President Trump has created Opportunity Zones where investment can be structured to allow for reduced taxes and reduced long-term capital gain. In fact, if the holding period is met, there is no long-term capital gain on certain property within an Opportunity Zone. The zones are determined by census data, and there are quite a few interesting areas in northern New Jersey where an investor can look to take advantage of the new law. Investors with existing appreciated assets are in a great position, but even those with after tax capital may participate on a tax friendly manner.

The City of Jersey City has not had its assessments updated since 1988, which means that the last time the City conducted a thorough evaluation of all properties was almost 30 years ago. The City entered into a contract to complete a revaluation with Realty Appraisal, and began a revaluation, but the revaluation was halted by Mayor Fulop. The Tax Board has ordered the revaluation to be completed. This means that each property is to be inspected and valued. All properties whether commercial, residential or industrial will receive new assessments for tax year 2018. Right now, for 2017 the average assessment is 23.66% of true value. The 2018 assessments will be “true value” or in other words “fair market value” of the property with all issues considered, such as location, lot size, use, square footage, etc. Presumably, the average assessment will be 4x the old assessment. Some will be more than 4x, others will be less depending upon how that particular property relates to the change in market value versus other properties.. The overall tax rate will FALL – it will be approximately ¼ of the current rate of $7.701 per $100 of assessed value. Below is a schedule published by NJ.com:

What is a rolling re-assessment?
Well, let’s start with a re-assessment as opposed to a re-valuation.

• A “revaluation” is where the town hires an outside company to inspect all properties and completely update its assessments – normally completed every 8 to 10 years and possibly with longer periods in between.
• A “re-assessment” is a less complicated update that does not include inspecting every property.

So a “rolling re-assessment” is where the town updates the assessments for the majority of properties every year. At first glance, that would seem a good thing, however a homeowner who is over-assessed is forced to file an appeal EACH year. This violates one basic foundations of tax appeal law – the “Freeze Act.” (N.S.A The Freeze Act statute normally protects a successful tax appeal from being changed by the assessor for two additional years, thus a successful appeal provides 3 years of savings as a result of the Freeze Act). Doing rolling assessments potentially acts to cut off the additional two years after the appeal where the assessment is frozen at the lower figure.

I believe the County Tax Board or Tax Court will eventually have to rule upon the propriety of a rolling assessment, but that has not yet occurred. The towns who expect to complete rolling re-assessments are: Hackensack, Little Ferry, Moonachie, North Arlington, Oradell, Saddle Brook, South Hackensack, Westwood, Woodcliff Lake, and Paterson in Passaic County.

For many years, properties in Paterson have been over-assessed. Paterson has undergone a revaluation, effective for tax year 2015. Most property owners will see a reduction in their assessment, but that does not mean that their taxes will go down. Whether or not a property owner's taxes go down depends upon how much the total ratables decrease. If the total ratables for the entire town decreased by 10%, then a particular property owner who sees a 10% reduction in their assessment will basically see no change in their taxes. On the other hand, an owner who’s assessment stays basically the same (or rises) will likely see an increase in their taxes. Assessments for 2015 are supposed to be true fair market value. If an owner believes that their property is not worth the amount of the new assessment, they should consider filing a tax appeal. In order to win the tax appeal, the owner must prove that the property is worth less than the new assessment. If the owner approves the property is worth less than the assessment in a proceeding either in the County tax board or the Tax Court, then the taxes will decrease as a result of the reduction in property assessment. Appeals must have been filed by May 1, 2015, unless extended.

Many property owners in Wyckoff were over-assessed in the past. Ever since Wyckoff completed a revaluation almost at the height of the real estate market, the assessments in Wyckoff have been somewhat inaccurate. For 2015, all Wyckoff property owners should have received their notice of assessment giving them the value that the town places on each property. The assessor mailed the notices with the help of the revaluation company, Realty Appraisal. This value or assessment is supposed to be true fair market value for tax year 2015. Some owners may see their assessment rise, however the majority of property owners should see a a reduction in their assessment compared to 2014. Property owners whose assessment rises, will likely pay more in taxes for 2015. Anyone receiving an increase in their assessment should consider filing a tax appeal. In order to win the tax appeal, the property owner must prove that the property is worth less than the new assessment. Appeals must be filed by May 1, 2015 either in the County Tax Board, or Tax Court if the assessment is $1 million or more.

“You may be eligible for a reimbursement of the difference between the amount of property taxes you paid for the base year (the year you first became eligible) and the amount paid for the year for which you are applying for a reimbursement if you met all the following requirements for the base year and for each succeeding year, up to and including the year for which you are claiming the reimbursement.”

You may be eligible if:

1. You are 65 or older or receiving Social Security disability benefits; and
2. You have lived in N. J. continuously for the last 10 years as a homeowner or renter; and
3. You have owned and lived in your home for the last 3 years; and
4. You have paid the full amount of property taxes; and
5. You meet the income requirements.

1. Veterans who were honorably discharged from active service with the U.S. Armed Services in a war-time period may be eligible for a property tax reduction of $250.
2. Certain totally or permanently disabled war veterans or the surviving spouse of a disabled war veteran or the surviving spouse of a serviceperson who died in wartime active duty may be exempt (they do not pay any property tax) from real estate taxes. You must be honorably discharged from active wartime service and be VA certified as having service-connected total or 100% permanent disability. You must also be the full owner of and a permanent resident in the dwelling for which exemption is claimed.

Your property may be exempt from taxes if it used solely for one of the following purposes:

Religious, charitable, educational, scientific, literary, veterans organizations, youth organizations, fraternal organizations, disaster relief organizations, historic sites, conservation/recreation land, burial grounds & cemeteries, firefighter organizations & rescue squads, and PTA/PTO organizations.

Interested property owners may also visit the following website: