Owner guide
Commercial Property Tax Appeals in NJ: Deadlines, Ratios and Chapter 91
If your building’s assessment is higher than its market value supports, you can appeal. Here are the 2027 deadlines, the ratio test the county board and Tax Court use, and the 2027 numbers for towns near Caldwell.
The 2027 deadline
For tax year 2027, an appeal to your County Board of Taxation must be filed and received by April 1, 2027, or within 45 days after your town finishes mailing its assessment notices, if that is later. In a town that has put a town-wide revaluation or reassessment into effect, the deadline is May 1. If your assessment is over $1,000,000, you can skip the county board and file directly with the Tax Court of New Jersey. NJ Division of Taxation · N.J.S.A. 54:3-21
If you file with the county board and lose, you have 45 days from its judgment to appeal to the Tax Court. The county board petition is Form A-1, with Form A-1 Comp. Sale for your comparable sales. (Burlington, Gloucester and Monmouth counties use a January 15 deadline for county board appeals; that does not affect Essex, Morris or Passaic.)
The test: your assessment against the common level range
Most towns do not assess at 100% of market value. Every October 1 the Director of the Division of Taxation certifies each town’s average ratio of assessed value to market value, based on sales. The common level range is that ratio plus or minus 15%. Chapter 123 ratios for tax year 2027
Divide your assessment by what the property is really worth. If the result is above the upper limit of the range, the court revises the assessment to market value times the average ratio. If it falls inside the range, the assessment generally stands. The test also works the other way: below the lower limit, the assessment can be raised. N.J.S.A. 54:51A-6
In the tax year a town puts a revaluation or reassessment into effect, the ratio test does not apply; the question is simply market value.
2027 average ratios near Caldwell
Certified October 1, 2026 for tax year 2027 appeals, subject to revision by the Tax Court. Last year the Tax Court amended the 2026 list on January 30, 2026, so check the final 2027 list before you file. The 2026 ratio is in parentheses.
Caldwell: average ratio 61.80%, common level range 52.53% to 71.07% (tax year 2026: 65.10%).
West Caldwell: average ratio 60.71%, common level range 51.60% to 69.82% (tax year 2026: 65.84%).
North Caldwell: average ratio 66.39%, common level range 56.43% to 76.35% (tax year 2026: 71.25%).
Essex Fells: average ratio 71.08%, common level range 60.42% to 81.74% (tax year 2026: 72.77%).
Roseland: average ratio 84.08%, common level range 71.47% to 96.69% (tax year 2026: 93.62%).
Verona: average ratio 91.97%, common level range 78.17% to 105.77% (tax year 2026: 64.73%).
Cedar Grove: average ratio 96.97%, common level range 82.42% to 111.52% (tax year 2026: 68.20%).
Fairfield: average ratio 59.48%, common level range 50.56% to 68.40% (tax year 2026: 70.55%).
Livingston: average ratio 63.44%, common level range 53.92% to 72.96% (tax year 2026: 69.18%).
Little Falls: average ratio 52.93%, common level range 44.99% to 60.87% (tax year 2026: 56.86%).
Totowa: average ratio 52.92%, common level range 44.98% to 60.86% (tax year 2026: 51.88%).
Wayne: average ratio 33.82%, common level range 28.75% to 38.89% (tax year 2026: 35.82%).
Woodland Park: average ratio 61.38%, common level range 52.17% to 70.59% (tax year 2026: 64.98%).
Lincoln Park: average ratio 84.75%, common level range 72.04% to 97.46% (tax year 2026: 83.99%).
Montville: average ratio 63.69%, common level range 54.14% to 73.24% (tax year 2026: 68.53%).
Parsippany-Troy Hills: average ratio 62.98%, common level range 53.53% to 72.43% (tax year 2026: 66.60%).
East Hanover: average ratio 49.22%, common level range 41.84% to 56.60% (tax year 2026: 51.41%).
Hanover: average ratio 60.00%, common level range 51.00% to 69.00% (tax year 2026: 69.39%).
Florham Park: average ratio 63.55%, common level range 54.02% to 73.08% (tax year 2026: 65.98%).
Rockaway Borough: average ratio 61.06%, common level range 51.90% to 70.22% (tax year 2026: 67.26%).
