When you sell a home in New Jersey, the state collects a tiered Realty Transfer Fee (RTF) at closing — paid by the seller out of sale proceeds. This calculator runs the 2026 tiered RTF rate, including senior/disabled/low-income exemptions, for your exact sale price.
Use our companion Seller Net Proceeds Calculator to add agent commissions, attorney fees, and payoff amounts to the picture.
Call Jorge · 908-230-7844The NJ RTF is tiered, meaning different portions of your sale price are taxed at different rates (similar to federal income tax brackets). You pay the combined total at closing.
| Portion of sale price | Standard rate | Senior/disabled/low-mod |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $150,000 | 0.40% | 0.00% (exempt) |
| $150,000 – $200,000 | 0.67% | 0.00% (exempt) |
| $200,000 – $350,000 | 0.78% | 0.00% (exempt) |
| $350,000 – $550,000 | 0.78% | 0.50% |
| $550,000 – $850,000 | 0.98% | 0.50% |
| $850,000 – $1,000,000 | 1.08% | 0.50% |
| Over $1,000,000 | 1.18% | 0.50% |
Senior citizens (62+), permanently disabled individuals, and blind sellers qualify if the home is their primary residence and they're selling directly to a third party (not to family or through a trust transfer). Must file Form RTF-1 at closing.
Low- or moderate-income homeowners qualify if they meet the state's income thresholds AND the home was their primary residence AND they're not using the proceeds to buy another home worth more than the one being sold.
Sales of $1,000,000+ also trigger a 1% Mansion Tax — but that's paid by the BUYER, not the seller. It's a separate line item on the buyer's closing disclosure. As a seller, you don't owe or see that.
The seller pays at closing. It's deducted from sale proceeds on the settlement statement. There is no buyer-side RTF in NJ (buyers pay the 1% mansion tax separately on purchases of $1M+).
Tiered: 0.4% on the first $150K, scaling up to 1.18% on the portion above $1M. See the rate table above for the full schedule.
Sellers who are 62+, permanently disabled, or blind qualify for the 0.5% reduced rate above $350K (rather than the full tiered rate). On a $600K home, that saves approximately $2,300. Must be primary residence and file Form RTF-1 at closing.
Not directly on federal income tax. BUT it's added to your cost basis when calculating capital gains, which reduces your taxable gain when you sell. Your CPA handles this at tax time.
The rate is statutory and not negotiable. What IS occasionally negotiable is having the buyer pay RTF as a concession — rare but it has happened in strong buyer-favoring markets.
Yes. The RTF is owed regardless of whether you sell with an agent or For Sale By Owner. It's tied to the sale, not the marketing method.