New Jersey sales and use tax returns are filed online through the New Jersey Tax Portal on Form ST-50, the quarterly return, which is due by 11:59 p.m. on the 20th of the month after the quarter ends (April 20, July 20, October 20, and January 20). Every registered seller files a quarterly return, and larger sellers also make monthly payments.
This guide covers who files and how often, how to file on the portal, how New Jersey's single statewide rate and sourcing work, how to report no sales, how to amend a return, how to pay, and what late filing costs.
This article is educational information, not tax advice. Filing rules, thresholds, and penalties can change, so confirm current requirements with the New Jersey Division of Taxation before you file.
New Jersey sales tax filing at a glance
- Who administers it: New Jersey Division of Taxation.
- Online portal: New Jersey Tax Portal, at taxportal.nj.gov, which the Division launched on May 14, 2025. All sales and use tax returns must be filed electronically. A portal profile is optional.
- Return: Form ST-50, the quarterly sales and use tax return.
- Filing frequency: Quarterly for every seller. Monthly payments (the Monthly Voucher) are also required for sellers that meet both thresholds below.
- Due dates: 11:59 p.m. on the 20th day of the month after the period ends. If the date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the return and payment are due the next business day.
- Zero returns: Required every quarter, even with no sales.
- Payment: Electronic only. The portal FAQ lists ACH direct debit and credit card; the Division's filing page lists e-check, EFT, and credit card.
- Economic nexus: More than $100,000 in gross revenue from sales delivered into New Jersey, or 200 or more separate transactions, in the current or prior calendar year.
Who has to file, and how often
All businesses that sell taxable goods and services in New Jersey must register with the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services to collect sales tax. Once registered, you file quarterly returns and make quarterly payments, whatever your sales volume.
Remote sellers must register, collect, and remit once they meet either part of the economic threshold: gross revenue from sales delivered into New Jersey above $100,000, or 200 or more separate transactions, in the current or prior calendar year. Sellers that only sell through a marketplace are treated differently, because the Division says the marketplace facilitator collects and remits on marketplace transactions. See our New Jersey sales tax guide for registration details. Selling software? Our post on New Jersey SaaS sales tax explains how it is treated there.
You make monthly payments only if both of these are true:
- you collected more than $30,000 in New Jersey sales and use tax in the prior calendar year; and
- you collected more than $500 in the first and/or second month of the current calendar quarter.
| Your situation | What you file or pay |
|---|---|
| Any registered seller | Form ST-50 each quarter (covers all three months) |
| Collected more than $30,000 last year and more than $500 in month 1 or 2 of the quarter | Monthly Voucher payment for that month, plus the quarterly ST-50 |
| Collected more than $30,000 last year, but $500 or less in month 1 or 2 | No voucher for that month; pay it with the next ST-50 |
| Collected $30,000 or less last year | No monthly payments, however much tax is due in a month; everything is paid with the ST-50 |
Monthly payments cover only the first two months of each quarter. The third month is reported on the ST-50.
Before you start: the NJ Tax Portal
Sales and use tax is one of the taxes in the portal's first phase. The Division says its telephone-based sales tax filing system was discontinued, and the FAQ states the EZ Telefile system ended on April 26, 2025.
You have two ways in:
- Create a portal profile. A profile gives you access to filing and payment history, secure storage of your information, and the ability to edit or cancel a payment before its settlement date. Business owners create an Administrator profile, and a tax preparer creates a Delegate profile that the owner then authorizes.
- File as a guest. A profile is not required to file and pay. As a guest you will not have profile history, secure data storage, or the ability to cancel a payment you submitted.
The portal cannot register a new business. You register with the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services first; our sales tax permit overview walks through the process. When you link an existing business to a profile, the portal asks for details that match its records, including the business name exactly as it appears on your Business Registration Certificate and, for sales tax, the Line 1 gross receipts from your last filed return (not the payment amount). A 4-digit PIN is entered as six digits with two leading zeros.
