Sales tax in New Jersey for med spas
New Jersey taxes goods and only the services its statute names, at 6.625% everywhere with no county or city tax. Licensed practitioners’ medical and cosmetic services are exempt professional services, so neurotoxin, filler, laser and microneedling are not taxed; the Division’s salon publication ANJ-19 lists facials, peels, microdermabrasion, waxing and IV infusion bags as exempt. Three menu items are taxable: tanning, massage (unless by a physician, RN or physical therapist, or on a written prescription) and tattooing, including permanent makeup.
Cosmetics and skincare are taxable; over-the-counter drugs with a Drug Facts panel or listed active ingredient, like benzoyl peroxide acne gel, are exempt. But “grooming and hygiene products” — soaps and cleansers, shampoo, antiperspirant, sunscreen — stay taxable even with a Drug Facts panel. You pay tax on treatment supplies; prescription drugs are exempt; retail inventory goes on a resale certificate (ST-3).
Example: a $700 neurotoxin treatment, a $120 vitamin C serum, a $45 sunscreen and a $30 benzoyl peroxide gel (both Drug Facts items). Only the serum and sunscreen are taxed: ($120 + $45) × 6.625% = $10.93; ticket total $905.93. Register on Form NJ-REG 15 business days before opening; file the quarterly ST-50 by the 20th after quarter end, with monthly ST-51 payments for larger collectors. Certified Urban Enterprise Zone sellers charge 3.3125% on in-person retail goods only. See our med spa sales tax guide.
Who can own a med spa in New Jersey (CPOM and supervision, summarized)
We found no stand-alone New Jersey med spa statute; the operative rule is N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16, the Board of Medical Examiners’ practice-structure regulation (a summary, not legal advice). Subsection (e) says a health care service “shall be owned solely by one or more licensed health care professionals” unless another state agency’s licensing allows otherwise. Subsection (f)2 permits a partnership, professional association or LLC composed solely of licensees in the same or closely allied fields, naming nursing among them. Subsection (f)4 lets a physician work for a general business corporation only in five listed settings, each with a medical director regularly on premises; an investor- or esthetician-owned LLC is not on the list.
So non-licensee owners use the subsection (f)5 pattern: the practice contracts with a general business corporation for non-professional services only — office management, staff, space, equipment and billing — while a licensed professional sets medical policy and keeps sole discretion over fees. Companion rule 13:35-6.17 bars referral-linked fees, allows investment returns only on money invested, requires fixed fair-market leases set in advance and sends anything else to the Board, so a percentage-of-collections management fee needs a New Jersey health-care attorney’s sign-off before we book it.
Subsection (d) requires a licensed professional who may practice without direct supervision on the premises whenever patients are treated; RN delegation of injectables runs through the Board of Nursing. Confirm structure and protocols with a health-care attorney licensed in New Jersey.
State business taxes for a New Jersey med spa entity
A professional entity taxed as an S corporation files CBT-100S by the 15th day of the fourth month and pays a minimum tax set by New Jersey gross receipts: $375 under $100,000, $562.50 to $250,000, $750 to $500,000, $1,125 to $1,000,000 and $1,500 at $1,000,000 or more. Since December 22, 2022, a federal S corporation is automatically a New Jersey S corporation unless every shareholder opts out. A C corporation instead pays 6.5%, 7.5% or 9% of entire net income (brackets at $50,000 and $100,000), minimum $500 to $2,000.
An LLC taxed as a partnership files NJ-1065 and, with more than two owners, pays $150 per owner (capped at $250,000) plus a 50% prepayment of next year’s fee; a two-member management LLC owes none. Owners pay Gross Income Tax on K-1 income at 1.4% to 10.75%.
The elective Pass-Through Business Alternative Income Tax (BAIT) lets the entity pay that tax instead — 5.675% on the first $250,000, 6.52% to $1,000,000, 10.9% above — and hand each member a refundable credit, working around the personal SALT cap. Elect every year by the PTE-100 due date (March 15 for calendar-year entities); estimates start once liability tops $400. We usually elect for profitable practices; the common mistake is missing the date.
