Trenton, NJ – A bipartisan Senate proposal would allow New Jersey drivers to deduct up to $1,000 in E-ZPass tolls from their gross income taxes, offering targeted relief to commuters who regularly pay to use toll roads and interstate crossings.
Senate Bill 520 was pre-filed for introduction in the 2024 legislative session and is sponsored by Sen. James W. Holzapfel of Monmouth and Ocean counties and Sen. Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. of Middlesex County. The measure supplements Title 54A of the New Jersey Statutes by creating a new gross income tax deduction tied specifically to electronic toll payments.
Under the bill, an individual taxpayer, regardless of filing status, would be eligible to deduct $1,000 from gross income in any taxable year in which the individual’s E-ZPass toll payments exceed $1,000. The deduction would apply to tolls paid for the operation of a motor vehicle by the taxpayer or any member of the taxpayer’s household.
Eligible tolls would include payments made on any toll roadway in New Jersey and on interstate toll bridges and tunnels connecting New Jersey with neighboring states. The bill explicitly includes facilities operated by agencies such as the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, the Delaware River and Bay Authority, the Delaware River Port Authority, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The legislation excludes several categories of payments from qualifying toward the deduction. Fines, penalties, administrative or processing fees, reimbursed tolls, and tolls already deductible under federal or state business expense provisions would not count toward the $1,000 threshold.
The bill would take effect immediately and apply retroactively to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020. Lawmakers sponsoring the measure say it is intended to offset commuting expenses for drivers who rely on toll roads, particularly in light of increased transportation costs.
The proposal would create a $1,000 state income tax deduction for New Jersey drivers who pay significant E-ZPass tolls each year.