Updated October 24, 2026. Quick answer: Line 29 of the 2025 NJ-1040 is New Jersey gross income. You get it by subtracting the total exclusion on line 28c from the total income on line 27, and the booklet says to make no entry if the answer is zero or less. The same line 29 amount is the figure the booklet compares with its filing thresholds, and later lines on the return refer back to it.
What this line asks
The booklet labels line 29 “New Jersey Gross Income”. It sits right after line 28c, the total of the two retirement exclusions, so it is the first point where the exclusions come off your total income. The booklet describes line 28c this way: “Add lines 28a and 28b and enter the total.” Those two exclusion lines are covered on NJ-1040 line 28a and NJ-1040 line 28b.
The booklet’s own instruction for line 29 is short: “Subtract line 28c from line 27 and enter the result. If zero or less, make no entry.”
Who it applies to
The booklet attaches its filing thresholds to the line 29 amount. The rule opens with “You are required to file a return if your income on line 29 is more than the filing threshold:” and then gives one amount per group of filing statuses.
The first group reads “$20,000 Married filing jointly, Head of Household, or Qualified Widow(er);” and the second reads “$10,000 Single or married/CU partner filing separate return.”
The booklet adds a second rule for people at or under those amounts: “You are not required to file a return if your income is at or below the filing threshold.” That rule has exceptions, covered below.
What the instructions say to enter
| Step | What the booklet says |
|---|---|
| Line 28c | “Add lines 28a and 28b and enter the total.” |
| Line 29 | “Subtract line 28c from line 27 and enter the result.” |
| Line 29, zero or less | “If zero or less, make no entry.” |
| Filing threshold | “You are required to file a return if your income on line 29 is” more than the threshold for your filing status, shown in the next section. |
| Not required to file | “You are not required to file a return if your income is at or below the filing threshold.” |
The booklet then lists the cases where someone at or below the threshold still files: “However, you still need to file if you:” followed by “Had New Jersey Income Tax withheld;” and “Paid estimated taxes or had a credit from the prior year;” and “Are eligible for a New Jersey Earned Income Tax Credit or other credit and are due a refund.”
The figures the line prints
The thresholds sit in two single bullets, quoted above: “$20,000 Married filing jointly, Head of Household, or Qualified Widow(er);” and “$10,000 Single or married/CU partner filing separate return.” The property tax section repeats the same two amounts in one sentence: “line 29 is $20,000 or less ($10,000 if filing status is single or married/CU partner, filing separate return)”.
Where the result goes next
Line 29 feeds the lines that follow. For taxable income the booklet says “Subtract line 38 from line 29 and enter the result.” For medical expenses, which are measured against a share of gross income, it says “You can only deduct expenses that are more than 2% of your gross income.” See NJ-1040 line 31 for that line.
The property tax lines use it too: “Your income on line 29 is more than the filing threshold amount for your filing status” is one of the eligibility requirements, and the same bullet points to an exception. A filer who was 65 or older or blind or disabled on the last day of the tax year (or whose spouse was, on a joint return), who was not required to file, and whose line 29 income is $20,000 or less ($10,000 if single or married/CU partner filing separately) still qualifies for the Property Tax Credit when the other eligibility requirements are met. Schedule NJ-COJ, the schedule behind the credit on line 44, says “Enter the amount of income reported on line 29, Form NJ-1040.”
For how the state treats the income that flows into line 27, see New Jersey retirement taxes, whether New Jersey taxes pensions and New Jersey 401(k) and IRA withdrawals. The full list of lines is on the NJ-1040 line-by-line guide.
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
- Entering a negative number or a zero on line 29. The booklet says “If zero or less, make no entry.”
- Using the wrong threshold for your filing status. The booklet prints separate amounts: “$20,000 Married filing jointly, Head of Household, or Qualified Widow(er);” and “$10,000 Single or married/CU partner filing separate return.”
- Assuming a return at or below the threshold is never filed. The booklet says “However, you still need to file if you:” and then lists “Had New Jersey Income Tax withheld;”
Related: New Jersey retirement taxes, whether New Jersey taxes pensions, New Jersey 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, and New Jersey and Social Security.
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- 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.