New Jersey Payroll · Graduated GIT · TDI · FLI · IRS Publication 15-T
New Jersey Paycheck Calculator 2025
Estimate your New Jersey take-home pay for hourly or salaried work in a single form. The calculator deducts federal income tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare, graduated New Jersey Gross Income Tax (NJ-WT Rate Tables), and the three New Jersey employee contributions, unemployment (UI/WF/SWF), disability (TDI), and family leave (FLI). Uses 2025 IRS Publication 15-T and current New Jersey withholding schedules.
Pay Details
Check this on Form W-4 if you hold two jobs or your spouse also works. It switches to the higher Step 2 withholding schedule.
W-4 Adjustments (Optional)
Annual dependent credit total (e.g. $2,000 per child under 17)
Step 4c additional withholding per paycheck
New Jersey Tax (NJ-W4)
Single and Married-Separate default to Rate A. Married-Joint, Head of Household, and Qualifying Widow(er) default to Rate B.
Two-earner households (combined wages over $50,000) may pick a higher letter to avoid under-withholding. Overrides the status default.
Allowances from NJ-W4 line 4. Each is worth $1,000 of annual deduction.
Enter your pay details and click Calculate to see your take-home pay breakdown.
Want the full New Jersey payroll picture, including employer taxes, the NJ-W4 and wage chart, the disability and family leave programs, and how withholding reconciles on Form NJ-1040? Read the New Jersey Payroll Taxes guide.
New Jersey Payroll Taxes Guide →Short Answer
This New Jersey paycheck calculator estimates net take-home pay after federal income tax withholding, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), graduated New Jersey Gross Income Tax (NJ-WT Rate Tables), and the three New Jersey employee contributions: unemployment (UI/WF/SWF), disability (TDI), and family leave (FLI). For a single New Jersey worker earning $65,000 per year paid biweekly with one NJ-W4 allowance, gross pay is about $2,500 per period, and net take-home is roughly $1,973 after about $227 of federal withholding, FICA, about $87 of New Jersey income tax, and small UI, disability, and family leave lines. New Jersey has no local wage tax, so there is no city line.
Key Takeaways
- New Jersey withholds a graduated Gross Income Tax on every paycheck using the NJ-WT percentage-method Rate Tables (A through E). This calculator applies the annual schedule: subtract the NJ-W4 allowance, apply the Rate Table for your filing status or wage-chart letter, then divide by pay periods.
- Unlike most states, New Jersey deducts three social-insurance contributions from employee wages: unemployment and workforce (UI/WF/SWF) at 0.425% on the first $43,300, temporary disability (TDI) at 0.23% and family leave insurance (FLI) at 0.33%, each on the first $165,400 for 2025.
- Which Rate Table applies comes from Form NJ-W4. Single and Married-Separate default to Rate A; Married-Joint, Head of Household, and Qualifying Widow(er) default to Rate B. Two-earner households can use the wage chart to select a higher letter and avoid under-withholding.
- Federal income tax uses the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method on annualized wages. Social Security is 6.2% up to the 2025 wage base of $176,100; Medicare is 1.45% with no cap plus a 0.9% surtax that employers withhold on wages above $200,000.
- New Jersey has no municipal wage income tax withheld from employees. Newark's payroll tax is paid by the employer, not deducted from paychecks, so a New Jersey pay stub has no city tax line.
- New Jersey and Pennsylvania have a reciprocal agreement (Form NJ-165). For supplemental pay such as bonuses and RSUs, use the Bonus Tax Calculator and RSU Tax Calculator.
