Clifton, NJ · Updated Oct 2026

What a Clifton house pays

Property tax, water, trash and energy from public rates. Look up your address to make it yours, and see how to pay less.

Sent only to free public map services to find who serves it. Not stored unless you save your house.

Example · a Clifton house

$17,369a year · $1,447 a month

Starts at $180,942 of value before exemptions. Typical use.

Property tax$11,810
6.527% of $180,942
Electricity and gas$2,993
558 kWh a month $1,841 · 86.6667 therms $1,152
Water and sewer$1,149
9 units (CCF) a month on Passaic Valley Water Commission: water $58, sewer $38 a month
TrashIncluded
Paid through property tax; no separate trash fee
Home insurance$1,417
Typical premium $1,417

A typical Clifton house pays about $17,400 a year: $11,810 property tax and charges, $1,150 water and sewer, $2,990 electricity and gas, $1,420 home insurance; trash is paid through property tax. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.

Rates checked Oct 21, 2026. Insurance: what you enter, or a typical premium until you do. Sources are listed at the bottom.

Ways to pay less

Nothing here applies to every house automatically. These are worth checking:

Seniors 65+: Stay NJUp to $6,500 a year
Seniors who owned and lived in their home all of 2025 can get up to $6,500 a year with income up to $100,000, $5,000 up to $150,000, or $4,000 up to $200,000.
How: File Form PAS-1 by November 2, 2026.
Seniors 65+ or disabled, income up to $10,000: $250 property tax deductionUp to $250 a year
Clifton gives a $250 deduction to senior citizens, disabled persons or surviving spouses who own and live in the house; income cannot exceed $10,000 after excluding Social Security and government pensions.
How: File Claim Form PTD with Clifton's Assessing Department (973-470-5838).
Seniors 65+ on the Senior Citizens Property Tax Deduction: 10% sewer credit10% off the sewer charge
Clifton's sewer code gives seniors 65 or older who receive the Senior Citizens Property Tax Deduction a 10% credit on the minimum and excess sewer discharge fees.
How: The senior deduction is claimed on Form PTD, filed with Clifton's Assessing Department.
Veterans: $250 property tax deductionUp to $250 a year
Honorably discharged U.S. Armed Forces veterans, or their surviving spouses, get a $250 property tax deduction.
How: File Claim Form V.S.S. with Clifton's Assessing Department.
100% disabled veterans: property tax exemptionAnnual exemption on your main home
Honorably discharged veterans who were 100% permanently and totally disabled during active duty service may qualify for an annual property tax exemption on their main home.
How: File Form D.V.S.S.E. and documentary proofs with your local assessor.
Pool or sprinkler system: 10% sewer credit10% off one sewer bill a year
Owners with a pool of at least 3,000 gallons or an irrigation system with at least three heads, whose water does not drain into the sewer, can get a credit of 10% of the discharge fee on one semi-annual bill a year.
How: Send the city's sewer discharge credit form to the Tax Collector, Sewer Credit, 900 Clifton Ave.
Had a leak? Ask for a sewer bill adjustmentLeak adjustment
If a repaired leak raised your water meter reading and the water did not go into the sewer, the city can adjust the sewer bill; one adjustment per five years.
How: Write to the City Manager within 30 days of the bill date.

Money dates

Nov 2, 2026in 10 daysDeadline to file the 2025 PAS-1, the combined application for Senior Freeze, ANCHOR and Stay NJ, and the 2025 ANCHOR application.
Feb 1, May 1, Aug 1, Nov 1in 101 daysQuarterly property tax due dates, each with a ten-day grace period.
Apr 1Last day for a property tax appeal petition to reach the County Board of Taxation or the State Tax Court; May 1 where a municipal revaluation or reassessment has been undertaken.
Jun 1 and Sep 1Sewer charge installments are due (or within 30 days of the bill's mailing, if later).

Who serves this house

Water: Passaic Valley Water Commission; Clifton-Passaic-Paterson rates effective 02/15/2026: a 5/8-inch meter pays a $96.46 quarterly base charge plus $2.90 per CCF. PVWC typically bills residential customers quarterly; Clifton homes are in PVWC's Main Service Area.
Property tax: 6.53% of value; 2026 tax year, Clifton City (Passaic County): the county board's certified 2026 rates
Garbage: Suburban Disposal, Inc. (city contract); The city extended its solid waste collection contract with Suburban Disposal for 2026. Garbage is picked up twice a week, up to 3 barrels or tied bags each time.
Sewer: City of Clifton; Sewer charges are paid twice a year; the Tax Collector bills and collects sewer bills.
Electricity: PSE&G; PSE&G's electric tariff lists the City of Clifton in the territory it serves.
Gas: PSE&G; PSE&G's gas tariff lists the City of Clifton in the territory it serves.
Schools: District school tax (Clifton City); The 2026 district school tax rate is 3.111 per $100 of assessed value, out of a 6.527 total.

Pay or manage your bills

Your water

Source: PVWC takes water from the Passaic River in Totowa and treats it at the Little Falls plant; for most customers it is blended with water bought from the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission.
Violations: PVWC reported no NJDEP violations for water quality in 2025.
Hardness: Little Falls plant water: 106.0 to 242.0 ppm as CaCO3 (2025).

