Something you might hear New Jersey politicians address during the upcoming campaign season is affordability, and with good reason; The Garden State consistently ranks among the highest in taxes, home prices, and cost of living. State legislature has introduced multiple tax programs to address this issue in recent years, including 2023’s ANCHOR rebate (read our previous blog here). At the end of last year, another program named “Stay NJ” was passed into legislation. The criteria of who will benefit from Stay NJ depends on several factors including income, length of residence, and whether other rebates have been claimed.
Who Can Claim NJ Stay Benefits?
New Jersey residents that are eligible to claim NJ Stay benefits must meet the following criteria:
- Must be a homeowner (not including mobile homeowners) paying property taxes
- Must be 65 or older
- Your NJ home must have been your principal residence for the entire year of 2024
- Your income in 2024 is below $500,000
- Residents making P.I.L.O.T. (payments in lieu of tax) payments are also eligible
- Residents receiving additional benefits, such as Senior Freeze or ANCHOR, may also still be eligible
The current criteria for eligible residents is subject to change by the State Budget. Applications to claim benefits for Stay NJ are part of a revised form that also includes other benefits such as Senior Freeze and ANCHOR. Visit this webpage on the Treasury Department’s website for the recently consolidated NJ property tax relief application.
How Much Are the Benefits?
Stay NJ offers reimbursements of 50% of property taxes paid, for property taxes up to $13,000 annually. So, the maximum limit of benefits that a NJ residence can claim from Stay NJ is $6,500 (50% of the highest eligible tax). If your property taxes exceeded $13,000 in 2024, you may be eligible to receive the capped benefit of $6,500.
While the Stay NJ reimbursement is available for those also receiving benefits from Senior Freeze (PTR) or ANCHOR, the maximum you can receive from Stay NJ will be 50% of your property tax (up to $6,500) minus the benefits you may already be claiming from other programs. As previously mentioned, the application for each of these tax relief programs have been consolidated into one application.
Sources
- Bowman & Company LLP: “New Tax Rebate in NJ Meant to Combat Rising Living Costs (2023)” – https://www.bowman.cpa/https-www-bowman-cpa-blog-new-tax-rebate-in-nj-meant-to-combat-rising-living-costs/
- State of New Jersey: “How Stay NJ Benefits Are Calculated” – https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/staynj/calculation.shtml
- State of New Jersey: “Property Tax Relief” – https://propertytaxreliefapp.nj.gov/
- State of New Jersey: “Stay NJ – Property Tax Relief for Senior Citizens” – https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/staynj/
- State of New Jersey: “Stay NJ Property Tax Credit Program” – https://www.nj.gov/treasury/staynj/