In 2004 NJ plastic surgeons felt they were being penalized unfairly when the state passed a law requiring elective plastic surgery services to be taxed. In no other state will you find people paying a sales tax on the services they receive from their plastic surgeons.

Back in 2004 the law was passed to tax cosmetic and plastic surgery in New Jersey was expected to bring in nearly $26 million in its first year. Due to difficulties with how the law was structured the state of New Jersey was actually only able to collect about $7 million in tax fees on services provided by NJ plastic surgeons.

The bill was signed into law back in June of 2004 by New Jersey Governor John McGreevy. Not all plastic surgery services are taxed. The law states that only “certain cosmetic medical procedures that are directed at improving the patient’’s appearance and that do not promote the proper function of the body or prevent or treat illness or disease.”

In other words, an NJ plastic surgeon can improve the shape of your nose to help you breathe better and you will not pay tax on the service. If, however, a New Jersey plastic surgeon performs a breast augmentation for personal reasons then that service would be taxed at a rate of 6%. This means that your New Jersey plastic surgeon has two choices: eat the difference in his or her profits or pass the expenses on to you.

This tax supposedly marked the first time that a tax had been imposed on any surgical procedure in the United States. New Jersey plastic surgeons were obviously not happy about this and many complained that this tax would continue forcing people to go to other states for their medical needs. Many plastic and cosmetic surgeons in New Jersey spoke out in the news media when the tax was first introduced.

Recently one of the sponsors of the original bill tried to get the bill repealed, but the repeal did get the votes needed to pass.  New Jersey plastic surgeons still feel as though they are being singled-out with this unique NJ medical tax.