Other NJ cities

What a Summit house pays What a Bridgeton house pays What a Point Pleasant house pays What a Ramsey house pays

How these numbers are made

Property tax: the Passaic County Board of Taxation's certified 2026 rates for Clifton City per $100 of assessed value (district school 3.111, county 1.464, county open space 0.032, municipal purpose 1.806, municipal open space 0.010, library 0.104; total 6.527), applied to the assessed value.
Typical home: the state's 2026 average residential assessment for Clifton, $180,942 (no median assessment is published). Clifton's assessments are about a third of market value (2026 assessed-to-true-value ratio 31.87%; last revaluation 1991), so assessed values look low next to sale prices; the state's 2025 effective tax rate for Clifton was 2.193. The city's January 2026 revaluation presentation uses 2027 for new assessments in its examples, so assessments and the rate may both change.
Water: Passaic Valley Water Commission (PWS ID NJ1605002), Clifton-Passaic-Paterson rates effective 02/15/2026: $96.46 a quarter for a 5/8-inch meter, shown as $96.46 / 3 = $32.15 a month, plus $2.90 per CCF.
Sewer: Clifton bills once a year in two installments, on the previous year's water use. We model the 2026 non-Tier II rate as ($206 - 40 x $3.59) / 12 = $5.20 a month plus $3.59 per CCF, which equals the $206 flat fee plus Level 1 for 40 to 144 CCF a year; use under 40 CCF a year ($169 for up to 20) and the higher Level 2 and 3 rates above 144 CCF a year are not modeled. Garbage: Clifton's collection contract with Suburban Disposal is paid from the city budget, so trash is $0 here.
Electricity: PSE&G Rate Schedule RS with default BGS-RSCP supply, tariff effective October 1, 2026, weighted 4 summer months (June to September) to 8 other months: $6.00 a month plus $0.264156 per kWh for the first 600 kWh and $0.268680 above 600 (October to May alone is $0.253231 for all kWh). Each rate adds distribution, BGS energy and capacity, BGS transmission, and the SBC, NGC, ZEC, Green Programs, CIP, COVID-19 and Tax Adjustment Credit lines (all including sales tax); the BGS-RSCP reconciliation charge was $0.000000 from 09/01/2026. Gas: PSE&G Rate Schedule RSG with BGSS supply, effective October 1, 2026: $10.00 a month plus $0.992451 per therm (distribution plus the SBC, margin adjustment, green programs, tax adjustment credit, conservation incentive and COVID-19 charges and the BGSS commodity charge); the winter balancing charge is not included.
Typical use: 558 kWh a month (PSE&G's typical residential customer in a 2026 BPU notice) and 1,040 therms a year / 12 = 86.7 therms a month (PSE&G's typical gas heating customer in the September 2026 BPU order). Insurance: New Jersey's 2022 average homeowners premium from NAIC data.
Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.

Sources

How Clifton compares

A typical Clifton house against the 320 cities we cover nationwide, using the same default numbers as the total above.

Per year	Clifton	Median	Where it falls
Property tax rate	6.53%	1.23%	higher than 312 of the other 314 cities we cover nationwide
Water	$699	$654	higher than 177 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide
Sewer and utility-bill fees	$450	$735	lower than 241 of the other 284 cities we cover nationwide
Electricity and gas	$2,993	$2,743	higher than 197 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide
Home insurance	$1,417	$1,492	lower than 250 of the other 314 cities we cover nationwide
Total	$17,369	$11,671	higher than 282 of the other 319 cities we cover nationwide

Cities bill differently (some put trash on the tax bill, some cover more services), so a higher number isn't necessarily worse. The property tax rate is compared instead of dollars because house values differ.

Questions to ask your candidates

Each one starts from a number above. Any candidate can answer them.

1. Property tax rate

The fact: Clifton's property tax rate is 6.53%, higher than 312 of the other 314 cities we cover nationwide. The rate adds up every agency on the bill, not only the city.

Ask: "Property tax in Clifton is 6.53%, higher than 312 of the other 314 cities we cover nationwide. What should that money pay for first, and would you change anything about how it is set?"

2. Sewer and utility-bill fees

The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $450 a year, lower than 241 of the other 284 cities we cover nationwide. Some cities bill sewer on the property tax bill instead, which is not counted here.

Ask: "Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here cost about $450 a year, lower than 241 of the other 284 cities we cover nationwide. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"

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Common questions about Clifton house costs

What is the property tax rate in Clifton?

About 6.53% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 tax year, Clifton City (Passaic County): the county board's certified 2026 rates), plus flat charges on the same bill.

How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Clifton?

About $32,635 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions.

How much is the water bill in Clifton?

About $96 a month for water and sewer at typical use (9 units, or 6,732 gallons a month) on Passaic Valley Water Commission.

How much does trash pickup cost in Clifton?

Paid through property tax; no separate trash fee

When is property tax due in Clifton?

Feb 1, May 1, Aug 1, Nov 1: Quarterly property tax due dates, each with a ten-day grace period. Jun 1 and Sep 1: Sewer charge installments are due (or within 30 days of the bill's mailing, if later).

Can seniors lower their property tax or bills in Clifton?

Yes. Seniors 65+: Stay NJ: Seniors who owned and lived in their home all of 2025 can get up to $6,500 a year with income up to $100,000, $5,000 up to $150,000, or $4,000 up to $200,000.

How much does a house in Clifton cost to run each year?

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