Payroll in New Jersey for injectors and front desk
New Jersey has income tax withholding: employees complete Form NJ-W4; NJ-927 and WR-30 are due the 30th after each quarter, NJ-500 monthly when a month’s withholding exceeds $500, and NJ-W-3 by February 15. For 2026 a new employer pays 2.6825% unemployment, 0.1175% workforce development and 0.5% disability — 3.3% in all — on the first $44,800 of each employee’s wages. Workers contribute 0.3825% unemployment and 0.0425% workforce on that $44,800, but 0.19% disability and 0.23% family leave on a $171,100 base.
Newark levies a 1% payroll tax on wages for work performed or supervised there (0.5% if most staff are residents); Jersey City levies 1% of gross payroll excluding residents’ wages, exempting employers under $2,500 of quarterly payroll. Minimum wage is $15.92 in 2026 ($15.23 under six employees), $16.48 in 2027; every employer provides earned sick leave at one hour per 30 worked, up to 40 a year; workers’ compensation is mandatory from the first hire.
Injectors are W-2 under the IRS common-law test, and New Jersey’s ABC test is stricter: a worker is an employee unless the work is outside your usual business. Misclassification costs up to 5% of the worker’s gross earnings plus $250–$1,000 per employee. See how we structure injector pay.
Registrations, filings and deadlines checklist for a New Jersey med spa
Fees checked October 2026; licensing rows are summaries, not advice.
| Item | Where | Fee / due date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form the entities (licensee-owned practice; management LLC) | Division of Revenue (DORES), online | $100 formation fee (was $125 before July 1, 2026) | DORES fee schedule |
| Tax and employer registration | Form NJ-REG, online | 15 business days before opening | Division of Taxation |
| Annual report, each entity | DORES portal | $75 yearly | DORES fee schedule |
| Sales tax returns | NJ Tax Portal | ST-50 quarterly, due the 20th; ST-51 monthly when assigned | Division of Taxation |
| Employer contributions and wages | NJ-927 and WR-30 | 30th after quarter end; 3.3% on first $44,800 (2026) | NJ Department of Labor |
| Entity return and BAIT | CBT-100S or NJ-1065; PTE-100 | 15th day of 4th month; S-corp minimum $375–$1,500; BAIT by March 15 | Division of Taxation |
| Workers’ compensation | Private carrier | Required with the first employee; up to $5,000 per ten uninsured days | NJ Department of Labor |
| Med spa facility license | Board of Medical Examiners | None found in sources reviewed; 13:35-6.16 applies | BME rules |
Federal steps are in our opening checklist.
How we work with New Jersey med spas from Tampa
Onboarding is remote: a 20-minute fit call, then read-only access to bank, processor and POS. We pull exports from Boulevard, Zenoti, Aesthetic Record, Vagaro, Mindbody, Nextech or PatientNow into QuickBooks Online, split exempt treatments from taxable retail and services, flag sunscreen and cleansers as taxable grooming products, and close by the tenth business day. Tampa and New Jersey share Eastern time.
We prepare ST-50 and ST-51 filings, the CBT-100S or NJ-1065 with its partnership fee, the PTE-100 BAIT election, Newark or Jersey City payroll tax returns and the federal returns; your payroll provider files NJ-927 and WR-30. You keep the local pieces: the New Jersey health-care attorney, Board of Medical Examiners compliance, the workers’ compensation policy and signing what we prepare. Monthly engagements start at $1,500; see pricing, the med spa service page or request a fit call.
A New Jersey example
Illustrative only: a single-location Morristown practice — a physician- and NP-owned professional LLC taxed as an S corporation plus a three-owner management LLC taxed as a partnership — with $1,400,000 of combined revenue and five employees.
- Sales tax. Retail is $140,000 ($110,000 taxable; $30,000 exempt Drug Facts acne products) plus $20,000 of taxable massage. Tax collected: $130,000 × 6.625% = $8,612.50; tax on $1,240,000 of injectables and laser: $0.
- Entity taxes. The professional LLC’s receipts top $1,000,000, so its CBT-100S minimum tax is $1,500; the three-owner management LLC pays a $450 filing fee plus a $225 prepayment. Electing BAIT on $400,000 of distributive proceeds costs $250,000 × 5.675% + $150,000 × 6.52% = $23,967.50, credited back on the owners’ NJ-1040s.
- Payroll. The first injector, paid $85,000, costs 3.3% × $44,800 = $1,478.40 of employer contributions plus $42 of FUTA; her own deductions: $190.40 on $44,800 plus $357 of disability and family leave on all $85,000.