division’s property tax relief site or on paper. The 2025 benefit year deadline was November 2, 2026; the 2026 applications open in early 2027.

How long does a New Jersey refund take?

The Division quotes four weeks or more for an e-filed return and at least twelve weeks for paper, longer for returns pulled for review and for any refund that includes the NJEITC. Check it on the Where Is My Refund tool or at 1-800-323-4400.

Federal dates, a conditional extension, and 80% everywhere

Pay 80% by April 15 or the extension does not exist. Put the four estimated dates and the fall property tax relief deadline on the same calendar.

Written by Charles Trautman, EA, editor  ·  Need to Know Tax, Lone Tree, Colorado
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Forms and official pages named in this article

Sources and where to check

Updated November 12, 2026, after the November 3 election · tax year 2026 figures · awaiting review by a New Jersey practitioner — use the right article