New Jersey taxes its own measure of income — not federal AGI — at rates from 1.4% to 10.75%, less a $1,000 exemption per person. Because New Jersey never starts from a federal figure, neither federal deduction can reach your New Jersey tax. Joint filers and heads of household use wider brackets than single filers.
What it means on a real paycheck
Take a single filer earning $50,000 a year, $8,000 of it in tips. Against the same person with no tips to declare, the federal deduction is worth $960.
In New Jersey it is worth nothing extra. The state bill is identical either way, so $960 is the whole of it.
How New Jersey works out the tax
New Jersey charges graduated rates from 1.4% up to 10.75%, across 7 bands, after an exemption of $1,000 a person. It begins from your federal adjusted gross income and applies its own reliefs from there.