Before you file, gather your gross receipts for the quarter, deductions such as exempt and resale sales, taxable receipts, any use tax you owe, and any monthly payments you already made for the quarter.
Step-by-step: filing the ST-50 on the NJ Tax Portal
The Division publishes user guides and video tutorials but no screen-by-screen walkthrough of the ST-50, so the steps below follow the filing rules on its pages.
- Sign in, or choose to file as a guest, on the New Jersey Tax Portal and select the option to file a tax return.
- Choose Sales and Use Tax and the ST-50 for the quarter you are filing.
- Report all sales made during the quarter. The Division says to include all sales made during the filing period on your return, even if you have not received payment from your customer.
- Report deductions. Deduct exempt sales and sales for resale supported by exemption or New Jersey resale certificates.
- Report use tax. Use tax is owed on taxable purchases delivered into New Jersey where no tax, or less than New Jersey's tax, was charged.
- Account for monthly payments. If you made monthly payments for the first two months of the quarter, they are reflected in what you owe on the ST-50.
- Pay and submit. Payment is electronic. Credit card payments carry a service charge added by the third-party vendor.
- Keep your confirmation for your records.
Monthly payments are made separately. Choose the Monthly Voucher form type and the filing period the payment falls in (the Division's example is 6/30/2025 for a May 2025 payment). A guest can use Make a Payment as a Guest under Tax Services. The voucher is only a payment, so you cannot file one unless you have a payment to submit.
Rate and sourcing pitfalls
New Jersey has a single-rate sales tax for the entire state: 6.625%. There are no local sales tax rates to layer on, so you do not need a rate lookup for each city or county. The New Jersey sales tax calculator shows the current rate.
Illustration only: taxable receipts of $10,000 in a quarter at 6.625% produce $662.50 of sales tax ($10,000 x 0.06625). Actual returns depend on your deductions and any use tax.
Two pitfalls remain:
- Urban Enterprise Zones. The Division says certified sellers in an Urban Enterprise Zone may charge half the state rate, currently 3.3125%, on most sales of tangible personal property that occur in the zone. Its Sales Tax Guide adds that the buyer must place the order in person at the seller's place of business in the zone and take delivery there, or the seller must deliver from its zone location. UEZ businesses file a separate monthly UEZ return, Form UZ-50, by the 20th of the following month. If you are not a certified UEZ seller, charge the full rate.
- Delivery destination. The Division's Sales Tax Guide says taxable items sold and delivered out of state are not subject to New Jersey tax if you keep a record of the out-of-state destination and delivery method, while property delivered to a customer's location in New Jersey is taxable. That guide is dated July 2022, so confirm the current rule for your situation with the Division.
Due dates and the weekend rule
Quarterly returns and monthly payments are due by 11:59 p.m. on the 20th day of the month after the period ends:
| Period | What is due | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| January, February | Monthly payment, if required | February 20, March 20 |
| Q1 (January to March) | ST-50 | April 20 |
| April, May | Monthly payment, if required | May 20, June 20 |
| Q2 (April to June) | ST-50 | July 20 |
| July, August | Monthly payment, if required | August 20, September 20 |
| Q3 (July to September) | ST-50 | October 20 |
| October, November | Monthly payment, if required | November 20, December 20 |
| Q4 (October to December) | ST-50 | January 20 |
If the due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the return and payment are due on the following business day. Our New Jersey sales tax due dates page lists upcoming dates for every state.
For e-check payments, the earliest settlement date you can select is the next business day. The Division says a payment is timely if the transaction is initiated by 11:59 p.m. on the due date, even when the settlement date falls after it.
Filing a zero return
You must file a return for each quarter even if no tax is due and no sales were made during the period. The Division's filing page does not describe how to complete a no-sales return, so confirm the entries with the Division if you are unsure.
Zero monthly vouchers cannot be submitted. When the amount due for a month is $500 or less, you do not submit a voucher, and that month's payment is made with the next ST-50.
