INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING FORM RTF-1, AFFIDAVIT OF CONSIDERATION FOR USE BY SELLER
1. STATEMENT OF CONSIDERATION AND REALTY TRANSFER FEE PAYMENT ARE PREREQUISITES FOR DEED RECORDING
No county recording officer shall record any deed evidencing transfer of title to real property unless (a) the consideration is recited in the deed, or (b) an
Affidavit by one or more of the parties named in the deed or by their legal representatives declaring the consideration is annexed for recording with the deed,
and (c) for conveyances and transfers of property for which the total consideration recited in the deed is not in excess of $350,000, a fee is remitted at the rate
of $2.00/$500 of consideration or fractional part thereof not in excess of $150,000; $3.35/$500 of consideration or fractional part thereof in excess of $150,000
but not in excess of $200,000; and $3.90/$500 of consideration or fractional part thereof in excess of $200,000. For transfers of property for which the total
consideration recited in the deed is in excess of $350,000, a fee is remitted at the rate of $2.90/$500 of consideration or fractional part not in excess of
$150,000; $4.25/$500 of consideration or fractional part thereof in excess of $150,000 but not in excess of $200,000; $4.80/$500 of consideration or fractional
part thereof in excess of $200,000; $5.30/$500 of consideration or fractional part thereof in excess of $550,000 but not in excess of $850,000; $5.80/$500 of
consideration or fractional part thereof in excess of $850,00 but not in $1,000,000; and $6.05/$500 of consideration or fractional part thereof in excess of
$1,000,000, which fee shall be paid in addition to the recording fees imposed by Chapter 123, P.L. 1965, Section 2 (C. 22A:4-4.1) as amended by Chapter
370, P.L. 2001, through Chapter 66, P.L. 2004, which fee shall be paid to the county recording officer at the time the deed is offered for recording/transfer. Of
these fees, $.75/$500 of consideration or fractional part in excess of $150,000 paid to the State Treasurer is credited to the Neighborhood Preservation
Nonlapsing Revolving Fund.
2. WHEN AFFIDAVIT MUST BE ANNEXED TO DEED
This Affidavit must be annexed to and recorded with all deeds when entire consideration is not recited in deed or the acknowledgement or proof of the
execution, when the grantor claims a total or partial exemption from the fee, Class 4 property that includes commercial, industrial, or apartment property, and
for transfers of “new construction.” (See Instructions #10 and #12 below.)
3. LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE
“Legal representative” is to be interpreted broadly to include any person actively and responsibly participating in the transaction, such as, but not limited
to: an attorney representing one of the parties; a closing officer of a title company or lending institution participating in the transaction; a holder of power of
attorney from grantor or grantee.
4. OFFICER OF CORPORATE GRANTOR/OFFICER OF TITLE COMPANY OR LENDING INSTITUTION
Where a deponent is an officer of corporate grantor, state the name of corporation and officer’s title or where a deponent is a closing officer of a title
company or lending institution participating in the transaction, state the name of the company or institution and officer’s title.
5. CONSIDERATION
“Consideration” means in the case of any deed, the actual amount of money and the monetary value of any other thing of value constituting the entire
compensation paid or to be paid for the transfer of title to the lands, tenements or other realty, including the remaining amount of any prior mortgage to which
the transfer is subject or which is assumed and agreed to be paid by the grantee and any other lien or encumbrance not paid, satisfied or removed in
connection with the transfer of title. (Chapter 49, P.L. 1968, Section 1, as amended.)
5A. CLASS 4A “COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES” DEFINED
Class 4A “Commercial properties” as defined in N.J.A.C. 18:12-2.2 means “any other type of income-producing property other than property in classes 1,
2, 3A, 3B, and those properties included in classes 4B and 4C.” A quarterly audit of all Class 4A sales submitted by the municipal assessor through the SR-
1A/equalization process will determine whether a Class 4A transaction was recorded without proper documentation and the required Affidavits of
Consideration.
6. DIRECTOR'S RATIO
“Director’s Ratio” means the average ratio of assessed to true value of real property for each taxing district as determined by the Director, Division of
Taxation, in the Table of Equalized Valuations promulgated annually on or before October 1 in each year pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:1-35.1. The Table is used in
the calculation and apportionment of distributions pursuant to the State School Aid Act of 1954.
7. EQUALIZED VALUE
“Equalized Value” means the assessed value of the property in the year that the transfer is made, divided by the Director’s Ratio. The Table of Equalized
Valuations is promulgated annually on or before October 1 in each year pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:1-35.1.
