Verified July 2026 · By Oleg Kachko · Reviewed for accuracy against primary state and county sources
Passaic County property tax costs the typical homeowner about $10,001 a year, on a median home value of $459,500 – an effective rate of about 2.26%. That is above the national average annual bill of $4,271. This page shows you where that number comes from, who actually sets it, the deadline to challenge it, and the exemptions you may be leaving on the table.
Passaic County property tax at a Glance
- Effective property tax rate: 2.26%
- Median annual bill: $10,001
- Median home value: $459,500
- Who assesses your home: your city, town or township – not the county.
- Appeal deadline: April 1 (May 1 if your town revalued)
On this page
Passaic County property tax: the real numbers
Property tax is the most local tax there is. Two homes of the same value in different counties – sometimes in different towns of the same county – can carry very different bills, because the rate is the sum of every overlapping district that taxes you: the county, the town or city, the school district, and often fire, library or water districts on top. So the passaic county property tax figure below is an average across the whole county – your own bill depends on which districts you sit inside.
| Figure | Passaic County | National |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual property tax bill | $10,001 | $4,271 |
| Effective property tax rate | 2.26% | about 0.90% |
| Median home value | $459,500 | – |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (5-year), the same dataset the Tax Foundation uses. The effective rate is total real-estate taxes paid divided by total owner-occupied home value – so it reflects what people actually pay, not the headline millage rate.
Who actually sets your passaic county property tax value
This is the part most guides get wrong. In New Jersey, your city, town or township sets your assessed value – not Passaic County. If you ring the county about your assessment, you are ringing an office that did not set it. Start with your local assessor. The county still matters for the appeal itself, which is covered below.
How often your passaic county property tax value is reassessed:
Property is valued by municipal assessors (565 municipalities) at a percentage of true value, equalized by the county and state; towns revalue on their own irregular schedules. Assessment date is October 1 of the pre-tax year.
How to appeal your passaic county property tax assessment
⚠ The deadline — miss it and you usually wait a full year
April 1 (May 1 if your town revalued)
IMPORTANT – IN NEW JERSEY YOUR TOWN ASSESSES, THE COUNTY HEARS THE APPEAL. Your municipal tax assessor sets the value; you appeal it to the Passaic County Board of Taxation. DEADLINE: APRIL 1 of the tax year – or 45 days after the town finishes its bulk mailing of assessment notices, whichever is LATER. IF YOUR TOWN DID A REVALUATION OR REASSESSMENT THIS YEAR, YOU GET UNTIL MAY 1.
Ask the Passaic County Board of Taxation which list your town is on – it changes every year. THE TRAP THAT KILLS APPEALS: it must be RECEIVED, not postmarked, by 4:00 PM on the deadline. An appeal that arrives on April 2 is dismissed, full stop, no matter when you mailed it. And you must serve a copy on your MUNICIPAL ASSESSOR and MUNICIPAL CLERK as well as the board, or it can be thrown out.
If your home is assessed over $1,000,000 you may go straight to the NJ Tax Court instead. There is a filing fee based on assessed value ($5 under $150k; $25 for $150k-$500k; $100 for $500k-$1M).
Almost every passaic county property tax appeal comes down to one claim: the assessor thinks my home is worth more than it really is. Everything below is about proving that.
Do this first, before you file anything: ask for your property record card and read it. A surprising share of assessments are simply wrong on the facts – the wrong square footage, a bathroom you do not have, a finished basement that is bare concrete, a garage that was torn down. Factual errors are the easiest appeals to win, because there is nothing to argue about.
Then build the one thing that actually wins appeals: comparable sales. Find three to five homes near you, as similar as you can get on size, age, and condition, that sold recently for less than your assessed value. Not listings – sales. Not Zillow estimates – recorded sales. Boards ignore opinions and respond to comps.
A successful passaic county property tax appeal does not change your tax rate – it lowers the value the rate is applied to, which lowers the bill for as long as the new value stands.
Appeals are heard by the Passaic County Board of Taxation. In most places there is a free, informal step first – a conversation or a paper review with the assessor – and it resolves a large share of cases without a hearing. Take it. It costs you nothing and it is the fastest way to win.
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One honest warning: an appeal reviews your value, and a review can go up as well as down. That is uncommon when you bring real comparable sales, and it is exactly why you check your comps before you file.
Where to go: Passaic County Board of Taxation. Phone: 973-720-7399.
Passaic County property tax exemptions you may qualify for
This is where most homeowners quietly overpay their passaic county property tax. Exemptions are almost never applied automatically – you have to claim them, and many people simply never do. It is worth ten minutes of your time to check.
