How much money will I get from Stay NJ property tax break? Use our calculator to find out.
Homeowners are awaiting the launch of the state’s first year of the Stay NJ property tax benefit.
The new tax break cuts property tax bills by 50%, to a maximum of $6,500, for senior citizen homeowners and those who receive Social Security Disability payments and meet other eligibility requirements.
For the first time, there’s a new, combined application for all the state’s property tax benefits — ANCHOR, Senior Freeze and Stay NJ.
A separate ANCHOR application for renters and for homeowners under age 65 will be released sometime this summer.
The mix of the three tax breaks can be confusing because they have different eligibility requirements and they will be paid out at different times of year. But before any benefits can be paid, they must be funded as part of the state budget, which has a deadline of July 1.
Assuming they are funded, and assuming the folks in Trenton don’t make any changes to the current program rules, how much will you get?
We’ve got a calculator to help you.
But first, let’s go over each benefit.
How it works
Your eligibility for the ANCHOR and Senior Freeze benefits will be calculated first.
The 2024 ANCHOR benefit is expected to be $1,750 for senior citizens who earn $150,000 or less and $1,250 for seniors who earn between $150,001 and $250,000.
Your Senior Freeze amount is based on how long you’ve been in the program and how much your property taxes have gone up over time. Your total annual income must have been $168,268 or less in 2024 and $163,050 or less in 2023 to qualify.
When you add together Senior Freeze and ANCHOR, if it’s less than 50% of your property tax bill, capped at $6,500, you would receive another payment under the Stay NJ name.
MORE: You could lose this $100 property tax relief because of Stay NJ, ANCHOR changes
MORE: Am I losing ANCHOR because of Stay NJ?
There are a few other things to note here.
If your current Senior Freeze benefit, when added to ANCHOR, is more than $6,500, you’ll still get the larger amount. You just won’t get anything extra under Stay NJ.
And to higher earners: If your income is $500,000 or more, you have priced yourself out of benefits under Stay NJ. If your income is under $500,000 but too high to qualify for ANCHOR or Senior Freeze, you’d still get the maximum of 50% of your tax bill, capped at $6,500. (There are whispers in Trenton about lowering the income ceiling for Stay NJ as part of the state budget. We’ll keep you posted if that change is made.)
How much will I get?
Use our new calculator to estimate how much your benefits will be. We do not store the information you enter.
Who Should Use This Calculator?
This calculator is designed for New Jersey senior homeowners (65+) and homeowners who receive Social Security Disability payments. It will help you estimate benefits from three programs: ANCHOR, Senior Freeze and Stay NJ.
Your inputs are private and will not be stored.
Please enter your 2024 income and current property tax amount.
This calculator was created by Rishi Kandagadla, Zidanni Clerigo, and Chinli Ong from Stevens Institute of Technology.
When will I get it?
The Treasury Department said it will begin sending payments on a rolling basis in July, though the Stay NJ part of the payment is not expected until early 2026.
The state will send letters in “late 2025″ to explain how your benefits were calculated.
You can find the application at propertytaxreliefapp.nj.gov.
The deadline is Oct. 31.
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Rishi Kandagadla, Zidanni Clerigo and Chinli Ong from Stevens Institute of Technology created the calculator.
Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Follow her on X at @KPMueller.
