Selling a Home in New Jersey: Fees, Certificates, Attorney Review and Closing
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By Max Karasick, Compass real estate agent licensed in PA and NJ
Selling a house in New Jersey comes down to four things the seller owns. You pay the realty transfer fee, and above $1 million you now pay the mansion tax too. You get a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm certificate from your town's fire official, plus whatever resale inspection your town adds. Your contract goes through a three business day attorney review. And if you don't live in New Jersey when you close, the state wants an estimated income tax payment at the table. None of it is hard. All of it likes lead time.
If you're comparing a New Jersey sale with a Pennsylvania one, Philadelphia vs. New Jersey: The Cost of Owning lines up the two systems side by side.
What Does a New Jersey Seller Pay at Closing?
The big state line is the realty transfer fee, and it's yours. The Division of Taxation says plainly that the State imposes the fee on the seller. That's the opposite of Philadelphia, where the transfer tax is usually split.
The fee is charged per $500 of the price, and the rate climbs as the price does. As of October 2026, a sale over $350,000 pays $2.90 per $500 on the first $150,000, then steps up through $4.25, $4.80, $5.30 and $5.80, reaching $6.05 per $500 on the part above $1 million. Sales of $350,000 or less use a lower schedule. The Division's own example puts a $325,000 sale at $1,910.
Worked Example: A Hypothetical $600,000 Sale
First $150,000: 300 x $2.90 = $870
$150,000 to $200,000: 100 x $4.25 = $425
$200,000 to $550,000: 700 x $4.80 = $3,360
$550,000 to $600,000: 100 x $5.30 = $530
Total: $5,185. Commission, payoff, prorated taxes and attorney fees come on top.
Reduced Rates and Exemptions
If you're 62 or older, blind or disabled, you can claim a partial exemption with lower rates. So can sales of qualifying low and moderate income housing. You claim it on Form RTF-1, filed with the deed. Some transfers skip the fee entirely, including deeds for less than $100 and transfers between spouses or between parent and child.
The Mansion Tax Is Now the Seller's Problem
For two decades, New Jersey buyers paid a flat 1% "mansion tax" on purchases over $1 million. A 2025 law flipped it. For deeds submitted for recording on or after July 10, 2025, the Division of Taxation says the fee is now a Graduated Percent Fee and is legally imposed on the seller. Heads up: one older Division FAQ page still describes the buyer-paid 1% version. The July 2025 memo and the Division's main transfer fee page (updated September 2026) both put it on the seller.
Here's the schedule, as of October 2026:
Over $1 million up to $2 million: 1%
Over $2 million up to $2.5 million: 2%
Over $2.5 million up to $3 million: 2.5%
Over $3 million up to $3.5 million: 3%
Over $3.5 million: 3.5%
The part that surprises people: it's a percentage of the whole price, not just the slice above each line. The Division's example is a $2.75 million sale at 2.5%, or $68,750, on top of the regular transfer fee. That creates cliffs. A hypothetical $2,000,000 sale owes $20,000. At $2,050,000, it owes $41,000. If you're pricing near a line, the net sheet matters more than the list price.
Closer to the ground, a hypothetical $1.2 million sale owes the regular $11,995 fee plus a 1% Graduated Percent Fee of $12,000: $23,995 in all.
What Certificates Does a New Jersey Seller Need?
Every one or two family home needs a certificate from the local fire official confirming the smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms meet the state fire code before it's sold. You get it through the town, where the local fire department or the state Division of Fire Safety acts as the enforcing agency. Order it early. Inspectors book up.
The Fire Extinguisher Rule Changed
For years the certificate also covered a portable fire extinguisher. P.L. 2025, Chapter 19, signed February 3, 2025, removed the extinguisher from the state requirement. It also added a rule that a home with a secondary power source needs a label within 18 inches of the main electrical panel and electrical meter. Some town forms and the state portal still carry the old certificate name with "fire extinguisher" in it, so ask your fire official what they check today. Montclair's fire department, for one, says extinguishers are no longer required.
What Two Towns Actually Ask For
Rules and fees are local, so here's how two towns handle it as of October 2026. Montclair wants the application and any required letter from an electrician or alarm company at least 10 days before closing, charges $75 at the inspection and makes you reapply if the sale doesn't happen within six months. Cherry Hill adds a Certificate of Continued Occupancy for single family resales, where a property maintenance officer checks the exterior (sidewalks, driveways, fences, grading, sump pump discharge and more) for $100. That's in addition to the fire department's smoke alarm inspection. Some Cherry Hill condos and townhomes are exempt.