2025 New Jersey Payroll Tax Quick Reference
| Tax | Rate | Wage Base / Threshold | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Income Tax | 10%–37% | No cap | Graduated brackets. Based on W-4 filing status and Publication 15-T percentage method tables. |
| Social Security (OASDI) | 6.2% employee | $176,100 (2025) | Withholding stops at wage base. Employer matches 6.2%. |
| Medicare (HI) | 1.45% employee | No limit | Employer matches 1.45%. |
| Additional Medicare Tax | 0.9% | $200,000 single/HOH; $250,000 MFJ; $125,000 MFS | Employee only. Employer withholds once individual wages exceed $200,000 in the calendar year. |
| NJ Gross Income Tax | 1.5%–11.8% (withholding) | No cap | Graduated. Withheld via NJ-WT Rate Tables A–E based on NJ-W4 status, wage chart, and allowances. |
| NJ UI/WF/SWF (employee) | 0.425% | $43,300 (2025) | Unemployment + workforce funds. Max about $184 for the year. |
| NJ Disability (TDI, employee) | 0.23% | $165,400 (2025) | Temporary Disability Insurance. Max $380.42 for the year. |
| NJ Family Leave (FLI, employee) | 0.33% | $165,400 (2025) | Family Leave Insurance. Max $545.82 for the year. Reported in W-2 Box 14. |
| Local wage income tax | None | – | No municipal wage tax withheld from employees. Newark payroll tax is employer-paid. |
How This Calculator Works
Hourly Mode: Gross Pay Per Period
Gross pay per period equals the hourly rate multiplied by hours worked per week, then scaled to the pay period. For biweekly pay: hourly rate × hours per week × 2. For weekly: hourly rate × hours per week. For semi-monthly and monthly: hourly rate × hours per week × (52 ÷ periods per year).
Salary Mode: Gross Pay Per Period
Gross pay per period equals annual salary divided by the number of pay periods per year. Weekly: ÷ 52. Biweekly: ÷ 26. Semi-monthly: ÷ 24. Monthly: ÷ 12.
Social Security Tax
Social Security is 6.2% of annualized gross wages up to the $176,100 wage base for 2025. The per-period amount is the annualized Social Security tax divided by pay periods. This calculator does not track year-to-date cumulative wages, so for workers approaching the wage base, actual withholding will stop mid-year once the limit is reached.
Medicare Tax
Standard Medicare is 1.45% on all gross wages. The calculator adds the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on annualized wages above $200,000, matching the employer withholding rule in IRS Topic 560: employers withhold the surtax once wages exceed $200,000 in a calendar year regardless of filing status. Your final liability on Form 8959 uses filing-status thresholds ($200,000 single/HOH, $250,000 MFJ, $125,000 MFS), so married filers may reconcile the difference at filing.
Federal Income Tax Withholding
The calculator follows IRS Publication 15-T Worksheet 1A (Percentage Method for Automated Payroll Systems) for 2025:
- Annualize the per-period gross pay (multiply by pay periods per year) - line 1c.
- Add Step 4a other income; subtract Step 4b additional deductions - lines 1d-1f.
- Subtract the line 1g allowance: $12,900 for married filing jointly or $8,600 otherwise. If the W-4 Step 2 box is checked, subtract $0 instead. The result is the Adjusted Annual Wage Amount (line 1i).
- Apply the Annual Percentage Method table for the W-4 filing status - the STANDARD schedule, or the Step 2 Checkbox schedule when the Step 2 box is checked - to get the tentative annual withholding (line 2g), then divide by pay periods (line 2h).
- Subtract Step 3 dependent credits divided by pay periods (line 3c).
- Add Step 4c extra withholding per period (line 4b).
New Jersey Gross Income Tax Withholding (NJ-WT Rate Tables)
New Jersey withholds income tax using the NJ-WT percentage-method Rate Tables. There are five tables, A through E. This calculator applies the annual schedule, which the state publishes for each table with a $1,000 allowance per exemption. The steps are:
- Annualize the per-period gross pay.
- Subtract $1,000 for each NJ-W4 allowance to get New Jersey taxable wages.
- Select the Rate Table. Single and Married/CU Separate use Rate A; Married/CU Joint, Head of Household, and Qualifying Widow(er) use Rate B when the wage chart is not completed. If you enter a wage-chart letter, that table is used instead.
