The house at 22 Westerly Road in Saddle River closed on April 15 for $2,895,000. It was the most expensive residential sale recorded in Bergen County during the week of May 11-17, according to nj.com's weekly county list. At that price, New Jersey's Graduated Percent Fee charges 2.5% of the full consideration. That comes to $72,375, and it is owed by the seller.
Under the rules in place before the 2025 change took effect on July 10, the fee at that price was 1%, or $28,950, and the buyer paid it. Most coverage stops at the higher rate and the change in who pays. For a Saddle River seller, the more useful detail is the shape of the fee. It rises in jumps applied to the whole price, and Saddle River's sales cluster in exactly the price range where those jumps happen.
One Deed, Two Fees That Rise Differently
A residential deed over $1,000,000 in New Jersey carries two state charges. The Division of Taxation makes the seller statutorily responsible for both: the base Realty Transfer Fee and the supplemental Graduated Percent Fee.
The base fee works off a rate schedule per $500 of consideration. On the portion above $1,000,000, the rate is $6.05 per $500. Adding $20,000 to a contract price therefore adds about $242 in base fee. It climbs gently and predictably.
The Graduated Percent Fee climbs in steps. The Division's schedule, last updated September 28, 2026, reads like this:
- 1% of total consideration above $1,000,000 up to $2,000,000
- 2% above $2,000,000 up to $2,500,000
- 2.5% above $2,500,000 up to $3,000,000
- 3% above $3,000,000 up to $3,500,000
- 3.5% above $3,500,000
The key words are "total consideration." The rate is not limited to the dollars inside a tier. Once the price crosses a line, the higher rate applies to every dollar. Morgan Lewis put numbers on this in July 2025. A $2,000,000 sale owes $20,000. A $2,020,000 sale owes $40,400. A $20,000 increase in price brings a $20,400 increase in fee.
Put those two charges side by side and a $20,000 bump at the $2 million line costs the seller roughly $242 under one fee and more than $20,000 under the other.
The Four Lines, and How Far Past Each One a Price Has to Go
The table below applies the Division's published rates to each threshold. The last column shows where a higher price fully covers the bigger fee, so the seller's proceeds after this fee match what they would have been at the line itself. It counts the Graduated Percent Fee only. It leaves out the base fee, commissions and every other closing cost.
| Price line | Fee at the line | Rate one dollar over | Fee one dollar over | Price where proceeds catch up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000,000 | $20,000 at 1% | 2% | $40,000 | about $2,020,400 |
| $2,500,000 | $50,000 at 2% | 2.5% | $62,500 | about $2,512,800 |
| $3,000,000 | $75,000 at 2.5% | 3% | $90,000 | about $3,015,500 |
| $3,500,000 | $105,000 at 3% | 3.5% | $122,500 | about $3,518,100 |
Each line has a band above it where a buyer pays more and the seller keeps less. That band runs about $12,800 at $2.5 million and about $20,400 at $2 million. Morgan Lewis called it a "dead zone" for sales priced just above each tier. The firm predicted the new tiers would make the effect worse than it was under the old single-tier tax. That was a forecast, published weeks after the law changed, about the incentive the fee creates.
Recorded sales show how close to the lines real deals land. During the week of Oct. 19-25, 45 Meadow Street in Demarest sold for $2,080,000 and ranked second in the county. At 2%, that is $41,600. A sale at exactly $2,000,000 would have owed $20,000. The extra $80,000 of price carried about $21,600 of extra fee, so the seller still came out ahead, though about 27% of the price difference went to the step.
Why the Cliffs Matter More in Saddle River Than in Most of Bergen County
For most Bergen County sellers, these lines never come into play. NJ REALTORS' September 2026 report pools Bergen and Hudson markets, and it puts the single-family median sales price at $825,000 for September and $861,000 for the year to date, with data as of October 9, 2026. Greater Bergen REALTORS reported a $902,000 single-family median for August 2026. Sellers at those prices sit below even the 1% tier.
The weekly county lists show how thin the $2 million-plus market is. In the week of Oct. 19-25, nj.com counted 75 residential sales recorded in Bergen County, averaging $1.04 million. The tenth-highest was $1.5 million, and only two sales cleared $2 million. One of them topped the list: a 9,055-square-foot home at 23 Denison Drive E in Saddle River, built in 2016, at $9,250,000. At 3.5% of total consideration, its Graduated Percent Fee comes to $323,750. The old 1% rate would have produced $92,500.
Saddle River topped the county in both the May and October weeks. Where the median Bergen sale never reaches a tier, a Saddle River sale often sits in the 2.5% band or higher. For these sellers, the tier lines carry real weight in pricing and in reading offers.
Who Pays Is Settled by Statute. Who Funds It Is Negotiable.
The law behind all this is P.L. 2025, c. 69, from bills A5804 and S4666. According to the Division of Taxation's notice, it was enacted June 30, 2025, and took effect July 10, 2025. Morgan Lewis noted that the old law split the burden: the buyer paid the mansion tax and the seller paid the base fee. The new law puts both on the seller.
The Division's implementation guidance adds a distinction that matters at the contract table. The seller holds legal responsibility for the fee after July 10, 2025, but the parties may agree privately about who actually supplies the payment. On a $2.9 million home, that means a five-figure line item can be negotiated in the same way as a closing date or an inspection credit.
Industry voices expect the cost to show up in prices. In a September 2026 piece from NJ Spotlight News, New Jersey Realtors leader Tomson said sellers can pass the fees along in the current market. "That tax, that's costing an extra $10,000 for the individual to sell, guess what? They need to increase the property value, and that affects the person that's buying it," he said. The same article reported that the realty transfer and graduated percent fees had brought in nearly $130 million so far that fiscal year, based on Treasury data. It also noted that statewide median sales prices had risen 3.8% through the end of August 2026.
The pass-along has a limit, and the table above shows where it is. A seller can raise the asking price to cover the fee, but a price that ends up just over a line triggers a bigger fee on the whole amount. Near $2 million, $2.5 million, $3 million and $3.5 million, the asking price, the offers it draws and the final contract price each decide which rate the deed carries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a home that sells for exactly $2,000,000 pay 1% or 2%? The Division's schedule applies 1% to consideration above $1,000,000 that does not exceed $2,000,000. The 2% rate begins above $2,000,000. Each higher tier uses the same "in excess of" wording.
Are any sales exempt? New Jersey recognizes certain exemptions. They are listed on Form RTF-1EE, the Affidavit of Consideration for Graduated Percent Fee, which must be attached to every deed for consideration over $1,000,000.
Is the fee being repealed? Senate Bill S964 would eliminate the general-purpose, supplemental and mansion realty transfer fees. It was introduced on January 13, 2026 and referred to the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee. It is a proposal, not enacted law. The tiered schedule above remains the one the Division publishes.
This post is general information about a state fee, not legal, tax or financial advice. Before setting a price or signing a contract, review your own sale with your attorney and tax advisor.
If you're thinking about selling in Saddle River, it pays to know which tier your price is likely to land in before the house is listed. Michael Properties can prepare a valuation that shows where your likely price falls relative to the $2 million, $2.5 million, $3 million and $3.5 million lines. Request a Home Valuation, and we'll go through it with you.
