Updated October 24, 2026. Quick answer: Line 27 of the 2025 NJ-1040 is total income, the sum of the income lines from 15 through 26. Two lines are left out of the sum, the tax-exempt interest on line 16b and the excludable pension amount on line 20b. The total on line 27 is the figure the retirement exclusions on lines 28a and 28b are measured against.
What this line asks
Line 27 is labelled total income on the form, and the booklet’s whole instruction is short: “Add lines 15 through 26 (do not include lines 16b and 20b) and enter the total.”
The form prints its own version of the same sum: “Add lines 15, 16a, 17 through 20a, and 21 through 26”. Read together, the sum starts with wages on line 15 and taxable interest on line 16a and runs through the income lines to line 26.
Who it applies to
The booklet prints no age, filing status, income cap or residency test for line 27.
What the instructions say to enter
| Step | What the booklet says |
|---|---|
| Step 1 | “Add lines 15 through 26” |
| Step 2 | “do not include lines 16b and 20b” |
| Step 3 | “and enter the total.” |
The two lines left out are described in the booklet as “Tax-Exempt Interest Income” for line 16b, and, for line 20b, as the excludable portion of a pension, annuity or IRA payment. See NJ-1040 line 20b for the second of those.
Where the result goes next
The line 27 total is the starting point for the exclusions that follow. The pension and retirement exclusion on NJ-1040 line 28a has a test written against this line: “Your income on line 27 is $150,000 or less (part-year residents see below).” The next exclusion is covered in NJ-1040 line 28b.
Pensions, IRAs and annuities reach this total through line 20a, as laid out in NJ-1040 line 20a. For the state-level view see New Jersey retirement taxes and whether New Jersey taxes pensions.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 NJ-1040 New Jersey Resident Return booklet, the current file the New Jersey Division of Taxation served on 2026-10-24. Check the edition printed on your own form and use that edition’s line numbers.
Common mistakes
- Adding the excludable pension amount into the total. The booklet says “do not include lines 16b and 20b”
- Adding only some of the income lines. The booklet says “Add lines 15 through 26”
- Treating line 27 as a figure that does not matter later. The booklet’s pension exclusion qualification reads “Your income on line 27 is $150,000 or less (part-year residents see below).”
Related: New Jersey retirement taxes, whether New Jersey taxes pensions, and New Jersey and Social Security.
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Answer againSources
- 2025 NJ-1040 New Jersey Resident Return booklet (instructions and forms), New Jersey Division of Taxation: www.nj.gov
- 2025 Form NJ-1040 New Jersey Resident Income Tax Return, New Jersey Division of Taxation: www.nj.gov
Read from the state revenue documents linked above on October 24, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer or the state revenue department is the right place to confirm anything consequential.