Opening a Company in New Jersey LLC or Corporation

For opening a company in New Jersey, a Public Records Filing in the form of Articles of Incorporation must be submitted to the New Jersey Division of Revenue. This can be done online, by mail, or by fax. The Public Records Filing should include:

• Company Name as per the 2013 New Jersey Revised Statutes; Title 14A - CORPORATIONS, GENERAL § 14A:17-14
• Corporate form: Corporation, Incorporated, or LLC
• Name and address of the Registered Agent and Incorporator for New Jersey. ExportUSA has relationships with Registered Agents and Incorporators in all U.S. states.
• Business Purpose
• Type of Activity: "NJ Domestic For-Profit Corporation" or non-profit
• NAICS Code: Optional, indicates the business activity category
• Number of shares authorized for issuance by the New Jersey Secretary of State
• New Jersey Legal Headquarters Address. If you don't have one, ExportUSA can provide it.
• Operational Headquarters Address, usually the domicile address at ExportUSA's office
• Names and addresses of future board members.

With the acceptance of the Articles of Incorporation by the New Jersey Division of Revenue, the company formation process is completed, followed by:

• Convening the first shareholders' meeting to elect the Board of Directors
• Convening the first board meeting to make the following decisions:
  - Ratification of the incorporator's activities
  - Election of the company's Officers: President, Secretary, Treasurer, and optionally one or more Vice Presidents
  - Issuance of shares up to the number authorized by the Secretary of State as requested in the Articles of Incorporation
  - Decision on the share issuance price
  - Adoption of the company bylaws as required by New Jersey law [NJ Rev Stat § 14A:2-9 (2019)].

Annual Administrative Report: Companies in New Jersey must submit an annual report by the end of the anniversary month of registration.

Taxation in New Jersey

New Jersey does not have a Corporate Franchise Tax.

Instead of a traditional corporate income tax, New Jersey applies a "Corporate Business Tax" based on total net income. The corporate income tax rates in NJ are calculated based on gross income, but the taxable base is net income as follows:

• 6.5% rate for corporate incomes between $0 and $50,000
• 7.5% rate for corporate incomes between $50,001 and $100,000
• 9.0% rate for corporate incomes over $100,000

The Sales Tax rate in New Jersey is 6.625% with no local additions.

Personal Income Tax in New Jersey is progressive, starting at 1.4% and going up to 10.7% for personal incomes over $1,000,000.

The Property Tax rate in New Jersey is 2.3%, the highest in the United States.

New Jersey does not apply Estate Tax but has an Inheritance Tax. The Inheritance Tax rates range from 11% to 16% for inheritances over $1,700,000, varying with the beneficiary's relation.

The Economy of New Jersey in Brief

The pharmaceutical industry is by far the main industry in New Jersey, with annual revenues of about $159 billion in 2023. There were around 900 pharmaceutical companies in New Jersey in 2023 employing 52,238 people.

• Population: Approximately 9,456,087 in 2023
• New Jersey's GDP: $586.8 billion in 2023, $581.7 billion in 2022, $566.9 billion in 2021 
• Unemployment Rate: 3.9% in 2023