Sales tax in Salem County, New Jersey

What is the sales tax rate in Salem County?

How much sales tax is that on a purchase in Salem County?

At 6.625%, a $100 purchase carries $6.63 in sales tax and a $1,000 purchase $66.25. That is general merchandise; New Jersey taxes some categories, often groceries, differently, as the note below explains.

Every county in New Jersey has the same 6.625% floor. See every New Jersey county.

Sales tax in counties next to Salem County

Salem County borders 4 counties, 2 of them in another state. The lowest rate next door is 0% in Kent County, DE, which is $66.25 less on a $1,000 purchase than Salem County's rate.

Why the rate here is not the whole story

New Jersey's state sales tax is 6.625 percent and that is the rate at every address in Salem County. No New Jersey county levies a sales tax and county governments hold no power to levy one, and no municipality here may add a general sales tax either, which is why the Division of Taxation's own Rates and Boundaries page says New Jersey has a single rate sales tax for the entire State. Salem County carries a countywide reduced rate that is often mistaken for a county tax rate. A qualified seller with a place of business in the county may charge half the state rate, 3.3125 percent, on retail sales of tangible personal property ordered and picked up in person at that place of business, or delivered by the seller from it. The Division excludes motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, prepared food and drink, services, admissions, parking, room occupancy, specified digital products, cannabis and any catalog, mail order, telephone or internet sale. It is a partial exemption from the state tax that depends on the seller qualifying, not a rate the county sets, so 6.625 percent remains the rate that applies here and the floor for everything the exemption does not cover. The same half rate is available to sellers certified in an urban enterprise zone elsewhere in the State, and there is no urban enterprise zone in this county. Most food sold as groceries, most clothing and footwear, and prescription and over the counter drugs are exempt from New Jersey sales tax, so many receipts here show no tax at all.

How do I find the exact rate for an address in Salem County?

Use New Jersey's own address lookup.

Who has to collect sales tax in Salem County?

Any seller with a physical presence in New Jersey collects at the rate for the address of the sale; a remote seller does once it passes New Jersey's economic nexus threshold. New Jersey sales tax covers the statewide rules and what is exempt.

Work out your own numbers

• Sales tax calculator

  Tax on a specific purchase at this county's rate, and the total you will actually pay.

• Do you have to collect?

  Whether your sales into New Jersey cross its economic nexus threshold. A different question from the rate.

• Property tax in Salem County

  The other local tax: effective rate and median bill for this county.

• Sales tax by county

  Every US county, and how New Jersey compares with the rest of the country.