Rates last verified: September 4th, 2026
Sources: New Jersey Statutes Annotated; New Jersey Division of Taxation. Full citations at the bottom of this page.
New Jersey folds telecom into its general sales tax. The New Jersey Statutes Annotated (N.J.S.A.) at 54:32B-3(f) tax receipts from every sale, except sales for resale, of intrastate, interstate, or international telecommunications services and ancillary services sourced to the state. The rate is one number, 6.625%, everywhere in the state, and the reach is wide: a call that crosses state lines is still taxable when the sourcing rules assign it to New Jersey. The 911 fee is the per-line layer to watch.
Quick Facts
| Item | New Jersey Treatment |
|---|---|
| State sales tax | 6.625% on intrastate, interstate, and international telecommunications services and ancillary services sourced to New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 54:32B-3(f)); rate in effect since January 1, 2018 (P.L. 2016, c.57) |
| Local rates | None on telecom. The Urban Enterprise Zone and Salem County reduced rates cover retail sales of tangible personal property and exclude telephone sales |
| Sourcing | Under C.54:32B-3.4, mobile service is sourced to the customer's place of primary use, the street address where use of the service primarily occurs |
| 911 System and Emergency Response Fee | $0.90 per voice grade access line or number, charged on each periodic bill (P.L. 2004, c.48); applies to billing periods ending on or after July 1, 2004 |
| 911 fee and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) | The law's definition of telephone exchange service includes VoIP and cable telephony that interconnect with the public switched telephone network for 911 access |
| Prepaid calling service | Taxable at retail under the sales tax, and so is each recharge (P.L. 2005, c.126; Division of Taxation S&U-4) |
| Prepaid wireless 911 | The 911 fee law attaches the fee to periodic bills and sets out no retail point-of-sale fee; treatment of prepaid sellers is data pending |
| Internet access | Exempt (Division of Taxation S&U-4); also protected by the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act |
| Resale | Sales for resale are excluded from the tax by the statute's own terms |
How New Jersey Taxes Telecom Services
New Jersey imposes its sales tax on the buyer of telecom service, and the seller collects it. N.J.S.A. 54:32B-3(f) taxes receipts from every sale, except sales for resale, of intrastate, interstate, or international telecommunications services and ancillary services sourced to the state under C.54:32B-3.4. The rate is 6.625%, set by P.L. 2016, c.57 and in effect since January 1, 2018.
The sourcing rules decide whether New Jersey claims a charge. They come from P.L. 2005, c.126, the law that conformed New Jersey to the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. Mobile service is sourced to the customer's place of primary use, the street address where the customer's use of the service primarily occurs. Interstate service, which the law defines to include calls that originate or terminate in the state, is taxable when those rules assign it to New Jersey. So is international service.
The base has clear edges. The Division of Taxation's Sales Tax Guide (bulletin S&U-4) lists telecommunications services, covering landline and wireless telephone, telegraph, pagers, and alarm monitoring, as taxable, along with telephone answering services and prepaid calling cards, including added minutes. It lists internet access charges as exempt, and the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act bars state and local taxes on internet access as well. Sales for resale sit outside the tax by statute, and a registered reseller documents that with a resale certificate (Form ST-3 or the Streamlined exemption certificate, Form ST-SST).
There is no local layer. New Jersey charges one statewide rate, and the two reduced-rate programs that exist, the Urban Enterprise Zone program and the Salem County reduced rate, apply to retail sales of tangible personal property and exclude telephone and electronically communicated sales. A telecom bill carries the same 6.625% in every New Jersey municipality.
911 And Other Per-Line Fees
New Jersey funds 911 through the 9-1-1 System and Emergency Response Fee: $0.90 for each voice grade access number or line, charged on each periodic bill. P.L. 2004, c.48 created the fee, and it applies to billing periods ending on or after July 1, 2004, with private branch exchange (PBX) systems, Centrex systems, and similar services picking it up for billing periods ending on or after August 1, 2004. Mobile customers pay it when their place of primary use is in New Jersey; telephone exchange customers pay it on each line with a New Jersey service address.
The fee reaches beyond copper. The law defines telephone exchange service to include VoIP and cable telephony that provide access through interconnection to the public switched telephone network for 911 service. The law exempts the federal government, customers enrolled in Lifeline telecommunication programs, state agencies, county and municipal governments, and school districts.
Providers collect the fee as trustees for the state and file quarterly returns on Form ERF-100, due by the 20th day of the month after each calendar quarter closes. The law sets out no separate retail fee for prepaid wireless; how the Division expects prepaid sellers to handle the fee is data pending.
Taxability By Service Type
- Intrastate telecommunications services: taxable at 6.625% statewide.
- Interstate and international services sourced to New Jersey: taxable at 6.625%.
- Ancillary services: taxable under N.J.S.A. 54:32B-3(f); the Division's guide also lists telephone answering services as taxable.
- Prepaid calling service: taxable at retail, and each recharge is taxable.
- Prepaid wireless 911: no retail fee appears in the 911 law; treatment is data pending.
- Internet access: exempt per the Division's Sales Tax Guide and protected by the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act.
- Sales for resale: excluded from the tax, documented with Form ST-3 or Form ST-SST.
How CereTax Handles New Jersey
New Jersey's difficulty sits in the sourcing tests that decide whether the state claims a charge at all, a base that pulls in interstate and international calls, and a 90-cent fee that attaches line by line to every periodic bill. CereTax assigns each charge to the right jurisdiction at the rooftop level, which settles place-of-primary-use and service-address questions, applies New Jersey's base rules by service type, and keeps an audit trail behind every calculation. If you serve customers in New Jersey, book a demo and bring a real invoice.
For the full evaluation checklist, see what a telecom tax engine should do.
Sources
- P.L. 2016, c.57, sales tax rate schedule amending N.J.S.A. 54:32B-3, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- P.L. 2016, c.57 companion reprint of N.J.S.A. 54:32B-3(f), telecommunications and ancillary services, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- P.L. 2005, c.126, Streamlined Sales and Use Tax conformity law, telecommunications definitions, sourcing rules (C.54:32B-3.4), and prepaid calling service, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- P.L. 2004, c.48, 9-1-1 System and Emergency Response Fee (C.52:17C-17 through C.52:17C-20), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- New Jersey Division of Taxation, Sales and Use Tax page (6.625% rate). Accessed August 28, 2026.
- New Jersey Division of Taxation, 9-1-1 System and Emergency Response Fee page. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- New Jersey Division of Taxation, ERF-100 registration and filing notice. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- New Jersey Division of Taxation, Tax Topic Bulletin S&U-4, New Jersey Sales Tax Guide. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Internet Tax Freedom Act, 47 U.S.C. § 151 note.
See how other states compare on the telecom tax by state hub.
Note: Always confirm current rates and filing obligations directly with the state’s DOR, PUC, or 911 authority before applying charges or remitting payments.