Plenty of towns run their own certificate of occupancy or resale inspection. Go by the municipality the house sits in, not the mailing address.
How Does Attorney Review Affect a Seller?
Your signed contract isn't firm yet. In New Jersey, once the signed contract is delivered, the buyer's attorney and yours get three business days to review it, and either one can disapprove it, which cancels the deal. For you, that means a strong offer can still walk, and a backup offer is worth keeping warm until review ends. The full mechanics, including how the days are counted, are in New Jersey Attorney Review.
Do Nonresident Sellers Owe NJ Withholding at Closing?
If you don't live in New Jersey when you close, usually yes. Under the Division of Taxation's TB-57(R), revised June 15, 2026, a nonresident individual, estate or trust selling New Jersey property must make an estimated Gross Income Tax payment at or before closing, whether or not there's a gain. The county won't record the deed without the right GIT/REP form and any payment due.
The estimate is your federal gain times New Jersey's top rate, 10.75%, and it can't be less than 2% of the sale price. On a hypothetical $600,000 sale, that floor is $12,000. It's a prepayment, not the final bill. Your New Jersey nonresident return squares it up later.
The forms, in plain terms:
GIT/REP-1: the nonresident declaration you hand in at closing with the payment.
GIT/REP-2: a receipt if you prepay at one of the Division's Regional Information Centers.
GIT/REP-3: the exemption form. Residents check box 1, and sellers who meet the federal main home rules check box 2.
GIT/REP-4: a waiver request, needed if you're selling at a loss. The Division recommends sending it at least 14 days before closing.
Selling a Shore house from out of state? That's the classic case. How the gain itself is taxed is covered in capital gains on a PA or NJ home sale.
How Max Uses This With Clients
Max builds a New Jersey net sheet before the list price conversation, with the transfer fee, any Graduated Percent Fee and, for out of state owners, the GIT/REP estimate already in it. Near a mansion tax line, he runs the price on both sides of it so you can see the cliff in dollars. In week one he has you call the town about the smoke and CO certificate and any resale inspection, and he puts those dates on the same calendar as attorney review and the buyer's mortgage deadline.
When offers come in, he compares them net of those state charges, not just by price. Thinking about a sale? Get a value range at home valuation or see how Max sells homes.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm your fees and filings with your real estate attorney, a tax professional or the Division of Taxation.
Maximize Your Equity.
Official Sources
New Jersey Division of Taxation: Property Sale, Realty Transfer Fee (updated September 2026)
New Jersey Division of Taxation: Realty Transfer Fee FAQs and Rate Schedule
New Jersey Division of Taxation: GIT/REP-3, Seller's Residency Certification/Exemption
New Jersey Division of Taxation: Top Income Tax Rate (10.75%)
FAQ
What certificates does a New Jersey seller need?
A New Jersey seller of a one or two family home needs a smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm certificate from the town's fire official before the sale. Many towns add their own resale inspection or certificate of occupancy, such as Cherry Hill's Certificate of Continued Occupancy. Check the municipality the house sits in, since rules and fees vary.
How does attorney review affect a seller?
Attorney review gives the New Jersey buyer and seller three business days after the signed contract is delivered for their attorneys to review it. During that window, either attorney can disapprove the contract, which cancels it. For a seller, that means the deal isn't firm until attorney review ends, so keep backup offers warm.
Do nonresident sellers owe NJ withholding at closing?
Usually, yes. A nonresident individual, estate or trust selling New Jersey property must make an estimated Gross Income Tax payment at or before closing, figured on the gain at the top state rate and never less than 2% of the price. Exemptions, like a qualifying main home, are claimed on Form GIT/REP-3.
Who pays the realty transfer fee in New Jersey?
The seller pays the realty transfer fee in New Jersey, according to the Division of Taxation. The fee runs on a graduated schedule per $500 of the price, with reduced rates for qualifying seniors, blind or disabled sellers and low and moderate income housing. On a hypothetical $600,000 sale, the standard fee is $5,185.
Who pays the mansion tax in New Jersey?
The seller pays New Jersey's mansion tax, now called the Graduated Percent Fee, for deeds submitted for recording on or after July 10, 2025. The fee applies above $1 million, running from 1% up to 3.5% of the entire price at $3.5 million and up. Before that date, buyers paid a flat 1%.
