Since July 10, 2025, New Jersey’s “mansion tax” is paid by the seller, not the buyer — and it now rises with price, up to 3.5%. It is officially the Graduated Percent Fee. Because the rate applies to the entire sale price rather than only the amount above each threshold, crossing a threshold by a single dollar can cost tens of thousands.
Source: New Jersey REALTORS®, P.L. 2025 c.69, N.J.S.A. 46:15-7.2. Applies to contracts fully executed on or after July 10, 2025.
The Graduated Percent Fee is charged on the sale price of residential property. It is separate from, and in addition to, the standard Realty Transfer Fee New Jersey sellers have paid since 1968.
| Sale price | Fee rate | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000,000.01 – $2,000,000 | 1% | Seller (was the buyer) |
| $2,000,000.01 – $2,500,000 | 2% | Seller |
| $2,500,000.01 – $3,000,000 | 2.5% | Seller |
| $3,000,000.01 – $3,500,000 | 3% | Seller |
| $3,500,000.01 and above | 3.5% | Seller |
The rate is set by which band your sale price falls into, then applied to the whole price — not only the portion above the threshold. That creates a cliff at every boundary.
| Sale price | Rate | Fee owed | Cost of crossing |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000,000 | 1% | $20,000 | — |
| $2,000,000.01 | 2% | $40,000 | +$20,000 |
| $2,500,000 | 2% | $50,000 | — |
| $2,500,000.01 | 2.5% | $62,500 | +$12,500 |
| $3,000,000 | 2.5% | $75,000 | — |
| $3,000,000.01 | 3% | $90,000 | +$15,000 |
| $3,500,000 | 3% | $105,000 | — |
| $3,500,000.01 | 3.5% | $122,500 | +$17,500 |
A seller who accepts $2,010,000 instead of $2,000,000 nets roughly $10,000 less. The extra $10,000 in price triggers an extra $20,000 in fee. When an offer lands just above a threshold, that arithmetic is worth running before anyone signs.
Pricing near a threshold is no longer only a question of what the market will bear. A list price that invites offers just over a boundary can cost more than it gains. That modelling belongs before the home goes on the market, not after an offer arrives.
An escalation clause or a competitive bid can push a sale across a threshold with nobody pausing to check. Near $2,000,000, an extra $5,000 in price can leave a seller worse off than accepting less.
For sellers above $1,000,000 this is now among the largest single line items at closing — and before July 2025 it was not the seller’s expense at all. Anyone working from an older net sheet is working from the wrong number.
No discounts. The standard Realty Transfer Fee has partial exemptions for qualifying senior, blind and disabled sellers. The Graduated Percent Fee has no such provision.
It stacks. The Realty Transfer Fee is a separate, long-standing seller cost calculated per $500 of consideration. The Graduated Percent Fee sits on top of it.
It applies broadly. Class 2 residential, Class 4A commercial, Class 4C co-operative units, and Class 3A farm property containing a residence.
Transition rule. For contracts fully executed before July 10, 2025 where the deed was recorded on or before November 15, 2025, anything paid above 1% was refundable to the seller by filing Form RTF-3 within one year of recording.
The seller. Before July 10, 2025 it was a flat 1% paid by the buyer on sales over $1,000,000. That buyer fee was eliminated and replaced with a graduated fee on the seller.
A sale at exactly $2,000,000 sits in the 1% band, so roughly $20,000. A sale at $2,000,000.01 sits in the 2% band, so roughly $40,000 — charged on the entire price, not on the extra cent.
The whole sale price. The threshold determines which rate applies; that rate is then applied to the full consideration.
No. They are two separate charges, and a seller above $1,000,000 pays both.
No. Partial exemptions exist for qualifying senior and disabled sellers on the standard Realty Transfer Fee, but not on the Graduated Percent Fee.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Rates and rules change — confirm your own figures with your real estate attorney before relying on them. Fee structure per New Jersey REALTORS® and N.J.S.A. 46:15-7.2, current as of August 2026.
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