New Jersey’s gas tax to rise by 0.9 cents in October

New Jersey’s gas tax will edge up slightly in October after falling millions short of its $2 billion revenue target, the Treasury announced Friday.

The automatic adjustment will raise New Jersey’s petroleum products gross receipts tax by nine-tenths of a cent per gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel, bringing it to 31.8 cents for gasoline and 35.8 cents for diesel.

Combined with the state’s motor fuels tax, which is fixed, the increase brings the state’s total gas tax to 42.3 cents, or 49.3 cents for diesel.

Under a 2016 law, New Jersey’s gas tax adjusts automatically to meet an annual $2 billion revenue target to fill the state’s transportation trust fund, which funds state infrastructure spending.

When the state collects less than its target, the rates go up, and they go down when it collects more than it needs.

“As mandated by the 2016 law, this dedicated funding stream continues to provide billions of dollars across the state to support crucial transportation infrastructure needs,” Treasurer Liz Muoio said in a statement.

The state’s gas tax has drastically increased since the 2016 law took effect. It was 14.5 cents when then-Gov. Chris Christie signed the legislation that automatically adjusted the tax annually. The bulk of the increases happened not long after Christie signed the bill, which initially raised the per-gallon rate by 23 cents in what was the state’s first gas tax hike in close to 30 years.

The tax is meant to bring in $16 billion over eight years, or roughly $2 billion each year.