Departments & Services

Tax Collector

We now accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express in the office for your tax and sewer payments. A 2.45% convenience fee will be applied when making a payment.

• The Tax Collector is responsible for the billing, collection and reporting of taxes for all non-exempt Township properties. Additionally, we bill, collect and report sewer user fees for all properties within the Bernards Township Sewerage Authority area.
• Property taxes are based on the assessor's valuation of real property and levied for the calendar year. The taxes for the Township, local school district, county purposes and both local and county open space are combined into one levy that is apportioned on the tax bill by rate and amount for taxpayer information only. Taxes levied for purposes of the local school district cover the current calendar year.
• The Tax Collector collected 99.64% of the total tax levy in 2012. The Tax Collection division services 10,620 tax accounts and 7,191 sewer accounts as of 1/1/2013. There are 2.5 full time employees staffing the collector/utility billing office.
• Bernards Township's tax rate for 2013 is as follows:
  • County Tax $0.317
  • County Open Space $0.032
  • District School $1.286
  • Municipal Tax $.243
  • Municipal Open Space $0.040
  • Municipal Library $0.035
  • Total 2013 Rate $1.953
  • Total sewer accounts-7,191 as of 1-1-13
  • Total tax accounts-10,620 as of 1-1-13
• Please contact our office for information concerning veteran deductions and senior/disabled deductions.
• Office hours are Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Our mailing address is Bernards Township, One Collyer Lane, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920. We can be reached at 908-204-3080 or email us at pwarren@bernards.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q:Can I pay my taxes online?
• A:Yes, tax payments can be made online. Click here for more details. You will have three options to pay. The first option is an automatic clearing house (ACH) withdrawal from your checking or savings account. This is a free service and can be accessed by block and lot and banking information. Secondly, you can pay with a credit card for a convenience fee and third, by authorizing a direct withdrawal. You will need your block and lot to access your information.
• Q:Can I pay my sewer bills online?
• A:Yes, sewer payments may be made online by the same three options as above. Click here for more details. A convenience fee of $4.95 is added to all sewer credit card transactions. You will need your sewerage bill account number to access your information. This is located in the upper left hand corner of your bill
• Q:What deductions are available to Bernards Township residents?
• A:Veteran/Widow of a veteran deduction-must be an honorably discharged veteran from a specified time frame and a New Jersey resident. For a veteran deduction, proof of discharge will be needed. For a widow of a veteran, included with the above, a copy of the marriage and death certificate will be needed to accompany the application.
• Senior deduction is for residents 65 years of age or older as of October 1 of the pre tax year, living in the residence they wish to claim, and their income does not exceed $10,000 a year, excluding some or all of their social security or certain pensions. Applications for either deduction can be picked up at the Collector's office.

Important Dates

• Taxes are due on the first of February, May, August and November of each year.
• There is a ten calendar day grace period for each, with all payments due in our office no later than the 10th of the month they are due.
• Sewer bills are billed in mid-December due January 1 and mid June, due July 1.
• Sewer user fees have a 30 day grace and must be received in our office no later than the 30th calendar day in the month they are due.
• Bernards Township does not accept postmark for tax and sewer payments.

Important Links

Departmental Contacts

Thank you for visiting our website. Please contact us whenever an issue is important to you. The Township Committee and Administrator depend on your thoughts and comments, to ensure that at all times our service offerings are community driven.