How NEW JERSEY Taxes Retirees

New Jersey property taxes are the highest in the nation.  On the median house value of $313k you pay a whopping $7500 in taxes.  That's just hard to comprehend for an average retiree.  Seniors, at a certain lower income, can qualify for some reimbursement, but how one does that is so convoluted it's not possible to put describe it here. But, property taxes aside, New Jersey is not anywhere near as bad on taxes for a retiree as one might have thought.  Not only are Social Security and military pensions not taxable but folks over 65 can exclude huge amounts of retirement income from taxes too.  As long as your income doesn't exceed $100k, married can exclude up to $100k in the tax year 2020. IF that law which only passed in 2016 stays on the books with the new Governor in office.   So, in New Jersey if your income is $50k in retirement distributions and $25k in Social Security, you will pay NO tax in 2020. Even today, you only pay a couple hundred dollars.   Sales tax in New Jersey is reasonable as well, clocking in at right at 6% statewide. This ranks New Jersey only the 30th highest in the nation in sales tax burden.  So, with average to low sales tax, huge retirement income exemptions, we simply can't say New Jersey is high tax anymore,, other than the gigantic property taxes.