- Apply the annual rate schedule for that table, which runs from 1.5% at the bottom to 11.8% on wages over $1,000,000, then divide by pay periods.
The withholding tables are structured to front-load a slightly higher rate than the statutory Gross Income Tax rates on the NJ-1040, which run from 1.4% to 10.75%. That is normal: withholding is designed to approximate the year-end liability across a range of situations, and the final tax is settled on Form NJ-1040.
New Jersey Unemployment, Disability, and Family Leave
New Jersey is one of the few states that deducts social-insurance contributions directly from employee wages. For 2025 the combined UI/WF/SWF worker rate is 0.425% on wages up to $43,300, so the deduction caps at about $184 and then stops for the year. Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) is 0.23% and Family Leave Insurance (FLI) is 0.33%, each on wages up to the higher $165,400 base, capping TDI at $380.42 and FLI at $545.82. All three are shown as separate lines because all three appear on a typical New Jersey pay stub.
Real-World Paycheck Scenarios
Scenario 1: Single Worker Paid Biweekly
Marcus earns $65,000 per year at a logistics firm in Edison. He is paid biweekly, files single, and claims one allowance on his NJ-W4, which puts him on Rate A. His biweekly gross is $65,000 ÷ 26 = $2,500.00.
New Jersey income tax detail (annualized): taxable wages are $65,000 − ($1,000 × 1) = $64,000. On Rate A that falls in the $40,000 to $75,000 band, so annual tax is $795 + 6.1% of ($64,000 − $40,000) = $795 + $1,464 = $2,259, divided by 26 = $86.88. The three New Jersey contribution lines add about $21 per paycheck combined, money a worker in Texas or Florida would keep.
Scenario 2: Married Two-Earner Household
Elena earns $95,000 as a nurse in Hackensack. She is paid biweekly, is married, and claims two allowances. Her household completed the NJ-W4 as Married/CU Joint without the wage chart, so she is withheld on Rate B. Her biweekly gross is $95,000 ÷ 26 = $3,653.85.
Elena's Rate B tax: taxable wages are $95,000 − ($1,000 × 2) = $93,000, in the $80,000 to $150,000 band, so annual tax is $1,830 + 6.1% of ($93,000 − $80,000) = $1,830 + $793 = $2,623, divided by 26 = $100.88. If Elena's spouse also earns a similar amount, Rate B on each job can under-withhold because each paycheck is treated as if it were the only income. Completing the NJ-W4 wage chart, which can point to Rate C, D, or E, is how New Jersey two-earner couples keep withholding in line with their combined graduated rate.
Practitioner Insight
The New Jersey withholding surprise we see most is the two-earner Rate B shortfall. A married couple both check Married/CU Joint on their NJ-W4, both are withheld at Rate B, and because each employer withholds as if that job were the household's only income, their combined withholding lands well below their true graduated rate. They file Form NJ-1040 in April expecting a small refund and instead owe. The fix is on the form itself: the NJ-W4 wage chart is designed for exactly this, pointing the higher earner or both spouses to Rate C, D, or E so withholding keeps pace. We walk clients through the chart rather than just telling them to "withhold extra."
A second pattern is the disability and family leave lines. Workers moving to New Jersey from a state with no employee social-insurance deductions see UI/WF/SWF, TDI, and FLI on the stub and assume a payroll error. They are real New Jersey deductions, they are capped, and the FLI line is actually useful: it funds paid family leave the worker can draw on. We point out that the FLI contribution stops once wages pass $165,400 and the UI line stops much earlier at $43,300, which is why the deductions shrink as the year goes on.
A third situation worth flagging: Pennsylvania commuters. A Pennsylvania resident working in New Jersey should file Form NJ-165 to claim the reciprocity exemption, so New Jersey income tax is not withheld and Pennsylvania's flat tax is withheld instead. Without it, New Jersey tax comes out all year and the worker has to file a New Jersey nonresident return to recover it. The reciprocity covers wage income tax only, not the disability, family leave, or unemployment contributions.
