Real Estate CPA in NJ:Bookkeeping & Tax Returns
Wasserman Accounting CPAs is a real estate CPA in NJ for investors, landlords and realtors. We keep the books for each property and prepare your federal and New Jersey returns from them. Call 609-281-8096.
Real estate services and New Jersey tax rules
You get a monthly profit and loss for each property, and your Schedule E, partnership return and Schedule K-1s prepared from those books.
New Jersey allows smaller first-year depreciation write-offs than the IRS, so we keep a separate New Jersey depreciation schedule for each property.
A nonresident individual who sells New Jersey property pays at least 2% of the sale price at closing, even at a loss, unless the Division of Taxation grants a waiver.
What a real estate CPA in NJ handles
Real estate bookkeeping by property: a monthly profit and loss for each building
Bookkeeping for realtors: commission income, business expenses, mileage and quarterly estimated tax payments
Rental tax returns: Schedule E for individual owners; for partnerships that own property, Form 1065 with Form 8825 for the rents and a Schedule K-1 for each partner
Depreciation for each property, and depreciation recapture, the tax on past depreciation when you sell
Tax planning before you buy or sell, including New Jersey’s mansion tax
New Jersey depreciation and exit tax rules
Depreciation on New Jersey returns
- New Jersey caps Section 179, your write-off of an asset’s full cost in its first year, at $25,000 on 2025 returns.
- New Jersey does not allow federal bonus depreciation, the extra first-year deduction, in full.
We keep a separate New Jersey depreciation schedule for each property.
Exit tax when a nonresident sells New Jersey property
A nonresident individual who sells New Jersey property makes an estimated tax payment, known as the exit tax, before the county records the deed:
Sale with a gain: the gain times the highest New Jersey Gross Income Tax rate, 10.75% for 2026, with a minimum of 2% of the sale price
Sale at a loss: 2% of the sale price, unless the Division of Taxation grants a waiver
Example: a nonresident sells a New Jersey rental for $400,000 in 2026.
| Exit tax payment at closing on a $400,000 sale | Sale with a $100,000 gain | Sale at a $20,000 loss |
|---|---|---|
| Gain times 10.75% | $10,750 | $0 |
| 2% of the sale price | $8,000 | $8,000 |
| Payment at closing | $10,750 | $8,000, unless the Division grants a waiver |
We work out the payment before closing and report the sale on your New Jersey return.
Who we work with in NJ real estate
Investors with a single rental or a multi-property portfolio
Landlords and short-term rental operators
Partnerships that own property
Realtors and agents paid on commission
How we price real estate accounting
We price the work on the size of your portfolio and the services you use:
- How many properties you own
- Whether you own them in your own name or through a partnership
- Your monthly transaction volume, if we keep the books
- Whether you sell a property during the year
One rental in your own name, with books you keep yourself, is at the light end. These are the factors, not a quote.
Reviewed by April Moore, EA, Practice Manager at Wasserman Accounting CPAs. Enrolled Agent with 20 years in business tax, payroll, and quarterly and annual regulatory filings.
Talk to a New Jersey real estate accountant
Call with your property list and last year’s returns, and we quote the books and returns for your portfolio. You speak with a CPA or EA from the first call.