New Jersey Hourly Paycheck Calculator

New Jersey may be forever known as a state full of partiers that love to GTL (Gym, Tan, Laundry), but it’s also one of the most complicated when it comes to payroll taxes.

We’ve compiled this list of answers to the most popular New Jersey payroll tax questions to make it easier for you.

New Jersey payroll taxes

Here’s what you need to know about withholding payroll taxes in New Jersey.

• New Jersey payroll taxes start with employees filling out Form NJ-W4. This information helps you determine how much you should withhold.
• If an employee does not complete this form, you will need to withhold tax as though no exemptions were claimed.
• Employees need to update Form NJ-W4 in case of life events (such as marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of a child, etc.) which may impact their taxes.
• The personal income tax rate in New Jersey is 1.4%–10.75%.

Additional New Jersey forms

In addition to Form NJ-W4 mentioned above, New Jersey employers also need to file the following forms:

1. New Jersey Employer Report of Wages Paid (NJ WR-30)
2. New Jersey Employer's Quarterly Report (NJ-927)
3. New Jersey Employer's Quarterly Report for Weekly Filers (NJ-927W)
4. New Jersey Submitter Form NJ-ERW2-S
5. New Jersey Annual Withholding Reconciliation (NJ-W-3)
6. Wage and Tax Statement (State W2)
7. NJ New Hire Report

New Jersey unemployment tax rate

New Jersey requires most employers to pay unemployment insurance tax to help compensate workers who are out of work through no fault of their own.

• Employers pay New Jersey unemployment tax on the first $41,100 of an employee’s wages.
• New employers who are not in the construction industry pay at a rate of 3.1%.
• Experienced employers pay at a rate of 0.6%–6.4%.
• Unemployment tax in New Jersey should be paid quarterly to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Paying New Jersey taxes

Here’s what you need to know about paying New Jersey taxes:

• How often employers pay depends on the amount of tax you withhold in a year.
• New Jersey’s payment frequencies are: weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually.

New Jersey minimum wage

In 2023, the minimum wage in New Jersey is $14.13 per hour for businesses with six or more employees, and $12.93 per hour for businesses with five or fewer employees.

New Jersey overtime pay

Because New Jersey doesn’t have any state law governing overtime pay, the federal rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act apply. Generally speaking, hourly employees are to be paid time-and-a-half for all hours worked over 40 hours in a week.

Workers’ Compensation

Requirements to obtain Workers' Compensation vary by state. This table outlines some of these requirements. If you determine that your company is required to purchase Workers' Compensation insurance in your state, learn how to sign up for this insurance with Gusto. Sometimes, companies get a request for a workers' comp audit—head to this article and click the workers’ comp audit reports dropdown for more information.

New hires

Employers in New Jersey need to report new employees.

• New hires must be reported to New Jersey Child Support Employer Services Portal.
• New hires must be reported within 20 days of their first day of work.

Payroll stubs

You must provide a pay stub to every employee that includes:

1. Company’s legal name and address
2. Employee’s name and last four digits of their Social Security number
3. Pay period beginning and end dates
4. Total hours worked
5. Rate of pay
6. Gross wages
7. The amount and reason for any deduction

Final paychecks

Employers must pay final wages to departing employees by the next scheduled payday.

Time off

New Jersey law requires employers to provide the following types of time off to employees.

• Jury duty
• Family & parental leave, per the unemployment insurance law
• Sick leave
• Medical leave applies to employers with 30 or more employees.
• Domestic violence leave applies to employers with 25 or more employees, under domestic violence leave law. It applies to all employers under the paid sick leave law.

Federal payroll taxes

In addition to New Jersey-specific taxes, both you and your employees will pay a variety of federal payroll taxes. Check out the breakdown below.

Federal income tax

Unless they are exempt, your employees will pay federal income tax.

• You must withhold federal income tax from employees’ pay, unless they are exempt.
• Each employee’s Form W-4 will differ based on their filing status and dependents, among other details—so the amount of income tax to be withheld will vary.
• Form W-4 does not need to be sent to the IRS, but should be kept for your records.

FICA

Both you and your employees will pay Federal Insurance Contributions Act, or FICA tax.

• FICA is made up of the Medicare tax and the Social Security tax.
• In 2023, the Social Security tax requires employers and employees to each contribute 6.2% of wages up to $2,600.
• The Medicare tax requires employers and employees to each contribute 1.45% of all wages.
• See the IRS webpage for details, like maximum thresholds.

FUTA

Like the state, the federal government also has an unemployment tax, called FUTA, which is paid by employers.

• FUTA is an annual tax an employer pays on the first $7,000 of each employee’s wages.
• The FUTA rate for 2023 is 6.0%, but many employers are able to pay less, for instance, up to 5.4% each year due to tax credits.
• Most employers will pay this tax annually with Form 940. But larger employers with more than $500 in tax due will have to pay quarterly.

Additional Medicare tax

The Additional Medicare tax is paid by employees. Here’s what you should know:

• For employees who earn over $200,000 per year, 0.9% of earnings will need to be withheld for the Additional Medicare tax.
• Whether or not your employee owes this tax may depend on their filing status.

Paying federal taxes

How often you’ll pay federal payroll taxes depends on how much you owe.

• Semi-weekly or monthly payments are required for federal withholding, Additional Medicare, and FICA taxes. And every quarter, a summary payroll tax return is due on Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.
• Quarterly or annual payments are required for federal unemployment tax. Most employers will pay annually, but quarterly payments are necessary if you owe more than $500. Each time you make a payment, you’ll need to file a payroll tax return on Form 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return.

We’re here to help

If you don’t love manual number crunching and payroll taxes sound overwhelming to you, take advantage of Gusto’s full-service payroll options or use an experienced accountant to help you with the process.