When This Calculator Gives a Less Accurate Estimate
- Pre-tax deductions not entered: A 401(k) contribution reduces wages subject to federal and New Jersey income tax withholding, but New Jersey does not exclude 401(k) deferrals from the wage base for TDI, FLI, or UI, and Section 125 medical premiums are treated differently again. This calculator does not model pre-tax deductions; actual income tax withholding is lower and net pay is typically higher than the estimate.
- Two-earner households on Rate B: The default Rate B assumes a single income filling the brackets. If both spouses work, combined withholding on Rate B is often insufficient and produces a balance due on Form NJ-1040. Use the wage-chart letter (C, D, or E) that matches your combined wages to correct it.
- Year-to-date caps: The UI/WF/SWF line stops after $43,300 of wages and the TDI and FLI lines stop after $165,400. This calculator annualizes, so it spreads the capped amount evenly rather than showing the deduction stopping mid-year the way an actual pay stub does.
- Pennsylvania reciprocity: A Pennsylvania resident who filed Form NJ-165 has no New Jersey income tax withheld at all, only Pennsylvania tax. This calculator withholds New Jersey income tax, so it overstates withholding for a reciprocity-exempt Pennsylvania commuter.
- Supplemental wages: Bonuses, commissions, and other supplemental pay can be withheld under a different New Jersey method. For the federal supplemental math on a bonus, use the Bonus Tax Calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is take-home pay calculated in New Jersey?
New Jersey take-home pay equals gross pay minus federal income tax withholding, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), New Jersey Gross Income Tax withholding, and three New Jersey employee contributions: unemployment and workforce (UI/WF/SWF), temporary disability (TDI), and family leave insurance (FLI). Federal withholding uses IRS Publication 15-T. New Jersey income tax is withheld using the NJ-WT percentage-method Rate Tables A through E, chosen from your NJ-W4 filing status and, for two-earner households, the NJ-W4 wage chart. New Jersey has no local wage income tax withheld from employees.
What are the NJ disability (TDI) and family leave (FLI) deductions on my paycheck?
New Jersey funds Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Family Leave Insurance (FLI) partly through employee payroll deductions. For 2025 the employee TDI rate is 0.23% and the FLI rate is 0.33%, each applied to wages up to the $165,400 taxable wage base. That caps TDI at $380.42 and FLI at $545.82 for the year. Both appear as separate lines on a New Jersey pay stub, and both are set each year by the New Jersey Department of Labor. New Jersey is one of only a handful of states that deduct disability and paid-family-leave contributions from employee wages.
What is the NJ UI/WF/SWF deduction?
Unlike most states, New Jersey deducts a small unemployment contribution directly from employee wages. For 2025 the combined worker rate for Unemployment Insurance, Workforce Development, and Supplemental Workforce (UI/WF/SWF) is 0.425% of wages up to the $43,300 taxable wage base, a maximum of about $184 for the year. Employers pay a much larger unemployment contribution separately. Because the wage base is only $43,300, most full-time workers reach the UI/WF/SWF cap partway through the year and the deduction then stops.
Which NJ-WT Rate Table applies to my withholding?
New Jersey withholds income tax using one of five percentage-method Rate Tables. If you checked Single or Married/Civil Union Partner Separate on Form NJ-W4, the employer uses Rate Table A. If you checked Married/Civil Union Couple Joint, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er) and did not complete the NJ-W4 wage chart, the employer uses Rate Table B. When a two-earner household completes the wage chart because combined wages exceed $50,000, a higher letter (C, D, or E) can apply so that withholding keeps pace with the higher marginal rate. This calculator lets you choose the wage-chart letter directly.
Does New Jersey have a local city income tax?
