New Jersey Estate & Inheritance Tax

What the New Jersey Estate Data Reveals

New Jersey imposes no state estate tax, so federal law under IRC § 2001 is the only estate-level levy that applies. With the federal exemption at $13,990,000 per decedent in 2025, the vast majority of New Jersey estates clear probate without owing estate tax at any level — though the scheduled 2026 sunset of the TCJA could cut that exemption roughly in half. Beneficiaries separately face a state inheritance tax; spouses are exempt, but distant relatives and unrelated heirs pay the highest rates under New Jersey law.

IRS Statistics of Income data show 271 federal estate tax returns filed by New Jersey residents in the most recent available year (filing year 2023), reporting $7.62 billion in combined gross estate value. Net federal estate tax paid totaled $1.06 billion that year. Across the multi-year IRS SOI series above, New Jersey averages roughly 231 taxable filings per year, with an effective federal rate on reported gross estates of about 11.5%.

Probate itself typically runs 9–18 months in New Jersey (roughly 14 months on average), with court filing fees of $75–$500. Attorney fees are negotiated rather than statutory, so engagement letters and hourly-vs-flat structures matter more to the total bill. New Jersey does offer a simplified small-estate track for estates under $50,000, which most families use to bypass full formal probate. Because New Jersey has adopted the Uniform Probate Code (since 1978), procedures are broadly standardized across counties. As a common-law (separate property) state, New Jersey treats each spouse's holdings individually unless jointly titled, so titling choices drive what actually enters the probate estate.