NJ joint 2025 20Kswages 30Kproptax 20Kmortgage 2depx

[feenberg]

See http://taxsim.nber.org/out2psl/865

PE does not allow the property tax deduction that TA allows. Oddly, in the Q&A TA says this taxpayer is not allowed any property tax deduction, but then it shows the deduction on the tax form. I don't see a reason the deduction would be disallowed.

[DTrim99]

Possible that PE is gating the property tax deduction on the NJ filing threshold (nj_property_tax_deduction_eligible.py)? Line 16 reads nj_agi > p.filing_threshold[filing_status]. For this household NJ AGI = $20,000, which equals the joint filing threshold exactly — > returns False, so PE marks the household ineligible. The 2024 NJ-1040 instructions, page 25 describe the deduction as available to any homeowner/tenant who files; using >= (or dropping the threshold check entirely) would let the deduction through at exactly $20,000.

Re your note about TaxAct's Q&A vs the form: the NJ-1040 PDF in the bundle shows line 41 (property tax deduction) as $0, so TaxAct also seems to land at "no deduction" on the form. Possible the Q&A was referring to a different deduction (like rent, since the household isn't renting)?

[DTrim99]

Opened PE-US PR PolicyEngine/policyengine-us#8284 with the fix (> → >= plus boundary tests). PE-US tracking issue: PolicyEngine/policyengine-us#8278.

[DTrim99]

Update: @PavelMakarchuk reviewed the PE-US PR I opened (PolicyEngine/policyengine-us#8284) and pointed out I read the form wrong. The eligibility list is on page 27 of the 2025 NJ-1040 instructions (I'd cited page 25, which is Medical Expenses), and the actual wording is "income more than the filing threshold" — strict > is correct, and PE matches the form.

Closed the PR. PE's behavior at exactly $20K joint is the form-faithful one; TaxAct allowing the deduction there is the outlier.

Pavel also flagged two real divergences worth tracking separately:

• Missing senior/blind/disabled exception via NJ-1040-HW (lets the deduction through at or below the filing threshold for qualifying filers)
• Missing high-income cap from NJSA 54A:3A-17 (reduces to $5K above $150K AGI, eliminates above $250K for non-senior/non-disabled filers)