Tax Assessor

Tax Assessor:    Richard Motyka
Assistant Tax Assessor:    Audrey Schaffner

Tax Assessor's office is located at 60 Margaret King Avenue, 1st Floor.
Phone:    (973) 475-7118
Fax:    (973) 962-6028
Email:    rmotyka@ringwoodnj.net

Office hours:    Monday and Tuesday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm;
Wednesday 8:30 am - 12:00 noon
The Tax Assessor is in every Thursday from 8:30 am - 7:00 pm

General Information

• Notification of Assessment postcards are mailed by February 1 of each year.
• The Assessor's Field book, tax maps, and SR1As (individual sheets of sale) are available to the public and are located in the Council Chambers (center room) at Borough Hall.

Property Tax Appeal

Petitions of Appeal, along with instructions, may be downloaded using the link provided or are available for pickup at the Passaic County Tax Board located at 435 Hamburg Turnpike in Wayne, New Jersey. 

Tax appeals must be filed with the Passaic County Board of Taxation by April 1 of the tax year in question.

Property Tax Deductions

Links for the applications are at the top right of this page

$250 Real Property Tax Deduction for Veteran or Surviving Spouse/Civil Union Partner

TO QUALIFY, you must be an honorably discharged US Armed Forces war veteran; or the unmarried surviving spouse of such a war veteran; or the surviving spouse of a serviceperson who served in time of war and died while on active duty.

• You must be a property owner and a legal resident of New Jersey and, where applicable, prove that the deceased veteran or serviceperson was a legal resident of New Jersey.

Eligibility criteria must be met as of October 1 of the year prior to the tax year for which the deduction is claimed.

The application must be filed with the municipal tax assessor or tax collector.

$250 Real Property Tax Deduction for Senior Citizen, Disabled Person or Surviving Spouse/Civil Union Partner

TO QUALIFY, you must be a senior citizen, age 65 or older; or a permanently and totally disabled individual, unable to be gainfully employed; or a surviving spouse, who has not remarried; age 55 or more and age 55 at the time of spouse’s death.

• You must be a legal resident of New Jersey for one year immediately prior to October 1 of the year before the year for which the deduction is requested.

• You must be an owner of and a permanent resident in the dwelling on October 1 of the year before the year for which the deduction is requested.

• Income may be no more than $10,000 (combined from you and your spouse) during the year for which the deduction is requested, excluding income received from ONE of the following three categories:

Social Security; or Federal Government Retirement/Disability pension including Federal Railroad Retirement Benefits; or State, County, Municipal Government Retirement/Disability Pension.

Eligibility criteria must be met as of December 31 of the year prior to the tax year for which the deduction is claimed.

The application must be filed with the municipal tax assessor or tax collector.

Property Tax Reimbursement (Senior Freeze)

Application to the Property Tax Reimbursement program is made directly to the State of New Jersey.

For eligibility requirements, follow this link: http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/ptr/eligibility.shtml

For information:  888-238-1233

Added Assessments and Omitted Added Assessments

Improvements to your home that increase its value most often require an inspection by the Assessor and subsequent increase in assessment. The increase is administered in the form of an Added Assessment Tax Bill, which you will receive in the mail at the end of October. Payment is due on November 1. The Added Assessment bill will be mailed to your mortgage holder, if you have one, and you will receive an advice only copy.  The Added Assessment amount will be reflected in your regular assessment for the following tax year.

For improvements completed after August, the Added Assessment is billed the year following the improvement. 

Buying a Home

To avoid receiving a surprise or unexpected Added Assessment bill on a newly purchased home, a “Municipal Tax Search” can be requested from the Ringwood Municipal Clerk. This search will provide a listing of any potential Added and/or Omitted Added Tax Assessments.