In 2025, Morris Township's general tax rate was 1.968 and the Town of Morristown's was 1.760. By that number the Township looks like the more expensive place to own a home. The effective tax rate, which measures taxes against market value, runs the other way. The Township's was 1.547 and the Town's was 1.681, according to the New Jersey Division of Taxation's 2025 General Tax Rates table.
Buyers comparing the two municipalities see one gap first. The assessed value on a listing sheet means something different on each side of the municipal line. The reason is the year each town last revalued.
What a Dollar of Assessment Means on Each Side
Every New Jersey municipality gets a yearly equalization ratio. It estimates how its total assessed value compares with the true market value of its property. Morris County's final equalization table for 2026 puts the Town of Morristown at 90.51% and Morris Township at 72.98%. Put another way, a Town assessment covers about 91 cents of each dollar of market value on average. In the Township it covers about 73 cents.
That one difference explains the inverted tax rates. The general rate applies to assessed value. The effective rate is roughly the general rate multiplied by the ratio, which turns it into a rate on market value. A town whose assessments sit far below market has to charge a higher general rate to raise the same money. On a market-value basis, the Township's higher rate applied to a lower assessment base still comes out lower than the Town's.
The table below sets out the official figures for both municipalities.
| Measure | Town of Morristown | Morris Township |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 general tax rate | 1.760 | 1.968 |
| 2025 effective tax rate | 1.681 | 1.547 |
| 2025 equalization ratio | 96.15% | 78.90% |
| 2026 equalization ratio | 90.51% | 72.98% |
| 2025 average residential assessment | $635,270 | $571,510 |
| 2025 average residential tax bill | $11,181 | $11,247 |
| 2025 average residential sale price | $788,408 | $929,517 |
| 2025 residential sales counted | 128 | 106 |
The bottom rows come from the state's 2025 Average Residential Statistics, and they make the same point from a different angle. In 2025, average tax bills in the two municipalities were within $66 of each other. The Township's average assessment was about $64,000 lower than the Town's, while its average sale price was about $141,000 higher. The averages cover different groups of homes. The assessment and bill figures cover every residential line item, and the sale price covers only the homes that sold that year. So they cannot be divided into a ratio for any single house. Their direction still matches the equalization data. In the Township, assessments trail market prices by a wider margin.
Why the Ratios Sit Where They Do
A revaluation resets every assessment in a town to current market value. Each year after that, prices move and assessments mostly stay put, so the ratio drifts.
The Town of Morristown's most recent revaluation was recent. The town's revaluation page labels the project "Morristown Revaluation 2022." It says the project was ordered for the 2023 tax year and marks it "PROJECT EXTENDED TO 2024." In January 2023, Patch reported that the Division of Taxation had approved an extension on Jan. 5 and that the revaluation was expected to take effect in 2024. The town contracted Appraisal Systems, Inc. for the work, and its FAQ lists 2004 as the year of the previous town-wide revaluation.
Morris Township's last ordered revaluation is older. In December 2014, TAPinto Morristown reported that the county board had directed, and the state had ordered, a township-wide revaluation for tax year 2016. Appraisal Systems, Inc. was hired to inspect every property, inside and out. The same report named 2001 as the revaluation before that.
That makes roughly a decade of price movement in the Township against a few years in the Town. The ratios also moved quickly from 2025 to 2026. The Township dropped from 78.90% to 72.98%, and the Town from 96.15% to 90.51%. Both fell by between five and six points in one year, a sign that market values rose faster than assessments in both places.
Neither municipality appears on the state's 2026 approved revaluation and reassessment list, updated May 13, 2026. No public order, contract, or inspection schedule for a new revaluation in either town turned up in the municipal, county, or local news sources reviewed for this post. When a town-wide reset arrives is up to the county board and the state. A falling ratio describes current conditions and does not set a date.
How to Read a Listing's Tax Line
The assessment and annual tax figure on a listing reflect the current owner's assessment, set when that town last revalued. For a buyer, the useful question is what the figure says about the home at today's price, and the answer depends on which side of the line the home sits.
- Start with the municipality. Two homes a short drive apart can sit in different taxing districts with different ratios and rates. Use the tax bill or the municipal tax record to confirm which one applies.
- Compare the assessment with the expected price. Divide the assessment by the price under discussion. In the Town, the 2026 district average is 90.51%. In the Township, it is 72.98%.
- Use the effective rate to compare across the line. Applying each town's 2025 effective rate to the same market value is an apples-to-apples way to compare. The general rate only works within one town.
- Treat the current bill as a snapshot. Assessments can change after a sale, after improvements, or in a future town-wide revaluation. The figures here describe how the system works. They do not predict any one property's future bill.
Here is an illustration using 2025 effective rates. On a home with a market value of $900,000, the Town's 1.681% works out to about $15,129. The Township's 1.547% works out to about $13,923. These are district-wide averages applied to a round number. Any real bill depends on that home's own assessment, and the 2025 rates are the latest full-year general and effective rates in the state's published table.
The 15% Corridor Around Each Town's Ratio
The equalization ratio also matters in tax appeals. The Division of Taxation's Assessment and Appeals page explains the standard.
"For an assessed value to be considered excessive or discriminatory, a taxpayer must prove that the assessment does not fairly represent either the True Market Value Standard or Common Level Range Standard. The common level range for a taxing district is that range which is plus or minus 15% of the average ratio for that district."
Because the two towns have different average ratios, their ranges barely overlap. The state's Chapter 123 certification for tax year 2026 was first certified October 1, 2025, and amended by the Tax Court on January 30, 2026. It sets the following ranges.
| 2026 Chapter 123 | Average ratio | Lower limit | Upper limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Morristown | 90.51% | 76.93% | 104.09% |
| Morris Township | 72.98% | 62.03% | 83.93% |
Here is how the range works with simple arithmetic. A Township home assessed at $650,000 with a market value of $900,000 has a ratio of about 72.2%. That falls inside the Township's 62.03% to 83.93% range. The same $900,000 home assessed at $780,000 has a ratio of about 86.7%, which is above the Township's upper limit. In the Town, that 86.7% would fall inside the range. The same ratio measured against different district averages gives different results.
The Division's page also sets the timing. Petitions to the County Board of Taxation or the State Tax Court must be filed and received by April 1. In a year when the municipality has carried out a revaluation or reassessment, the deadline moves to May 1. Owners of properties assessed above $1,000,000 can also file directly with the State Tax Court. Whether an appeal makes sense for a particular property is a question for a tax professional or attorney. The range itself is public, and anyone can do the arithmetic.
Questions Buyers Ask About the Two Towns
Will the Township's lower effective rate last? The effective rate is recalculated every year from that year's budget levies and equalization ratio. A future revaluation would bring assessments closer to market value, and the general rate would usually be reset as part of that process. As of the May 13, 2026 state list, neither town is approved for a 2026 revaluation.
Where do the 2026 numbers stand? The state's published general tax rate table runs through 2025. Morris Township's 2026 User Friendly Budget lists a municipal-purpose rate of 0.476, but that covers only the municipal share of the bill. It cannot be compared with the full general rate.
Why does the average tax bill look so similar if the rates differ? In 2025 the average residential bill was $11,181 in the Town and $11,247 in the Township. The Township's average sale price that year was higher. Similar bills on more expensive homes is what a lower effective rate looks like in practice.
A listing's assessed value is one number. How that number relates to what a home is worth today depends on which town it sits in and when that town last revalued. If you want to see how a home's assessment compares with its current market value on either side of the line, Michael Gabriel can walk you through the figures for a specific address. You can start with a free home valuation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
