Margate City, NJ: Property Tax Guide

How New Jersey Property Tax Actually Works

New Jersey does not apply a single statewide property tax rate to a home's price. Instead, each municipality -- Margate City included -- sets its own local tax rate every year based on what its own municipal budget, its own share of Atlantic County costs, and its own local school funding require, then divides that total levy across the combined assessed value of every taxable property within its borders. The tax rate a given town ends up with is therefore a function of two things: how much the town, county, and school district together need to raise, and how much total assessed value exists to spread that levy across.

That second variable -- total taxable assessed value, and who it belongs to -- is where Margate's housing profile becomes genuinely relevant. A town with a small, stable population of full-time residents spreads its levy differently than a town where most of the housing stock turns over seasonally or sits vacant most of the year. Margate is squarely the second kind of town, and that shapes how its tax base is actually composed, even though it does not by itself tell you what the current rate or bill is.

A Tax Base Built Mostly on Seasonal Homes, Not Full-Time Residents

Margate's 2020 census figures describe a housing stock that is remarkable for how little of it is occupied year-round: of 7,124 total housing units, 62.8% were recorded as vacant, overwhelmingly because they are seasonal or vacation homes rather than primary residences. The city's full-time population has also been shrinking sharply -- 5,317 residents in the 2020 census, down 16.3% from 6,354 in 2010, which itself was down 22.4% from 8,193 in 2000 -- while the housing stock built to serve a much larger seasonal population remains largely in place.

Practically, this means Margate's municipal tax base leans heavily on properties whose owners do not live in Margate full-time and do not vote in Margate's local elections, even though those owners fund a substantial share of the city's property-tax levy. That is a meaningfully different fiscal picture than a town where most homes house year-round voting residents, and it is one of the reasons a shore town's property-tax politics can look different from an inland New Jersey municipality's -- the people paying the largest share of the tax bill are often not the people showing up to a budget hearing. None of this changes what the current rate or bill actually is; it only explains why Margate's tax base is structured the way it is.

Who Actually Sets the Rate: Margate’s Walsh Act Commission Government

Every New Jersey municipality's tax rate ultimately gets set by whoever controls that town's municipal budget, and Margate's answer to that question is distinctive. Margate has operated under the Walsh Act commission form of government since 1911, one of only 30 New Jersey municipalities that still uses this system. Under it, three commissioners are elected at-large -- not by ward or district, but by the entire city -- to four-year terms, and together those three commissioners function as both the city's legislative and executive branch, collectively responsible for adopting the municipal budget that determines Margate's share of the annual property-tax levy. As of 2023, that commission consisted of Mayor Michael Collins, Maurice Blumberg, and Catherine Horn, serving until May 16, 2027.

A three-member, at-large commission is a much smaller and more concentrated decision-making body than the council-plus-mayor structures most New Jersey towns use, and it has been Margate's governing model for well over a century. Whoever holds those three seats in a given term is directly responsible for the municipal spending decisions that feed into Margate's portion of the property-tax rate each year -- which is a further reason this page treats the current rate as something to confirm with the city's own finance office rather than estimate from historical figures or from what a neighboring town charges.

What This Page Does Not State, and Why

In the interest of not guessing at figures that change every budget cycle and that only the taxing authorities themselves can state accurately, this page does not give a current Margate City municipal tax rate, a current Atlantic County tax rate, a current school-tax component, a current assessment ratio or methodology, a current typical assessed value, a current typical annual tax bill, or a specific New Jersey state sales tax rate. Margate's own research does not include a confirmed historical average tax bill figure comparable to the documented 2018 figures available for some neighboring Absecon Island towns, so none is stated here.

Current population figures beyond the 2020 census count of 5,317, current median home prices, and current listing counts are likewise outside the scope of what this page states as fact. Anything you encounter elsewhere describing a specific current Margate property tax rate, assessment figure, or New Jersey sales tax rate should be verified directly with the sources below before you rely on it for a purchase, renovation, or budgeting decision.

Where to Confirm Current Figures

For the current Atlantic County property tax rate and a specific parcel's assessed value, contact Atlantic County government directly, or check its published assessment and tax rate materials; the county is the authoritative source for the layer that applies to every property within it, including Margate. For the current City of Margate municipal tax rate, budget details, and any school-tax component, contact Margate City's own finance office directly, since the city's Walsh Act commission adopts its own budget and rate independent of the county and of neighboring Atlantic City, Ventnor City, and Longport. For the State of New Jersey's current sales tax rate and any applicable exemptions, consult the State of New Jersey's own tax authority directly rather than relying on a figure from another state's market on this site. For how a specific parcel's classification, seasonal-use status, or location on Absecon Island may affect its assessment, contact Margate City's assessor or finance office directly before assuming a listing description or this page's general explanation tells you anything about a specific property's current tax treatment.

A Professional-Consult Disclaimer

Property tax rates, assessment methods, exemption programs, and sales tax rates change over time and are set by Atlantic County, Margate City's commission government, and the State of New Jersey, not by this site. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, financial, or zoning advice. Before making a purchase, budgeting a tax bill, or relying on any figure describing Margate property tax, confirm current numbers directly with Atlantic County government, Margate City's finance office, the State of New Jersey, or a qualified New Jersey tax professional.