Rockaway Township: average ratio 88.51%, common level range 75.23% to 101.79% (tax year 2026: 83.81%).
Verona and Cedar Grove moved the most from 2026 to 2027. A jump that size often follows a revaluation, but we have not confirmed one in either town. Ask the assessor whether a revaluation or reassessment takes effect for 2027; if it does, your deadline is May 1 and the ratio test does not apply that year.
Source: NJ Division of Taxation, Certification of the 2026 average ratios and common level ranges for use in tax year 2027 and the tax year 2026 certification.
Example numbers only: a hypothetical Fairfield warehouse
The figures below are made-up example numbers to show the math. They are not a real property, an assessment on record or an AcreX deal.
Example: say a Fairfield warehouse is assessed at $3,000,000 and the evidence supports a market value of $4,000,000. The ratio is 75.0%. Fairfield’s 2027 upper limit is 68.40%, so the assessment is excessive. Applying the 59.48% average ratio to $4,000,000 gives a revised assessment of about $2,379,200.
Second example: now say the evidence supports $4,500,000. The ratio is 66.7%, inside Fairfield’s 50.56% to 68.40% range, so the assessment would likely stand even though it is not exactly market value times the average ratio. That is why owners check the range before paying for an appeal.
Chapter 91: don’t ignore the assessor’s letter
If the assessor sends you a written request by certified mail for income information on an income-producing property, you have 45 days to answer. If you do not, the assessor values the property from whatever information it has, and no appeal will be heard from that assessment. The county board can set terms for good cause if you could not get the information together in time. N.J.S.A. 54:4-34
Answer it, even with a short response, and keep proof of when you sent it. A missed Chapter 91 letter can cost you the appeal before it starts.
A win can hold for three years
Under the Freeze Act, a final Tax Court judgment is binding on the assessor for the assessment year and the two years after it, except for changes in value after the assessment date. The freeze ends early if the town puts a complete revaluation or reassessment into effect. N.J.S.A. 54:51A-8
What to gather
Your current assessment card and tax bill.
Rent roll, leases and two to three years of operating statements for an income property.
Recent sales of similar buildings. The state publishes every recorded sale in its SR-1A sales file; our county pages summarize the 2026 commercial and industrial sales, for example Essex County, Morris County and Passaic County.
An appraisal. Most contested commercial appeals need one.
Where AcreX fits
We are commercial brokers, not tax attorneys or appraisers, and a tax appeal usually needs both. What we can do is pull recent sales near your building and give you a free written broker’s opinion of value, so you can see whether your assessment is out of the range before you spend money on an appeal. Start with what is my commercial property worth? or the free value calculator.
If you are also thinking of selling, check your property class while you are at it. A Class 4A building pays the seller-paid graduated transfer fee on sales over $1 million, and a class change should be raised with the assessor before the appeal deadline. See how to sell commercial property in NJ.
Owner questions
When is the 2027 commercial tax appeal deadline in New Jersey?
April 1, 2027 for most towns, or 45 days after the town finishes mailing assessment notices if that is later. In a town that put a revaluation or reassessment into effect it is May 1, 2027. Burlington, Gloucester and Monmouth counties use January 15 for county board appeals.
Can I file directly with the Tax Court?
Yes, if the assessment is more than $1,000,000. Otherwise you start at the County Board of Taxation.
What is the common level range?
The town’s average ratio of assessed value to market value, plus or minus 15%. If your assessment divided by market value is above the upper limit, the assessment is considered excessive.
What happens if I ignore a Chapter 91 request?
If you do not respond within 45 days, no appeal will be heard from the assessment on that income-producing property, apart from limited good-cause relief from the county board.
Talk to AcreX
Book a consultation with Jonathan Libock · Call (201) 694-6463 · jon@acrex.co
By Jonathan Libock, AcreX · General information, not tax or legal advice. Sources: NJ Division of Taxation, Assessment and Appeals (updated August 15, 2025); Chapter 123 certifications for tax years 2026 and 2027; N.J.S.A. 54:3-21; N.J.S.A. 54:4-34; N.J.S.A. 54:51A-6; N.J.S.A. 54:51A-8. Checked November 10, 2026.
AcreX Realty LLC, Licensed Real Estate Broker, 307 Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell, NJ 07006. Licensure does not imply endorsement. In New Jersey commissions are negotiable.