No. New Jersey has no municipal wage income tax withheld from employees, unlike New York City, Philadelphia, or the Ohio cities. Newark levies a payroll tax, but it is paid by the employer on total payroll and is not deducted from individual employee paychecks. So a New Jersey pay stub shows federal taxes, the state Gross Income Tax, and the UI/WF/SWF, disability, and family leave contributions, but no local wage tax line.
Do New Jersey and Pennsylvania have a reciprocal agreement?
Yes. New Jersey and Pennsylvania have a reciprocal personal income tax agreement, the only reciprocity New Jersey maintains. A Pennsylvania resident who works in New Jersey can file Form NJ-165 so the employer withholds Pennsylvania tax instead of New Jersey tax, and a New Jersey resident working in Pennsylvania is treated the same way in reverse. The agreement covers wages only. It does not change the New Jersey disability, family leave, or unemployment contributions, which follow where the work is covered.
Why does my New Jersey withholding differ from my actual state income tax?
Employer withholding is an estimate produced by the NJ-WT Rate Tables based on your NJ-W4 filing status, wage-chart letter, and allowances. Your final New Jersey income tax is computed on Form NJ-1040 using your actual taxable income, exemptions, the property-tax deduction or credit, and other items. A common gap is the two-earner household withheld at Rate B: because each job is withheld as if it were the only income, combined withholding often falls short of the graduated rate and produces a balance due. Completing the NJ-W4 wage chart, which points to a higher Rate Table, usually fixes it.
Why is my New Jersey take-home pay lower than in a no-income-tax state?
New Jersey withholds a graduated Gross Income Tax, and it also deducts three social-insurance contributions, unemployment (UI/WF/SWF), disability (TDI), and family leave (FLI), that no-income-tax states like Texas or Florida do not have. At the same gross salary, a New Jersey worker keeps less of each paycheck. This calculator shows the New Jersey income tax and each of the three contribution lines separately so you can see exactly where the difference goes.
What To Do Next
If your New Jersey paycheck estimate looks off, first confirm your NJ-W4 filing status, any wage-chart letter, and allowances match what you filed with your employer, then check whether pre-tax benefit deductions (401k, health insurance) are lowering your taxable wages. If you are in a two-earner household and owe every April, the NJ-W4 wage chart is the tool to fix it. To understand how your withholding connects to your year-end return, see the New Jersey Payroll Taxes guide and our How Payroll Taxes Work guide.
For hourly workers who also receive overtime, the Hourly Paycheck Calculator lets you model specific hours and frequencies. For a generic multi-state view, use the Paycheck Calculator. To understand all the line items on your New Jersey pay stub, including the TDI and FLI deductions, see our How to Read a Pay Stub guide.
If you have self-employment income in addition to wages, the 1099 Tax Calculator estimates your full federal tax burden including self-employment tax. If you need to estimate quarterly payments on that income, use the Quarterly Tax Calculator. To track a filed New Jersey refund, use the New Jersey Refund Tracker.
Sources & Editorial Disclosure
- New Jersey Division of Taxation, Tables for Percentage Method of Withholding, NJ-WT Rate Tables A–E annual schedules (applicable on and after October 1, 2020)
- Form NJ-W4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, filing-status to Rate Table mapping and the wage chart (Rate A for Single/Separate; Rate B default for Joint/HoH/Widow)
- New Jersey Department of Labor, Division of Employer Accounts, 2025 worker contribution rates (UI 0.3825%, DI 0.23%, WF/SWF 0.0425%, FLI 0.33%) and taxable wage bases ($43,300; $165,400)
- New Jersey Division of Taxation, NJ Income Tax Rates, graduated Gross Income Tax rate schedules (top rate 10.75%)
- IRS Publication 15-T (2025), Employer's Tax Guide to Federal Income Tax Withholding
- IRS Topic 751, Social Security and Medicare Withholding Rates
- Social Security Administration, 2025 Wage Base ($176,100)
- Authored by Munib Ur Rehman · Reviewed by Nausheen Shahid, LMN Tax Inc. Not affiliated with the IRS or the New Jersey Division of Taxation. For informational purposes only.