NJ Records Show Employer Audits Tripled by 2025

Records obtained in response to Government Records Request #W255834 list 3,125 employer audits in 2025, compared with 1,007 in 2021.

By William J. McLee, EA, MBA, MBT
Published: [INSERT ACTUAL PUBLICATION DATE]

Based on records obtained by GetTaxReliefNow and attributed to Government Records Request #W255834, reported employer-audit activity rose from 1,007 audits in 2021 to 3,125 in 2025—an increase of approximately 210.3%.

According to the Division of Employer Accounts report series titled All Audits Change Audit By Assignment Type, the released records list:

• 1,007 total audits in 2021
• 3,125 total audits in 2025
• 667 change audits in 2021
• 2,225 change audits in 2025

Based on those figures, total audits increased by approximately 210.3%, while change audits increased by approximately 233.6%.

The share of audits reported as change audits also rose from approximately 66.2% in 2021 to 71.2% in 2025.

These figures are presented as reported in records obtained by GetTaxReliefNow. They should not be interpreted as independently corroborated public online statistics unless otherwise stated.

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Employer Audit Activity From 2021 to 2025

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Source: New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Employer Accounts, All Audits Change Audit By Assignment Type, calendar years 2021–2025, obtained in response to Government Records Request #W255834.

Audit counts in the cited report series peaked at 3,494 in 2023.

The totals then declined slightly to:

• 3,232 in 2024
• 3,125 in 2025

Even after those declines, the reported 2025 audit total remained substantially higher than the figure listed for 2021.

In the cited report series, the share of audits labeled as change audits increased each year from 2021 through 2025.

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What Does “Change Audit” Mean?

The released reports use the term "change audit," but the documents reviewed for this article do not provide a complete definition of that category.

For that reason, this article treats “change audit” only as an agency reporting label.

A higher change-audit share means that a larger portion of the audits listed in the report fell within that category. It does not, by itself, establish a corresponding increase in:

• final assessments
• confirmed violations
• penalties
• court findings
• collections
• unique employers found liable

An additional agency explanation would be needed before drawing those conclusions.

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What the Cited Records Show

Based on the cited report series:

• Total audits increased from 1,007 in 2021 to 3,125 in 2025.
• Change audits increased from 667 to 2,225.
• The change-audit share increased by approximately five percentage points.
• Reported audit volume peaked in 2023.
• Audit activity remained elevated in 2024 and 2025 compared with 2021.

The cited records show a substantial increase in reported audit activity, but they do not explain why the increase occurred.

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What the Records Do Not Explain

The cited reports do not identify a cause for the increase in audit volume.

Potential explanations could include factors such as:

• agency staffing
• audit-selection procedures
• enforcement initiatives
• reporting-system changes
• economic conditions
• pandemic-era disruptions

However, the cited tables do not identify or confirm any of those factors as the cause.

GetTaxReliefNow is therefore not attributing the increase to any specific explanation.

The records also do not establish:

• how many unique employers were audited
• whether the same employer was counted more than once
• whether every audit produced a change
• whether every change became a final assessment
• how many findings were appealed
• how many findings were revised or withdrawn
• how much money was ultimately collected
• which industries accounted for the increase
• whether reporting practices changed between years

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2021 May Not Be a Typical Comparison Year

Calendar year 2021 may reflect pandemic-era operating conditions, but the cited records do not quantify any such effect.

The reports do not explain whether pandemic-related conditions affected:

• staffing
• audit selection
• field activity
• case processing
• reporting practices

For that reason, this article does not assume that the increase from 2021 resulted solely from increased enforcement.

The comparison shows that reported audit activity was higher. It does not establish why.

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Separate Reports Use Different Count Units

Based on GetTaxReliefNow’s comparison of the released documents, a related report titled Auditors Audit Report By Assignment Type appears to use assignments rather than the audit totals used in the primary annual summary.

For 2025, that separate report appears to list:

• 3,176 assignments
• approximately $34.2 million in contributions underreported

By comparison, the primary annual summary lists:

• 3,125 audits
• $32,728,119.51 in contributions underreported

The two reports may use different count units or scopes, based on GetTaxReliefNow’s comparison of the released documents.

This article therefore uses the All Audits Change Audit By Assignment Type report series as the primary source for year-to-year audit-volume comparisons.

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Worker and Dollar Totals Require Separate Caution

The same records contain annual figures for:

• workers listed as misclassified
• contributions underreported
• gross wages underreported

Those figures do not follow the same pattern as the annual audit counts.