Amending a return
If you make a mistake on a quarterly return, file an amended return. Corrections can only be made on the quarterly return for the same calendar quarter in which the mistake occurred, and you must fill in all of the lines on the amended return. You can amend the quarterly return within the portal while logged in to your portal profile, where you can also view the return in your filing history.
Correct an error on a monthly payment by adjusting the amounts when you file that quarter's ST-50. If the error results in an overpayment, request a refund by also filing Form A-3730, Claim for Refund, by mail or within the portal. The Division's portal page notes technical difficulties submitting Form A-3730 through the portal and says you may upload the completed form and supporting documents to NJ ONRS (PO Box 999) in the meantime, so check that page before you file.
A Streamlined Sales Tax return (Simplified Electronic Return) cannot be amended in the portal. The Division says to contact the provider or preparer that handled the original return.
Payment methods and EFT rules
The Division's pages describe the payment options slightly differently, so check the portal when you pay:
- Portal FAQ: ACH direct debit or credit card. A service charge applies to credit card payments through a third-party vendor.
- Filing page: e-check, EFT, or credit card (fees apply). You must send payments electronically, when you file your returns.
Taxpayers with a prior-year liability of $10,000 or more in any tax must pay all their taxes by electronic funds transfer (EFT). The Division lists ACH debit or credit, e-check, and credit card as acceptable ways to meet that requirement, and says FED Wires and other wire transfers are not acceptable. ACH debit and ACH credit require enrollment with the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services; e-check and credit card do not, although those two options are not available for all business taxes. For ACH debit, the State is authorized to debit your bank account and pays the processing costs. ACH credit may involve setup and per-transaction fees that you pay.
If your bank blocks debits, the portal FAQ says to add the ACH Company ID as an exception to your bank profile's debit filter. The FAQ lists 7216000928 for ACH.
Penalties and interest for late filing
- Late filing: 5% of the tax due for each month or part of a month the return is late, up to a maximum of 25% of the balance due. The Division may also charge $100 for each month the return is late.
- Late payment: In addition to interest, the Division may charge a late payment penalty of 5% of the tax due.
- Interest: Charged for every month or part of a month the tax remains unpaid, at the prime rate plus 3%, compounded annually. At the end of each calendar year, any tax, penalties, and interest still due become part of the balance on which interest is charged. The Division points to Technical Bulletin TB-21(R) for current interest rates.
- Collection fees: A Referral Cost Recovery Fee is added to your liability if your tax bill is sent to the Division's collection agency. The Division lists the fee as 9.85% effective June 15, 2026 (previously 11%).
- Penalty relief: If you can show reasonable cause for failing to file or pay on time, the Division says it may waive part or all of a penalty when you request an abatement.
To compare how New Jersey's penalties stack up against other states, see our state comparison of sales tax filing penalties and discounts.
Common New Jersey sales tax filing mistakes
- Treating monthly payments like a return. A Monthly Voucher is only a payment. The ST-50 is the return, and it covers all three months of the quarter.
- Submitting a zero voucher. Zero monthly vouchers cannot be submitted; pay any amount of $500 or less with the next ST-50.
- Reporting on a cash basis. Include all sales made during the period, even if the customer has not paid.
- Assuming the old phone system still works. Telephone filing for sales tax has been discontinued.
- Skipping quiet quarters. Every quarter needs an ST-50, even with no sales.
- Fixing a monthly payment error in the wrong place. Correct monthly payment errors on the ST-50 for the same quarter, not on a separate return.
- Charging the UEZ rate on ineligible sales. The reduced rate is for certified sellers and qualifying in-zone sales only.
- Paying by wire when EFT is required. The Division does not accept wire transfers as EFT payments.
If you receive a sales tax notice
A missed or late return often leads to a letter. Our New Jersey sales tax notices guide explains the notices the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Taxation sends, including Statement of Account, Notice of Assessment Related to Final Audit Determination, and Collection agency initial contact letter and Schedule of Liabilities. It also covers how to ask for penalty relief: Abatement of Penalty (penalty waiver) (Abatement Request Form). Check the date on the notice, match it to your filing period, and follow the instructions on the notice itself.
