Elizabeth, NJ Local Taxes & Fees: Parking Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Base parking tax
- 15% of parking/garaging/storing fees
- Mass transit access tax
- Additional 3.5% on non-residential-dwelling parking
- Resident short-term relief
- Full rebate of the 3.5% tax on application
- Resident long-term relief
- Operator waives 3.5% tax with proof of residence
- Late payment penalty
- 12% annual interest plus 0.5% monthly penalty
- Collecting agency
- City of Elizabeth chief financial officer
Summary
Elizabeth imposes a 15 percent tax on fees for parking, garaging or storing motor vehicles, including valet and hospital or nonprofit lots. A separate 3.5 percent mass transit access parking tax applies on top of it, with a rebate available to city residents.
3.24.010 - Tax imposed on fees for parking, garaging or storing motor vehicles. There is imposed a fifteen (15) percent tax on any fees, whether paid directly or paid as part of the rent charged in a lease, for parking, garaging or storing motor vehicles. The tax is imposed on all fees, including, but not limited to, valet parking fees and any parking fees charged by a hospital and any nonprofit entity.
3.24.015 - Imposition of mass transit access parking tax.
A. There is hereby imposed a tax of three and one-half (3.5) percent on fees for the parking, garaging, or storing of motor vehicles, other than parking in a garage...which is part of premises occupied solely as a private one- or two-family dwelling. B. Residents of the city shall be exempt from the parking tax authorized pursuant to this section as follows: 1. Short-term parking. A city resident may apply to the City of Elizabeth for a full rebate of the three and one-half (3.5) percent mass transit access parking tax. 2. Long-term parking. A parking facility operator shall not charge a city resident the three and one-half (3.5) percent mass transit access parking tax upon display of proof of residence.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 31).
Full Breakdown
010 on any fee charged for parking, garaging or storing a motor vehicle in Elizabeth, whether the fee is billed directly or folded into a lease payment. The tax reaches valet parking fees and fees charged by hospitals and nonprofit entities, so no exemption exists for those operators. 5 percent mass transit access parking tax on parking fees other than parking that is part of a one- or two-family residential dwelling. 5 percent tax once the resident shows proof of residence. A. 40A:4-39 to fund capital improvements for pedestrian access to mass transit stations, such as bridges, tunnels, platforms, elevators and stairways, with any surplus usable for quality-of-life projects.
030 requires quarterly remittance to the chief financial officer along with supporting sales tax reports. 080 cover garages tied to one- or two-family dwellings or leased to residential tenants of multiple dwellings, the City of Elizabeth Parking Authority, and the Elizabeth Board of Education. 60.
Violations & Fines
Under Section 3.24.060, an operator who fails to remit the tax on time owes interest at 12 percent per annum plus a penalty of 0.5 percent of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month it remains outstanding. Section 3.24.040 makes every person required to collect the tax personally liable for it, and the city may join the chief financial officer as a party in any collection action, adding the cost of collection to what is owed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is Elizabeth's parking tax?
Can Elizabeth residents avoid the mass transit parking tax?
Who has to collect and remit the parking tax?
What happens if a parking operator pays the tax late?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Elizabeth
Compare Elizabeth to another location·View the New Jersey local taxes & fees overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.