If you live in New Jersey, you may qualify for property tax relief through one or more state programs.
The state currently offers three major programs: ANCHOR, Senior Freeze, and Stay NJ. Depending on your age, income, disability status, and whether you own or rent your home, you could qualify for one or more of them.
But there’s an important deadline coming up.
The final application deadline for 2025 property tax relief is November 2, 2026.
Some New Jersey residents have already had their ANCHOR applications filed automatically. Others need to apply themselves, so it’s important to know which group you’re in.
Which Program Could Help You?
Here’s the simplest way to tell the programs apart:
- ANCHOR helps eligible New Jersey homeowners and renters who meet the income requirements.
- Senior Freeze reimburses eligible seniors and people receiving certain disability benefits for qualifying increases in property taxes or mobile home park site fees.
- Stay NJ provides additional property tax relief for eligible homeowners age 65 or older.
Some senior homeowners may qualify for benefits through all three programs.
New Jersey coordinates the programs so your total property tax relief generally cannot exceed the property taxes paid on your principal residence for the qualifying year.
ANCHOR: Property Tax Relief for Homeowners and Renters
ANCHOR is the broadest of the three programs because you don’t have to be a senior to qualify.
Who Qualifies for ANCHOR?
You may qualify as a homeowner if:
- You owned and occupied a New Jersey home as your principal residence on October 1, 2025; and
- Your 2025 New Jersey gross income was $250,000 or less.
You may qualify as a renter if:
- You rented and occupied a qualifying New Jersey residence as your principal home on October 1, 2025; and
- Your 2025 New Jersey gross income was $150,000 or less.
Renters living in certain properties operating under a PILOT agreement may qualify.
For ANCHOR purposes, people who own or rent a mobile home located in a mobile home park are treated as renters. People renting qualifying condos and co-ops may also qualify.
Some properties don’t qualify, including certain tax-exempt housing, on-campus apartments, and residences owned by government or nonprofit organizations.
How Much Is ANCHOR?
For the 2025 benefit year:
- Homeowners with income of $150,000 or less may receive $1,500.
- Homeowners with income from $150,001 to $250,000 may receive $1,000.
- Qualifying renters age 64 or younger may receive $450.
- Qualifying renters age 65 or older may receive $700.
Some eligible residents may also receive an additional $50 Property Tax Credit depending on their circumstances.
Do You Need to Apply for ANCHOR?
This is where things can get confusing.
New Jersey automatically filed ANCHOR applications for most eligible homeowners under age 65 who aren’t receiving Social Security Disability or Railroad Retirement Disability benefits, as well as most eligible renters of all ages.
That means being a senior renter does not automatically mean you need to file another application.
The state mailed ANCHOR Benefit Confirmation Letters on August 10, 2026, to residents whose applications were being filed automatically.
If your application was automatically filed and the information was correct, you generally don’t need to submit another application.
However, if you believe you’re eligible and didn’t receive a confirmation letter, you may need to file an application yourself by November 2.
Senior homeowners and homeowners receiving Social Security Disability or Railroad Retirement Disability benefits generally need to file the combined PAS-1 Application for Property Tax Relief themselves.
ANCHOR payments began September 15, 2026, and generally go out on a rolling basis, with most applicants receiving payment within about 90 days unless the state needs additional information.
Senior Freeze: Help With Rising Property Taxes
Senior Freeze works differently from ANCHOR.
Instead of providing everyone with the same benefit amount, the program generally reimburses qualifying increases in property taxes or mobile home park site fees compared with an established base year.
Who Qualifies for Senior Freeze?
For the 2025 application, you generally need to have been:
- Age 65 or older on December 31, 2025; OR
- Actually receiving federal Social Security Disability or Railroad Retirement disability benefit payments on or before December 31, 2025.
You also need to meet the program’s other requirements.
For homeowners, you generally must have owned and lived in your home since December 31, 2022 or earlier.
People who own a manufactured or mobile home and lease a site in a mobile home park may also qualify if they meet the applicable requirements.
Your total annual income must have been:
- $168,268 or less in 2024; and
- $172,475 or less in 2025.
Senior Freeze counts many types of income that may not be included in New Jersey taxable income, so don’t assume you qualify based only on the income shown on your state tax return.
What Does Senior Freeze Pay?
There’s no single benefit amount.
In general, the state compares qualifying property taxes from your base year with the amount billed for the current year. The difference becomes your reimbursement, subject to the program’s rules.
