Updated October 24, 2026. Quick answer: Line 31 of the 2025 NJ-1040 is the medical expenses deduction. The booklet allows unreimbursed medical expenses only above a share of gross income, and it has you work the number out on Worksheet F, which also adds two other items. The Worksheet F total is what goes on line 31.
What this line asks
The booklet opens the line this way: “You can deduct certain unreimbursed medical expenses you paid during the year for yourself, your spouse or domestic partner, and any dependents you claim.” It then ties the New Jersey rule to the federal one: “In general, medical expenses allowed for federal tax purposes are allowed for New Jersey tax purposes.”
For the federal side of the same idea, see Form 1040 line 12.
Who it applies to
The booklet states the main condition in one sentence: “You can only deduct expenses that are more than 2% of your gross income.” Gross income here is the amount on NJ-1040 line 29, which Worksheet F uses directly.
The booklet prints the covered items as a list that begins “These can include:” and runs through “Physicians, dental, and other medical fees;” “Hospital care;” “Nursing care;” “Medicines and drugs;” and “Prosthetic devices;”
It also lists “Amounts paid for transportation primarily for and essential to medical care;” The last item reads “Insurance (including amounts paid as premiums under Part B of Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, relating to supplementary medical insurance for the aged) covering medical care.”
What the instructions say to enter
The booklet sends you to a worksheet: “Use Worksheet F below to calculate your medical expenses deduction.” The steps, one per row:
| Step | What the booklet says |
|---|---|
| Worksheet F, line 1 | “Total unreimbursed medical expenses” |
| Worksheet F, line 2 | “Enter line 29, Form NJ-1040” and apply the decimal the worksheet prints beside it, which carries the 2% rule above. |
| Worksheet F, line 3 | “Subtract line 2 from line 1 and enter result here.” “If zero or less, enter zero” |
| Worksheet F, line 4 | “Enter the amount of your qualified Archer MSA contributions from federal Form 8853” |
| Worksheet F, line 5 | “Enter the amount of your self-employed health insurance deduction” |
| Worksheet F, line 6 | “Add lines 3, 4, and 5.” “Enter the result here and on line 31, Form NJ-1040.” |
| If the total is zero | “If zero, enter zero here and make no entry on line 31, Form NJ-1040” |
Two items besides expenses can be added: “You can also deduct qualified Archer MSA contributions and self-employed health insurance costs.”
The figures the line prints
One figure is printed in running text: “You can only deduct expenses that are more than 2% of your gross income.” Worksheet F line 2 applies it by multiplying the line 29 amount by the decimal the worksheet prints.
The booklet also has a note on a child’s health insurance, which depends on the child’s status: “for New Jersey purposes you can deduct these amounts only if the child was your dependent.” It points to a Technical Advisory Memorandum for more.
Where the result goes next
The last worksheet row says “Enter the result here and on line 31, Form NJ-1040.” Line 31 then becomes part of the total that line 38 collects: “Add lines 30 through 37c and enter the total.”
For the state-level picture see New Jersey retirement taxes and whether New Jersey taxes pensions.
Part-year residents
The booklet prints one sentence for part-year residents: “Include only those expenses you incurred and paid while you were a resident of New Jersey.”
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
- Deducting the first dollar of expenses. The booklet says “You can only deduct expenses that are more than 2% of your gross income.”
- Counting a child’s health insurance as a dependent expense when the child was not your dependent. The booklet says “for New Jersey purposes you can deduct these amounts only if the child was your dependent.”
- Counting expenses from before the move to New Jersey. For part-year residents the booklet says “Include only those expenses you incurred and paid while you were a resident of New Jersey.”
Related: New Jersey retirement taxes, whether New Jersey taxes pensions, and Form 1040 line 12.
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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.