NEW JERSEY HAS THE HIGHEST PROPERTY TAX BILLS IN AMERICA, AND THREE BIG RELIEF PROGRAMS – NOW ON ONE FORM. Since 2025 the PAS-1 application routes all three at once: ANCHOR (for homeowners and renters, income-tested), the SENIOR FREEZE / Property Tax Reimbursement (freezes your bill at a base year for eligible seniors and disabled residents – it reimburses the increases), and STAY NJ (the newer benefit for those 65+, phasing in).
There are also $250 annual deductions for qualifying seniors, disabled residents and veterans, and a full exemption for 100% permanently disabled veterans. These are claimed through your MUNICIPAL tax assessor or collector and the state – not the county board. ONE MORE THING WORTH KNOWING: under the FREEZE ACT, if you win at the county board and nobody appeals it further, that judgment binds the assessor for the next TWO years as well – so one good appeal can be worth three years of savings.
Homestead: New Jersey (the highest-property-tax state) has no homestead exemption; relief comes through state programs, now combined into a SINGLE application (Form PAS-1) for residents 65+ or on Social Security disability: ANCHOR (a benefit for homeowners and renters), the Senior Freeze, and the new-for-2026 Stay NJ. Apply by the yearly deadline (November 2, 2026 for the 2025 year); the state figures out which benefits you get.
Senior / over-65: Two big senior programs (both filed on the combined PAS-1): the Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement) reimburses owners 65+/disabled for the property-tax INCREASES above the year they first qualified (income under ~$168,000-$172,000); and Stay NJ (launching 2026) gives homeowners 65+ a credit for 50% of property tax, capped at $6,500. Stay NJ is calculated after ANCHOR and the Freeze. There’s also a $250 senior/disabled deduction for low-income owners.
Veteran: Disabled Veterans Exemption (N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.30): a FULL exemption from property tax on the primary residence for a veteran with a 100% permanent & total service-connected disability, and unremarried surviving spouses (including surviving spouses of servicemembers who died on active duty). Plus a $250 annual veteran deduction for wartime/honorably discharged veterans. File with your municipal tax assessor.
Disability: Permanently & totally disabled residents (and Social Security disability recipients) can use ANCHOR and the Senior Freeze via the PAS-1 application, and low-income disabled owners get the $250 senior/disabled deduction. 100% disabled veterans get the full exemption above.
Common questions about passaic county property tax
Why did my passaic county property tax bill go up when I did nothing to the house?
Two different things can raise a bill: your assessed value went up, or a taxing district raised its rate. They are separate, and only the first one can be appealed. Your notice will show which changed.
Do I call Passaic County about my assessment?
No. In this state the county does not set your value – your city, town or township assessor does. Start there.
Is it worth appealing my passaic county property tax?
Ask one question: would a similar home near mine sell for less than the value the assessor has put on mine? If yes, you have a case, it is usually free to file, and in many places the informal review settles it without a hearing.
Do I need to hire someone to appeal?
No. The informal review and the local board are built for ordinary homeowners to use themselves, and there is normally no fee. Appeal services exist and can be worth it for some people, but you are not required to use one and you should never be told you are.
How is my passaic county property tax bill actually calculated?
Your assessed value is multiplied by the combined rate of every district that taxes you, then any exemptions you have claimed are subtracted. That is why two neighbours can pay different amounts on identical homes – one of them claimed an exemption the other never did.
More on New Jersey property tax
- New Jersey property tax rates — how Passaic County compares with every other county in the state.
- How to win your New Jersey property tax appeal — the evidence that works and what to say at the hearing.
- New Jersey property tax exemptions — who qualifies, how much each one saves, and how to apply.
- New Jersey property tax due dates — when the bill is due and what happens if you are late.
- Property tax by state — every state, side by side.
The bottom line on passaic county property tax
Do two things this week. First, pull your property record card and check the facts – square footage, rooms, condition. Second, check whether you are claiming every exemption you are entitled to, because most people are not. If your passaic county property tax value looks higher than what a similar home nearby would actually sell for, you have grounds to appeal – and the only thing that can stop you is the deadline above.
Where our passaic county property tax figures come from
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey — the rate, median bill and median value on this page.
- Tax Foundation, Property Taxes by State and County — the same dataset and method.
- Passaic County Board of Taxation — the office that can confirm your value, your exemptions and your deadline.
- NJ Division of Taxation (nj.gov/treasury/taxation); N.J.S.A. Title 54; county Boards of Taxation; municipal assessors
Informational only. Know Property Tax is not a government agency, not a county assessor, and not a tax-appeal service, and this is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Property tax rates, median bills, exemption amounts, and deadlines change every year, and every property is different. Any figure shown here is illustrative. Confirm your rate, your exemptions, and above all your appeal deadline with the office named on this page before you act.
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