Selling land with back taxes in New Jersey

How New Jersey handles unpaid property taxes

New Jersey sells tax lien certificates. An investor pays your overdue taxes and gets a lien with interest. You still own the land, but if the lien is not paid off, you can lose it through the process in the rule below. Paying off the lien, including from a sale, clears it.

The redemption rule in New Jersey: Municipality sells a tax sale certificate. A private certificate holder can file to foreclose the right of redemption 2 years after the sale, or a municipality after 6 months. If the property is certified as abandoned, the holder can file at any time. The owner can redeem until the Superior Court's final judgment bars redemption. Before that judgment, the owner can ask the court for a sheriff's sale or online auction, with any surplus paid into court. Without that request, the owner has no claim to the equity.

Law: R.S. 54:5-86, 54:5-87 (amended by P.L.2024, c.39). Rules change, so confirm with the county tax collector.

What to do before the tax sale

• Call the county tax office and get the exact amount owed and the next sale date.
• Decide whether you want to keep the land. If not, selling before the sale stops the interest and penalties from growing.
• Gather the parcel number and any tax bills. A buyer and the title company need them to order a payoff.

New Jersey land at a glance

• Average farm real estate value: $17,000 per acre (2026, USDA).
• Average property tax on farmland: about $108.52 per acre per year (2022 Census of Agriculture).
• Transfer tax: A graduated Realty Transfer Fee of $2.00 per $500 (0.4%) on the first $150,000, with higher rates on larger sales. For a sale of $350,000 or less, the rate is $3.35 per $500 from $150,000 to $200,000 and $3.90 per $500 above that. For a sale over $350,000, a higher table applies to the whole price, from $2.90 per $500 up to $6.05 per $500 over $1 million. The 1% to 3.5% Graduated Percent Fee on sales over $1 million does not apply to vacant land sold on its own.
• Seller disclosure: Every New Jersey seller of real property, including vacant land, must complete the Flood Risk Addendum of the state disclosure form. The seller states whether the land is in a FEMA Special or Moderate Risk Flood Hazard Area and any known flood risk. The buyer must get it before signing a purchase contract (N.J.S.A. 56:8-19.2). The rest of the state condition form is mandatory for residential sales.

These are statewide averages, not an appraisal. See selling land in New Jersey for county values, or try the land value estimator.

How a cash sale handles this

Liberty Acres is a family-owned cash land buyer. We buy land anywhere in the US, in any condition, including land with back taxes, inherited land and land with no road access. We pay back taxes and all closing costs, use no agents and charge no commissions, and close through a title company, escrow company or real estate attorney who pays you by wire or check.

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