In Closter, the Assessor Reprices the Town Every Year. Next Door, the Gap Keeps Widening.

Closter's general property tax rate for 2025 was $2.072 per $100 of assessed value. Tenafly's was $2.973 and Haworth's was $3.225. Comparing those rates side by side, a buyer would guess Tenafly costs about 43 percent more to own per dollar of house. The state's 2025 General Tax Rates table prints a second column, though. Measured against market value, Closter's effective rate was 2.017 and Tenafly's was 2.086. At market value, the 43-point gap shrinks to less than a tenth of a point.

The difference comes from how far each town's assessments sit from what homes actually sell for. Closter keeps that distance small because it revalues the whole town every year. The distance is growing in Tenafly and Haworth, and both boroughs appear on the county's list for a 2027 revaluation. A tax bill printed on a listing sheet comes from one of these two systems, and a buyer comparing towns is reading figures that were produced under different rules.

Two rates, one burden

New Jersey publishes the general rate and the effective rate for every municipality. The general rate is applied to the assessed value on the tax bill. The effective rate expresses that same burden against estimated market value. When a town's assessments match the market, the two numbers nearly converge. When assessments fall behind, the general rate goes up to collect the same money from a smaller base.

The ratio column comes from the 2026 Table of Equalized Valuations, which the state published October 1, 2026, and which carries the label "Prior to Tax Court Appeals." In plain terms, an average Tenafly assessment now covers a little under 59 cents of each dollar of market value. In Closter the figure is about 90 cents. Official 2026 general and effective rates had not been published as of this writing, so the rate columns above are 2025 figures.

To make it concrete, apply the 2025 effective rates to a home with a market value of $1.5 million. In Closter that works out to roughly $30,255, and in Tenafly roughly $31,290. This is arithmetic for comparing towns, not a forecast for any property. Individual bills vary with how a specific house is assessed.

How the gap opens, year by year

The ratio is not fixed. It moves as the market moves, and the direction over three tables tells most of the story.

• Tenafly: 70.27% in the 2024 table, 64.25% in 2025, 58.89% in 2026.
• Haworth: 67.80%, then 62.09%, then 55.60%.
• Closter: 89.14%, then 86.08%, then 90.05%.

Tenafly's own figures show the mechanism. Its aggregate assessed value went from about $4.09 billion in the 2024 table to about $4.14 billion in 2026. Over those same tables, the state's estimate of its aggregate true value climbed from about $5.81 billion to about $7.03 billion. The market grew around the assessments and the assessments barely moved.

Closter's ratio dipped in the 2025 table and rebounded in 2026 because the borough revalued in between. Its net taxable valuation was $2,965,771,700 for 2025, and the borough's certified 2026 budget lists the current figure as $3,293,588,800. That increase of about $328 million came from assessments being reset to the market, which is the result an annual program is designed to produce.

Why a reset moves bills around instead of raising them

The firm running Closter's program, Appraisal Systems, Inc., says in its Closter reassessment presentation that a reassessment does not increase total tax revenue. It reallocates the burden among owners based on updated values. The amount to be raised is still set by the school, regional school, county and municipal budgets.

This explains why drift matters to a buyer. When a town goes several years between resets, different kinds of homes gain value at different speeds. A renovated house on a sought-after street may appreciate faster than the town average while its assessment stays where it was. Its share of the levy then falls behind its share of the town's market value. When the town finally revalues, that share gets corrected, and the correction lands on whoever owns the house at that point.

Closter's annual cycle keeps those corrections small and regular. In towns that are drifting, the corrections build up and arrive together.

Closter's 2027 calendar, as published

An introductory letter dated August 4, 2026, signed by Tax Assessor Angela Mattiace, CTA, and Appraisal Systems President Ernest Del Guercio, says the Bergen County Board of Taxation and the New Jersey Division of Taxation authorized Closter to reassess for the 2027 tax year "as part of the reassessment program that has been implemented within the Borough." According to the letter and the firm's Closter project page, the program works in this sequence:

1. Each year, 20 percent of properties get an inspection. The letter says one is still required even if the house was inspected in the previous cycle, and owners can ask for a contactless interior inspection by video conference.
2. All properties are valued every year, including the ones not inspected, based on estimated market value as of October 1, 2026. That date passed eleven days ago.
3. The firm reviews sales from within three years of the valuation date, delineates neighborhoods and examines land sales. Comparable sales are its main tool for valuing homes.
4. Every owner receives a proposed assessment by mail. The firm's general presentation says these notices usually go out at the end of the year or early in the next one, along with instructions for informal meetings, which are generally held at the municipal building.
5. Closter mails its annual tax bills, usually in the first two weeks of July.

A Closter-specific date for mailing the notices had not been published as of this writing. The borough also posted a reassessment process notice on March 20, 2026, linking to the firm's presentation.

This timing matters for anyone buying in Closter this fall or winter. The tax figure on a current listing is a 2026 number. The 2027 assessment for the same house is being set now, from a valuation date that already reflects this year's sales, and the owner will see the proposed figure around the turn of the year.

Where Tenafly and Haworth sit

The Bergen County Board of Taxation's 2026–2027 revaluation and reassessment list puts both Tenafly and Haworth under 2027. The list is dated January 7, 2026, and is marked "subject to change at any time." We have not confirmed a contracted firm or a timeline for either borough. The list is a strong indication, not a schedule.

That same list put Closter under 2026, and the August letter later confirmed a 2027 cycle as well. That fits a borough on an ongoing annual program, where every year is a reassessment year.

For a buyer in Tenafly or Haworth, the current assessment on a house describes a market from years ago. If a revaluation does arrive for 2027, it would reset every assessment toward a ratio near full value, and the general rate would be recalculated against the new base. A particular owner's share could go up, go down or stay about the same, depending on how that house's value moved compared with the rest of the borough.

The appeal math runs on the same ratio

Until a revaluation resets a town, assessment appeals are measured against the average ratio. The Bergen County Board of Taxation explains on its tax appeals page that under Chapter 123, after the board determines true market value, it compares the property's assessment-to-value ratio with the municipal average. An assessment above the common level range is reduced to the common level, and one below the range is raised to it. The range is plus or minus 15 percent of the average ratio. For Closter in tax year 2026, the average was 86.08, so the range ran from 73.17 to 98.99.

On deadlines, the NJ Division of Taxation says county board and Tax Court petitions are ordinarily due April 1, or May 1 when a municipality has undertaken a revaluation or reassessment. This explains how the process works. It is not tax or legal advice, and any owner considering an appeal should confirm the deadline and their own situation with a tax attorney or the county board.

FAQ

Does Closter's reassessment mean my taxes go up? The reassessment does not raise the total levy, according to Appraisal Systems. It reallocates the levy based on updated values. A bill changes depending on how one property's value moved compared with the town as a whole, and on the budgets each taxing body adopts.

Will every Closter house be inspected this year? No. About 20 percent are inspected each year, but every property is valued as of October 1, 2026.

Which number should I use to compare towns? The effective tax rate is published for every municipality and expresses the burden against market value. That makes it a closer comparison across towns than the general rate.

Who verifies an inspector at the door? The letter says Appraisal Systems representatives carry photo identification and that their names are registered with the Closter Police Department and the Borough Clerk's office.

If you are comparing Closter with Tenafly, Haworth or Cresskill and want to see how each borough's assessment ratio changes the real cost of a specific house, Stacy Esser Group can walk you through those numbers address by address. Schedule a Meeting Today.