(Example: Assessed Value = $1,000,000; Director’s Ratio = 80%. $1,000,000 ÷ .80 = $1,250,000)
8. FULL EXEMPTION FROM THE REALTY TRANSFER FEE (GRANTOR/GRANTEE)
The fee imposed by this Act shall not apply to a deed:
(a) For consideration of less than $100; (b) By or to the United States of America, this State, or any instrumentality, agency or subdivision; (c) Solely in order
to provide or release security for a debt or obligation; (d) Which confirms or corrects a deed previously recorded; (e) On a sale for delinquent taxes or
assessments; (f) On partition; (g) By a receiver, trustee in bankruptcy or liquidation, or assignee for the benefit of creditors; (h) Eligible to be recorded as an
“ancient deed” pursuant to R.S. 46:16-7; (i) Acknowledged or proved on or before July 3, 1968; (j) Between husband and wife/civil union partners, or parent
and child; (k) Conveying a cemetery lot or plot; (l) In specific performance of a final judgment; (m) Releasing a right of reversion; (n) Previously recorded in
another county and full Realty Transfer Fee paid or accounted for as evidenced by written instrument, attested to by the grantee and acknowledged by the
county recording officer of the county of such prior recording, specifying the county, book, page, date of prior recording, and amount of Realty Transfer Fee
previously paid; (o) By an executor or administrator of a decedent to a devisee or heir to effect distribution of the decedent’s estate in accordance with the
provisions of the decedent’s will or the intestate laws of this State; (p) Recorded within 90 days following the entry of a divorce/dissolution decree which
dissolves the marriage/civil union partnership between grantor and grantee; (q) Issued by a cooperative corporation, as part of a conversion of all of the assets
of the cooperative corporation into a condominium, to a shareholder upon the surrender by the shareholder of all of the shareholder’s stock in the cooperative
corporation and the proprietary lease entitling the shareholder to exclusive occupancy of a portion of the property owned by the corporation.
9. PARTIAL EXEMPTION FROM THE REALTY TRANSFER FEE (C. 176, P.L. 1975; C. 113, P.L. 2003; C. 66 P.L. 2004)
The following transfers of title to real property shall be exempt from State portions of the Basic Fee, Supplemental Fee, and General Purpose Fee, as
applicable: 1. The sale of any one or two-family residential premises which are owned and occupied by a senior citizen, blind person, or disabled person who
is the seller in such transaction; provided, however, that except in the instance of a husband and wife/partners in a civil union couple, no exemption shall be
allowed if the property being sold is owned as joint tenants and one or more of the owners is not a senior citizen, blind person, or disabled person; 2. The sale
of Low and Moderate Income Housing conforming to the requirements as established by this Act.
For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
“Blind person”
means a person whose vision in his better eye with proper correction does not exceed 20/200 as measured by the Snellen chart or a
person who has a field defect in his better eye with proper correction in which the peripheral field has contracted to such an extent that the widest diameter of
visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20º.
“Disabled person” means any resident of this State who is permanently and totally disabled, unable to engage in gainful employment, and receiving
disability benefits or any other compensation under any federal or State law.
“Senior citizen” means any resident of this State of the age of 62 or over.
“Low and Moderate Income Housing” means any residential premises, or part thereof, affordable according to Federal Department of Housing and Urban
Development or other recognized standards for home ownership and rental costs occupied or reserved for occupancy by households with a gross income
equal to 80% or less of the median gross household income for households of the same size within the housing region in which the housing is located, but
shall include only those residential premises subject to resale controls pursuant to contractual guarantees.
“Resident of the State of New Jersey” means any claimant who is legally domiciled in this State when the transfer of the subject property is made.
Domicile is what the claimant regards as the permanent home to which he intends to return after a period of absence. Proofs of domicile include a New Jersey
voter registration, motor vehicle registration and driver’s license, and resident tax return filing.
10. TRANSFERS OF NEW CONSTRUCTION
“New construction” means any conveyance or transfer of property upon which there is an entirely new improvement not previously occupied or used for
any purpose. On transfers of new construction, the words “NEW CONSTRUCTION” shall be printed clearly at the top of the first page of the deed, and an
Affidavit by the grantor stating that the transfer is of property upon which there is new construction shall be appended to the deed.
11. REALTY TRANSFER FEE IS A FEE IN ADDITION TO OTHER RECORDING FEES
The county recording officer is required to collect the Realty Transfer Fee at the time the deed is offered for recording/transfer.
12. PENALTY FOR WILLFUL FALSIFICATION OF CONSIDERATION AND TRANSFERS OF NEW CONSTRUCTION
Any person who knowingly falsifies the consideration recited in a deed or in the proof or acknowledgement of the execution of a deed or in an affidavit
annexed to a deed declaring the consideration therefor or a declaration in an affidavit that a transfer is exempt from recording fee is guilty of a crime of the
fourth degree (Chapter 308, P.L. 1991, effective June 1, 1992). Grantors conveying title of new construction who fail to subscribe and append to the deed an
affidavit to that effect in accordance with the provisions of subsection c. of section 2 of Chapter 49, P.L. 1968 (C.46:15-6) is guilty of a disorderly persons
offense. The Division of Taxation is entitled to review the Fees collected pursuant to the State Uniform Procedure Law. The Director of the Division of Taxation
is authorized to make deficiency assessments to taxpayers who have, intentionally or mistakenly, underestimated the consideration or sales price of properties
on the Affidavit of Consideration attached to deeds and upon which the Realty Transfer Fee is based.
13. COUNTY/MUNICIPAL CODES
County/Municipal codes may be found at http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/lpt/cntycode.pdf.
14. LEGAL ENTITIES TRANSFERRING NEW JERSEY REAL ESTATE TO RELATED LEGAL ENTITIES
Legal entities transferring New Jersey real estate to related legal entities are not exempt from the Realty Transfer Fee if the consideration, as defined in
the law, is $100 or more. Such consideration includes the actual amount of money and/or the monetary value of any other thing of value constituting the entire
compensation paid or to be paid, such as the dollar value of stock included in the transaction or any enhancement to or contribution to the capital of either
legal entity resulting from the transfer, or remaining balances of any prior mortgage to which the property is subject or which is assumed and agreed to be paid
by the grantee and any other lien or encumbrance not paid, satisfied or removed in connection with the transfer of title.