In particular, the 2023 and 2024 records contain unusually large worker and dollar totals.

GetTaxReliefNow’s review suggests that much of the increase in those worker and dollar totals was concentrated in specialized assignment categories, including categories labeled:

• BC131
• Prior Assignment Reaudit

Because those totals appear concentrated in specialized categories, GetTaxReliefNow is not treating the worker and dollar figures as a simple statewide year-over-year trend without further agency clarification.

This article therefore focuses primarily on audit volume and change-audit share.

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What Employer Audits May Review

New Jersey Department of Labor guidance states that employer audits may examine:

• reported payroll
• exclusions taken for unemployment-compensation purposes
• certain payments made to individuals outside payroll
• employer-account records
• contribution reporting
• supporting payroll and business documents

Payments made to individuals outside payroll may also be reviewed to determine whether they were properly classified as employees or independent contractors.

Audit issues may therefore involve:

• payroll reporting
• unemployment contributions
• worker classification
• independent-contractor treatment
• excluded payments
• reported wages
• employer-account records

The statewide audit totals do not determine whether any particular employer made an error or owes an additional amount.

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Practical Takeaway for New Jersey Employers

Employers receiving an audit notice, proposed assessment, or hearing notice should carefully review:

• the agency issuing the notice
• the audit period
• the records requested
• the workers or payments under review
• response deadlines
• appeal instructions
• representative-authorization requirements

Businesses should organize payroll, contractor, accounting, and worker-classification records before responding.

They should also avoid assuming that an informal phone call, document submission, or payment automatically extends a response or appeal deadline.

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Official Resources

• New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development
  https://www.nj.gov/labor/
• New Jersey Employer Audit Information
  https://www.nj.gov/labor/ea/audit/about/
• New Jersey Employer Audit FAQs
  https://www.nj.gov/labor/ea/audit/faqs/
• New Jersey Worker Classification and ABC Test Guidance
  https://www.nj.gov/labor/ea/audit/independent-contractor-vs-employees/
• New Jersey Independent Contractor Worker Protections
  https://www.nj.gov/labor/myworkrights/worker-protections/independent_contractors/
• IRS Independent Contractor or Employee Guidance
  https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-self-employed-or-employee

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Related GetTaxReliefNow Resources

• NJ Records List 14,446 Workers as Misclassified in 2025
• New Jersey Employer Audit and Worker-Misclassification Data: 2021–2025
• Understanding New Jersey Tax Enforcement Data
• Resolving Payroll Tax Debt in New Jersey

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Methodology

This article is based on records attributed to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and obtained in response to Government Records Request #W255834.

The primary figures come from the Division of Employer Accounts report series titled All Audits Change Audit By Assignment Type for calendar years 2021 through 2025.

The percentage increase in total audits was calculated as:

(3,125 − 1,007) ÷ 1,007 = 210.3%

The percentage increase in change audits was calculated as:

(2,225 − 667) ÷ 667 = 233.6%

The annual change-audit share was calculated by dividing change audits by total audits.

Percentages were rounded to one decimal place.

Certain records provided in the response contained employer-level identifiers. GetTaxReliefNow did not publish or distribute those records and relied only on aggregate totals for this article.

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Sources

1. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Employer Accounts, All Audits Change Audit By Assignment Type, calendar years 2021–2025, obtained in response to Government Records Request #W255834.
2. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Auditors Audit Report By Assignment Type, reviewed for comparison of count units and scope.
3. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Employer Audit Information.
4. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Employer Audit FAQs.
5. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Worker Classification and ABC Test Guidance.
6. Internal aggregate tables prepared by GetTaxReliefNow from the released records.

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Disclosure

GetTaxReliefNow publishes original analysis of government records for public education and news reporting.

The figures attributed to Government Records Request #W255834 are presented as reported in records obtained by GetTaxReliefNow. They are not represented as independently corroborated public online statistics unless otherwise stated.

This article does not provide legal, tax, accounting, employment, or worker-classification advice for a specific employer.

Outcomes depend on the employer’s notices, records, facts, agency procedures, and applicable law.

GetTaxReliefNow is operated in connection with a tax-resolution practice led by William J. McLee, EA, MBA, MBT.

Employers seeking assistance with reviewing a New Jersey employer audit, payroll tax assessment, or worker classification dispute may visit the contact page or call (888) 260-9441.