Next steps for New Jersey sellers
- Download New Jersey's due dates as a calendar file, or see them on the due dates page.
- Check the combined rate for any New Jersey address.
- Get the New Jersey resale certificate to buy inventory without paying tax.
- Check whether you have nexus in other states before your sales cross a threshold.
More state filing guides
Filing in more than one state? These step-by-step guides cover the portals, due dates, and penalties in other states. See them all in our state-by-state guide to filing sales tax online.
- How to file Pennsylvania sales tax online
- How to file Connecticut sales tax online
- How to file New York sales tax online
Let Kintsugi file for you
If you sell in New Jersey and other states, Kintsugi's sales tax filing software prepares and files returns on each state's schedule, remits payment, and files zero returns when you had no sales. Monitoring across every US state is free, so you know when you cross a threshold. Filing starts at $75 per filing, with no per-state subscription. See pricing, start free, or book a demo.
Frequently asked questions
How do I file New Jersey sales tax online?
Use the New Jersey Tax Portal at taxportal.nj.gov. Sign in with a portal profile or file as a guest, select the ST-50 for the quarter, report your sales and deductions, and pay electronically.
Is the NJ Tax Portal free, and do I need to log in?
The Division's pages do not list a fee for filing, though credit card payments carry a service charge from a third-party vendor. A profile is optional: you can file and pay as a guest, but you will not have profile history, saved data, or the ability to cancel a guest payment.
When is the ST-50 due?
By 11:59 p.m. on April 20, July 20, October 20, and January 20. Weekend and legal holiday due dates move to the next business day.
Do I have to file if I had no sales?
Yes. You must file the quarterly ST-50 even if you made no sales and owe no tax.
Who has to make monthly New Jersey sales tax payments?
Sellers that collected more than $30,000 in New Jersey sales and use tax in the prior calendar year and collected more than $500 in the first or second month of the current quarter.
Can I file New Jersey sales tax by phone?
No. The Division has discontinued its telephone-based sales tax filing system. All sales and use tax returns must be filed electronically.
What is the ST-50?
Form ST-50 is New Jersey's quarterly sales and use tax return. All filers submit it, and it covers all three months of the quarter, including any month you did not make a monthly payment for.
How do I amend a New Jersey sales tax return?
File an amended quarterly return for the same quarter, filling in all lines. You can amend within the portal while logged in to your profile. Correct monthly payment errors on that quarter's return.
Can I pay New Jersey sales tax by credit card?
Yes. The Division lists credit card as a payment option, and a service charge applies through a third-party vendor.
What is the penalty for filing late?
5% of the tax due for each month or part of a month the return is late, up to 25% of the balance due, and the Division may also charge $100 for each month. A separate 5% late payment penalty and interest can also apply.
Is there a discount for filing New Jersey sales tax on time?
The agency pages and return instructions we reviewed describe no timely-filing discount or collection allowance for New Jersey sales tax. Confirm with the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Taxation if you think one applies to your account.
Sources
Checked September 29, 2026.
- NJ Division of Taxation, Filing and Remitting Sales and Use Tax
- NJ Division of Taxation, Sales and Use Tax filing chart
- NJ Division of Taxation, New Jersey Tax Portal
- NJ Division of Taxation, New Jersey Tax Portal FAQs
- NJ Division of Taxation, EFT Payment Options
- NJ Division of Taxation, Penalties, Interest, and Collection Fees
- NJ Division of Taxation, Remote Sellers
- NJ Division of Taxation, Sales and Use Tax
- NJ Division of Taxation, Rates and Boundaries
- NJ Division of Taxation, Urban Enterprise Zone
- NJ Division of Taxation, Tax Topic Bulletin S&U-4, New Jersey Sales Tax Guide
- NJ Division of Taxation, TB-83, Sales Through a Marketplace
