New Jersey’s Gas Tax Will Decrease By 8 Cents on October 1

It’s not every day that we get to write about taxes decreasing, but the tax on gasoline in New Jersey will actually drop this October! 

The state’s treasury department announced that the gas tax rate will drop by 8.3 cents per gall on October 1. Why is this happening? 

Well, it’s a little complicated, but this is all part of the measure that significantly increased the state’s gas tax, which was passed back in 2016. Remember when that happened and gas prices skyrocketed?

Get our free mobile app

Back in 2016, the taxes on gasoline were increased to support the state’s transportation trust fund (TTF) program. 

In fact if you’ll recall the state’s gas tax went up in the fall of 2020 by 9.3 cents. That was because less people were traveling… so the state was making less money. As travel has increased, we’ve been able to recoup most of that, apparently. 

“Because actual consumption in Fiscal Year 2021 was so closely in line with our projections made last August, coupled with the fact that consumption in the current fiscal year is projected to be above last fiscal year’s levels, our analysis of the formula dictates an 8.3 cent decrease this coming October,” New Jersey’s Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio said on Tuesday.

The TTF is the fund that pays for things like road and bridge repairs... which Jersey's roads desperately need.

So this means that New Jersey drivers will officially pay a tax of 42.4 cents per gallon of gasoline. That’s actually down from the current rate of 50.7 cents.

We’ll see if we actually notice this at the pump or if it only has a minuscule effect on gas prices, but we’re hopeful that it’ll at least look good, right?