NJ Tax Clearance Certificate

1 What it is

• Officially titled Business Assistance or Incentive Clearance Certificate. In the PBS portal the service that produces it is called "Business Incentive Tax Clearance"
• One-page PDF issued by NJ Division of Taxation
• Confirms that, per the Division's records, your business has filed all required State tax returns and paid or remitted the required State taxes and fees. The statute also lets the Director, at the Director's discretion, issue an interim certificate when satisfied that the delinquencies will be resolved within a set time
• Required by P.L. 2007, c.101 (N.J.S.A. 54:50-39) for State grants, loans, loan guarantees, rebates and similar monetary incentives awarded by State departments, agencies and independent authorities. NJEDA also requires it for its tax-credit programs. It is not the document required for State contracts; that is the Business Registration Certificate (BRC) from the Division of Revenue

2 Who needs one

The statute (N.J.S.A. 54:50-39) covers monetary business assistance or incentives awarded by State departments, agencies and independent authorities: grants, loans, loan guarantees, rebates and similar benefits. In practice:

• NJEDA programs, current and past, such as SBIG (closed; NJEDA says funding is fully subscribed), Small Business Lease Grant (NJEDA says it is no longer accepting new applications), Small Business Fund, Main Street Recovery, Food Desert Relief, Aspire (new applications paused since July 23, 2026), Emerge, Film & Digital Media Tax Credit, Angel Investor Tax Credit, and most others
• State grants, loans and rebates from other departments and authorities (DOL, DEP, DCA, DOT, Agriculture, etc.); you select the agency issuing the award when you print the certificate

Not this certificate

• State contracts with an NJ agency, authority or other public agency require a Business Registration Certificate (BRC) from the Division of Revenue (N.J.S.A. 52:32-44), not a tax clearance
• Casino and cannabis (CRC) licensing likewise require a valid BRC on file with the Division of Revenue
• Retail liquor-license renewals use a separate annual Taxation clearance that the Division sends directly to the municipal clerk, never to the licensee (questions: ABCClearance.Public@treas.nj.gov)
• Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) participation uses a separate Taxation clearance issued directly to the Department of Community Affairs (questions: UEZTaxClearances@treas.nj.gov)

3 How to obtain it

First: make sure you're registered

Taxation's rule: "A Tax Clearance Certificate will only be issued to businesses or individuals who are registered with the New Jersey Division of Revenue."

• Entity formed (LLC, Corp, etc.) via NJ Business Formation
• Registered for taxes with NJ-REG; gives you a 12-digit NJ Tax ID
• Your Business Registration Certificate (BRC) is not the Tax Clearance Certificate

Then: request through Premier Business Services (PBS)

Businesses that can register for a PBS account must request the certificate online; Taxation returns paper applications sent by them. There is no fee through the portal. Only trusts, banking institutions, insurance companies, individuals and government entities (local governments, school districts, counties), which generally cannot open a PBS account, use the paper Application for Tax Clearance ($75 standard, or $200 expedited with a response within three business days; local governments, school districts and counties pay no fee).

1. Create or open your account: go to the Premier Business Services portal. New users select "New Users Only - Create an Account" (PBS runs on a myNJ login); returning users select "Existing Users - Log On"
2. Add your business: click "add a business" and enter your 12-digit NJ tax ID (format 123456789000), the business name exactly as it appears in State records, and your PIN. Email BusinessAssistanceTC.Taxation@treas.nj.gov for a PIN or to confirm the exact name
3. Open the service: from the home page open the Tax & Revenue Center, select the business from the drop-down, then choose Business Incentive Tax Clearance
4. Pick the awarding agency from the dropdown and click "Download Clearance Letter". There is no form to fill in. Certificates are issued to a named agency, not generically
5. Save the PDF: when the account is compliant, the certificate generates immediately. If the portal cannot confirm that you are eligible, it directs you to email the Division for further assistance

4 Timing

• Compliant account: the certificate generates immediately in PBS
• Portal cannot confirm eligibility: you are directed to email the Division, and no processing time is published for these cases. Contact Business Assistance Tax Clearance at (609) 322‑6835 or BusinessAssistanceTC.Taxation@treas.nj.gov
• Open liabilities or unfiled returns: no certificate until they are resolved; the Division notifies you of what needs to be resolved
• Paper route only: expedited processing ($200) comes with a response within three business days; standard processing ($75) has no published turnaround
• Validity: 180 days from the issue date; the certificate itself states this, and no separate expiration date is printed

5 Common issues that hold up a clearance

Taxation publishes no official list of denial reasons. The first two items are the statutory requirements (returns filed, taxes and fees paid); the rest are issues commonly reported by applicants and advisers, so treat them as things to check, not as official categories.

1. Unfiled returns: a missing return (for example a CBT-100, NJ-927, ST-50, or NJ-1065) blocks the clearance
2. Outstanding tax liability: unpaid sales tax, withholding, CBT, or penalties
3. Name or FEIN mismatch between Division of Revenue and Division of Taxation records
4. Dissolved or revoked charter: unfiled annual reports
5. Unpaid annual report fees ($75/year for LLCs, for-profit corps, LPs, LLPs; $30/year for nonprofit corporations per NJ Treasury)
6. DOL delinquencies: unemployment insurance arrears
7. Unregistered for a required tax (e.g. collecting sales tax without Certificate of Authority)
8. Successor liability: inherited unpaid taxes from a prior owner

6 If you're denied

1. Follow the portal's instruction: when PBS cannot confirm eligibility it directs you to email the Division, and the Division tells you what needs to be resolved
2. Contact Business Assistance Tax Clearance at the Division of Taxation: (609) 322‑6835 or BusinessAssistanceTC.Taxation@treas.nj.gov. This is the contact for clearance questions and holds
3. Request a statement of account for every tax type to find the open item
4. Resolve: file missing returns and pay balances, or request a Payment Plan (PaymentPlanUnit@treas.nj.gov); all missing returns must be filed before a plan can be approved. The statute allows the Director, at discretion, to issue an interim certificate if the delinquencies will be resolved within a set time
5. Annual report / charter issue? Call Revenue at (609) 292‑9292 and reinstate via Annual Reports portal
6. Go back into PBS once everything is resolved and download the certificate again

7 Official contact info

8 Useful direct links

• Main tax clearance info page (Division of Taxation)
• PBS portal; log in or register
• NJ-REG business registration (prerequisite)
• NJ business formation (if you haven't formed an entity yet)
• NJ annual report filing (reinstate if dissolved)
• NJEDA step-by-step tax clearance directions (PDF)
• Paper Application for Tax Clearance (PDF; only for entities that cannot use PBS)
• Taxation's other clearance programs (liquor-license renewals, UEZ)
• P.L. 2007, c.101 (N.J.S.A. 54:50-39), the tax clearance statute

9 What it looks like

A one-page PDF titled "Business Assistance or Incentive Clearance Certificate" (State of New Jersey / Division of Taxation header). It shows:

• Your Applicant ID number; there is no separate "certificate number"
• Business legal name
• Named awarding agency (e.g., New Jersey Economic Development Authority)
• Issue date, plus the statement that the certificate is valid for 180 days from the date of issuance (no separate expiration date is printed)
• Signature of the Director (or Acting Director) of the Division of Taxation
• Statement that the Division reviewed the applicant's records under Chapter 101, Laws of N.J. 2007, and that the applicant is in compliance

It downloads when you click "Download Clearance Letter" in PBS. Save it, then upload it to the awarding agency's portal as that agency instructs.