State Budget

In February or March of each year, the governor proposes a new budget for the next Fiscal Year. The State Legislature must then consider and vote on the proposal before June 30. During this process, New Jersey Realtors® reviews the budget proposal and works with the administration and State Legislature to ensure no new taxes or fees affecting the real estate industry or homeownership are proposed. New Jersey Realtors® works to make homeownership more affordable by opposing new or increased taxes and fees, and advocating for programs beneficial to homeowners and the real estate industry.

Realty Transfer Fee (RTF)

In 1968, the RTF was enacted in New Jersey with the sole purpose of recording deed transfers during a real estate transaction. In the mid-2000’s, the fee increased by nearly 50 percent, which made it more expensive to buy and sell homes and businesses in New Jersey. In 2018, an RTF increase was proposed, but not adopted, on properties sold for over $1 million from one percent to two percent. If it was enacted, it would have increased taxes on those properties by a minimum of $10,000.

New Jersey Realtors® strongly opposes any RTF increase proposals and believes the State Legislature should instead focus on ways to reduce the fee back to pre-2003 levels. New Jersey Realtors® also remains opposed to any efforts to allow individual municipalities to enact their own RTF.

Professional Services Tax

The association strongly opposes extending the Sales and Use Tax to commissions earned by real estate professionals, which is already taxed under the state income tax. Double taxing commission payments would equate to a tax increase of over $1,000 on a home sold in New Jersey, making it more expensive for consumers to buy or sell a home.

Seasonal Rental Tax

New Jersey Realtors® strongly opposes any legislation that would extend the transient accommodation tax adopted in 2018 to traditional seasonal rentals in New Jersey.

Currently, the transient accommodation tax applies to rentals of less than 90 days rented through online marketplaces. Extending this tax to apply to traditional seasonal rentals could cost more than $20 million in tax revenue and 2,000 jobs. At a time when more families are opting to vacation locally, taxing seasonal rentals would be detrimental to New Jersey’s tourism economy.

STATE BUDGET

Real Estate Commission Operating Funds

To protect the integrity of New Jersey’s real estate industry and consumers, New Jersey Realtors® believes it is essential the REC maintain a sufficient level of funding.

In order to do so, the State Legislature must ensure funds collected by the commission remain with it. Maintaining funding is especially important since in recent years, the REC has experienced difficulty updating its rules and providing important information to real estate licensees.