Senior Freeze generally requires continuous eligibility from the base year through the application year.
However, there’s an important one-time exception. If you received Senior Freeze last year but exceed the income limit this year, you won’t receive a reimbursement for this year, but you may be able to keep your existing base year when applying the following year if you meet the other requirements.
What Properties Don’t Qualify?
Senior Freeze does not provide reimbursement for certain properties, including:
- Vacation or second homes
- Property you rent to someone else
- Properties with more than four units
- Properties with four or fewer units that contain more than one commercial unit
Homeowners who make PILOT payments instead of regular property taxes are also generally not eligible for Senior Freeze.
Senior Freeze payments follow a schedule based on when the application is filed. For applications filed later in the year, payments may not arrive until later in 2026.
Stay NJ: Additional Relief for Homeowners 65+
Stay NJ is specifically for qualifying older homeowners.
Who Qualifies for Stay NJ?
For the 2025 benefit year, you or your spouse generally must have:
- Been 65 or older during 2025;
- Owned and lived in the qualifying home for all 12 months of 2025;
- Used it as your principal residence;
- Lived in a home subject to property taxes or qualifying PILOT payments; and
- Had income of $200,000 or less.
Renters and mobile home owners are not eligible for Stay NJ.
How Much Could Stay NJ Provide?
The current maximum annualized Stay NJ benefit depends on income:
- Income of $100,000 or less: up to $6,500
- Income from $100,000.01 to $150,000: up to $5,000
- Income from $150,000.01 to $200,000: up to $4,000
- Income above $200,000: no Stay NJ benefit under the current rules
These are maximum annualized amounts, not guaranteed payments.
The amount you actually receive depends on the program’s calculations and how Stay NJ coordinates with other property tax relief you receive.
Eligibility requirements, income limits, and benefits are also subject to State Budget appropriations.
When Will Stay NJ Pay?
This is important because there are two different benefit years being discussed by New Jersey right now.
If you’re applying now for the 2025 Stay NJ benefit, those payments are scheduled for February and May 2027.
Don’t confuse those with the remaining 2024 Stay NJ benefits being paid during 2026.
Can You Get ANCHOR, Senior Freeze and Stay NJ?
Potentially.
Some senior homeowners may qualify for benefits through all three programs.
You don’t simply receive the maximum amount from each program and add them together, though. New Jersey coordinates the benefits, and your total property tax relief generally cannot exceed the property taxes paid on your principal residence for the qualifying year.
The state determines which programs you qualify for and calculates your applicable benefit amounts.
What Is the PAS-1?
New Jersey uses a combined Application for Property Tax Relief, Form PAS-1, for applicants who need to apply for the state’s coordinated property tax relief programs.
The state uses information from the application to determine which programs you qualify for.
You can apply through the New Jersey Property Tax Relief portal or use the applicable paper form.
If you file online, you may have the option to receive some payments by direct deposit.
If you file a paper PAS-1, your benefits are paid by paper check to the address listed on the application.
What If You Never Got an ANCHOR Confirmation Letter?
The state mailed ANCHOR Benefit Confirmation Letters on August 10, 2026, to most residents whose applications were being automatically filed.
If you believe you’re eligible for ANCHOR but never received one, don’t assume the state filed for you.
Check your status and, if necessary, submit your own application before November 2, 2026.
You can start at the New Jersey Property Tax Relief website.
What’s the Final Deadline?
The deadline to apply for 2025 New Jersey property tax relief is:
November 2, 2026
That deadline applies to the current 2025 application for ANCHOR, Senior Freeze, and Stay NJ.
If you need to file, don’t wait until the last minute.
Relief Recap
New Jersey residents may have access to several different forms of property tax relief, but the right program depends on your situation.
ANCHOR is available to qualifying homeowners and renters.
Senior Freeze can reimburse qualifying seniors and people receiving certain disability benefits for eligible increases in property taxes or mobile home park site fees.
Stay NJ provides additional relief for qualifying homeowners age 65 or older.
Some residents have already had their ANCHOR applications filed automatically, especially renters and younger homeowners. Others need to submit an application themselves.
The most important date to remember is November 2, 2026.
If you’re not sure whether the state already filed for you, check your status now rather than assuming you’re covered.
You can also visit our New Jersey resource hub to find more assistance programs for New Jersey residents.
