Key figures
New Jersey accounting
2026, with sources
- CBT rate
- 9%On allocated entire net income over $100,000; 7.5% from $50,001 to $100,000, 6.5% at $50,000 or less.
- Corporate Transit Fee
- 2.5%On all allocated taxable net income once it exceeds $10 million; privilege periods 2024–2028.
- Minimum tax
- $500 to $2,000By New Jersey gross receipts; $2,000 for a member of an affiliated group with $5 million+ payroll.
The Corporation Business Tax
New Jersey taxes corporations through the Corporation Business Tax (CBT), administered by the Division of Taxation. The rate is 9% on allocated entire net income over $100,000, 7.5% between $50,000 and $100,000, and 6.5% at $50,000 or less. A Corporate Transit Fee adds 2.5% for privilege periods from 2024 through 2028 once allocated taxable net income passes $10 million, and then applies to all of it, not just the excess.
Every CBT filer owes at least the minimum tax, scaled to New Jersey gross receipts from $500 to $2,000. For a startup with New Jersey customers or staff and no profit, the minimum tax is the whole bill.
Combined groups, market sourcing
New Jersey requires combined reporting: corporations that are part of a unitary business file one combined return, Form CBT-100U. A Delaware parent with a New Jersey operating subsidiary is usually one combined group.
Income is apportioned on a single sales factor. Receipts from services are sourced to New Jersey when the benefit of the service is received in New Jersey, which is market-based sourcing, so a SaaS company’s New Jersey revenue is its New Jersey customers’ revenue.
An example: a Delaware parent with a New Jersey operating subsidiary that together earn $2 million of taxable income, a quarter of it from receipts for services whose benefit is received in New Jersey, apportions about $500,000 to New Jersey on one combined return, taxed at 9%. The Corporate Transit Fee doesn’t apply until the group’s allocated income exceeds $10 million.
Book-tax differences
The CBT starts from federal taxable income before the NOL deduction, then adjusts. New Jersey has decoupled from IRC §168(k) bonus depreciation and §179 expensing, so New Jersey depreciation runs on its own schedule and creates a deferred item in the state provision. NOLs carry forward 20 years and can’t be carried back.
For tax years ending on or after July 31, 2026 and before July 31, 2030, the NOL deduction is capped at $1 million a year (P.L. 2026, c.21), with up to six extra carryforward years for whatever the cap defers. A calendar-year company with $3 million of allocated New Jersey income in 2026 and $5 million of carryforward deducts $1 million and pays 9% on $2 million, $180,000, where it would otherwise have paid nothing; the deferred $2 million stays a deferred tax asset, subject to the usual realizability test.
A company claiming the New Jersey R&D credit can deduct its New Jersey qualified research expenses in the year it claims the credit, rather than amortizing them under Section 174. The Division of Taxation publishes its position on each federal change in notices and technical bulletins, which is where to look before booking the provision.
The federal baseline
This page covers what New Jersey adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
Common questions
Do we owe New Jersey corporate tax if we lost money?
Usually yes, and it starts small. A corporation with nexus in New Jersey files Form CBT-100 even at a loss and pays at least the minimum tax, which is set by New Jersey gross receipts: $500 under $100,000, rising to $2,000 at $1 million or more. A member of an affiliated group with total payroll of $5 million or more pays $2,000 regardless.
How much of our income does New Jersey tax?
Only on its New Jersey share. New Jersey uses a single sales factor and sources service receipts to where the benefit of the service is received, so revenue from New Jersey customers is what draws income into the state, not where the team sits.
Can we use our New Jersey NOLs once we turn profitable?
Only up to $1 million a year for now. The FY2027 budget (P.L. 2026, c.21) caps the CBT net operating loss deduction at $1 million for tax years ending on or after July 31, 2026 and before July 31, 2030. A deduction the cap disallows can be carried forward up to six years beyond its normal expiry, and no estimated-tax underpayment penalty applies to installments due before January 1, 2027 that fell short because of the new limit.
Accounting next door
- DEDelaware accountingDelaware’s corporate income tax is 8.7% of apportioned federal taxable income, with separate-company returns and a single gross receipts factor. A Delaware corporation whose only Delaware activity is its registered office doesn’t file it, but still owes the franchise tax.
- NYNew York accountingNew York taxes a C-corp three ways: the state franchise tax, an MTA surcharge in the commuter district, and in the five boroughs a separate NYC Business Corporation Tax. All three apportion by where customers are.
- PAPennsylvania accountingPennsylvania’s corporate net income tax is 7.49% for 2026 and falling, on separate-company returns with market-sourced services. Losses are capped as a share of income, and federal R&D expensing and bonus depreciation don’t carry through.
Founder guides on this
- US GAAPUS GAAP for early-stage startups, in plain EnglishAccrual accounting, revenue recognition (ASC 606), leases (ASC 842), stock compensation and capitalized software: what each means for a small company.
- R&D taxThe R&D tax credit and Section 174A for startupsEngineering salaries can earn a federal R&D credit against payroll tax, and Section 174A lets you deduct US research again. What qualifies, what to track.
- FundraisingAudit-ready books before your Series AInvestors, lenders and auditors ask for the same things: accrual statements, reconciled accounts and support for every balance. How to be ready first.
More of the New Jersey guide
- ReceivablesReceivables and sales tax in New JerseySales tax registration, economic nexus, whether SaaS is taxable, and collecting from customers
- PayablesPayables and contractors in New JerseyPaying vendors and contractors: 1099 filing, use tax, contractor tests and withholding
- PayrollPayroll taxes and employer rules in New JerseyWithholding, unemployment insurance, paid leave, minimum wage and the rules on paydays
- ComplianceCompliance and filings in New JerseyRegistering to do business, annual reports, franchise tax and the filing calendar
- AdvisoryAdvisory: credits and decisions in New JerseyCredits, incentives and the decisions that are cheaper to get right the first time
Sources
Checked against each agency’s own page on . Rates and thresholds change, usually on January 1.
General information for US companies, not tax, legal or accounting advice for yours. Rules and thresholds change; confirm the specifics with a CPA or the agency before you act on them.