By Slava Zborovsky · Updated
For the 2025 tax year, New Jersey homeowners can claim ANCHOR ($1,500 with income up to $150,000, $1,000 up to $250,000), and homeowners 65 and over can also claim Senior Freeze and Stay NJ (now up to $6,500, for incomes of $200,000 or less). The deadline is November 2, 2026, and every program depends on owning and living in the home on specific dates, so the timing of a sale matters.
Why so many New Jersey homeowners are searching for this right now
Over the past 90 days, Google searches in New Jersey for "anchor property tax relief" rose 350%, "nj property tax rebate" rose 180%, and "nj senior property tax freeze" rose 130%. Three things happened at once: the State's Fiscal Year 2027 budget, signed June 30, 2026, changed Stay NJ; the Division of Taxation sent ANCHOR Benefit Confirmation Letters on August 10, 2026; and the filing deadline for the 2025 application is November 2, 2026.
For homeowners in Saddle River, Ridgewood and the Pascack Valley, the money is real. The 2025 average residential tax bill in the towns Slava covers ran from $10,236 in Mahwah to $25,128 in Tenafly. See every town in Bergen County property taxes by town, or price your own bill with the property tax calculator.
ANCHOR: the benefit most homeowners get
ANCHOR (Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters) pays homeowners who were New Jersey residents, owned and occupied a home in New Jersey as their main home on October 1, 2025, paid property taxes on it, and had 2025 New Jersey gross income (line 29 of the NJ-1040) of $250,000 or less.
If you are under 65 and not collecting Social Security or Railroad Retirement disability benefits, the Division filed for most eligible homeowners automatically and mailed confirmation letters on August 10, 2026. If you did not get a letter and qualify, you can file on your own by November 2, 2026. Homeowners 65 and over must file the combined Form PAS-1 themselves; the State does not file it for them.
Payments begin on a rolling basis starting September 15, usually within 90 days of filing. If you are 65 or older and did not claim the $50 Property Tax Credit on your return, the Division adds it to your ANCHOR payment.
| 2025 NJ gross income (homeowners) | ANCHOR benefit |
|---|---|
| $150,000 or less | $1,500 |
| $150,001 to $250,000 | $1,000 |
| Over $250,000 | Not eligible |
Source: NJ Division of Taxation, How ANCHOR Benefits Are Calculated.
Stay NJ: bigger checks for seniors, smaller than first promised
Stay NJ is for homeowners 65 and older. For the 2025 tax year you (or your spouse) must have been 65 or older during 2025, owned and lived in the home for the full 12 months of 2025, lived in a home subject to property taxes or a P.I.L.O.T., and had income of $200,000 or less. Renters are not eligible.
The June 30, 2026 budget made two changes. First, the remaining 2024 benefit was split into two payments, half in August 2026 and half in November 2026, which the Division says lowers the total benefit for calendar 2026. Second, it set the 2025 maximums below, with payments in February and May 2027.
One trap: the printed 2025 PAS-1 booklet, written before the budget passed, lists Stay NJ's income limit as under $500,000. The Division's current Stay NJ page lists $200,000. The booklet itself warns that income limits and benefits are subject to the State Budget, so go by the Division's page.
| Income | 2027 maximum Stay NJ benefit |
|---|---|
| $0 to $100,000 | $6,500 |
| $100,000.01 to $150,000 | $5,000 |
| $150,000.01 to $200,000 | $4,000 |
| Over $200,000 | $0 |
Annualized, assuming no changes in the Fiscal Year 2028 budget. Source: NJ Division of Taxation, Stay NJ.
Senior Freeze: reimbursement for increases since your base year
Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement) repays eligible seniors and disabled homeowners for increases in property tax on their main home over a base year. For the 2025 application you must have been 65 or older on December 31, 2025 (or receiving Social Security or Railroad Retirement disability benefits during 2025), owned and lived in the home since December 31, 2022, and had total income of $168,268 or less for 2024 and $172,475 or less for 2025.
You must meet the requirements for every year from the base year through the application year, which is why a move resets the clock (more on that below).
The cap that catches people
The total of all your property tax relief in a year (ANCHOR, Senior Freeze, Stay NJ, and the senior, disabled and veterans' property tax deductions) cannot be more than the property taxes you paid on your main home for that year.
What selling your home does to each benefit
Each program looks at where you owned and lived on specific dates, so a sale can end a benefit for that home. Based on the rules for the 2025 application year:
| Program | What you must have done (2025 rules) | What a sale or move means |
|---|---|---|
| ANCHOR | Owned and occupied the home as your main home on October 1, 2025 | You apply for whichever New Jersey home was your main home on October 1. Move within New Jersey before October 1 and you claim the new home. Leave the state and you lose it for that year. |
| Stay NJ | Owned and lived in the home for the full 12 months of 2025 | If the full-year rule carries forward, selling during a year means no Stay NJ for that home for that year. A closing in early January keeps the year you just finished. |
| Senior Freeze | Owned and lived in the home since December 31, 2022 | A new home starts a new base period. Buying another New Jersey home means waiting until you have owned and lived there long enough to qualify again. |
Rules for later tax years can change with each State Budget. Check the Division of Taxation's pages before you choose a closing date.
How to plan a sale around property tax relief
File the PAS-1 or ANCHOR application by November 2, 2026 even if you are about to list. The 2025 benefits are based on 2025, not on whether you still own the home when the check arrives.
If you are 65 or older and flexible on timing, compare a December closing with a January one. One month can be the difference between keeping or losing a full year of Stay NJ, worth up to $6,500 under the 2027 schedule.
Downsizing within New Jersey keeps ANCHOR (you claim the new main home), but Senior Freeze starts over on the new home. Leaving New Jersey ends all three, and a nonresident seller also has to deal with the State's estimated tax at closing: see selling in New Jersey and moving out of state.
Taxes are also part of what buyers pay for your house. See how your town's rate compares on the property tax calculator and what homes are selling for on your town's market report.
Selling soon? Get a written valuation or use the NJ closing-cost calculator.
- What is the deadline for NJ property tax relief in 2026?
- The deadline to file the 2025 ANCHOR, Senior Freeze and Stay NJ application (Form PAS-1 for seniors) is November 2, 2026.
- How do I check my ANCHOR or Stay NJ status?
- Use Check 2025 Benefit Status on the NJ Division of Taxation's Property Tax Relief Programs page; the same page links earlier years. The deadline to apply for the 2025 benefits is November 2, 2026.
- How much is the ANCHOR benefit for homeowners?
- For 2025, $1,500 for homeowners with New Jersey gross income of $150,000 or less, and $1,000 for $150,001 to $250,000. Above $250,000 you are not eligible.
- What is the income limit for Stay NJ?
- Under the Fiscal Year 2027 budget signed June 30, 2026, Stay NJ is paid to applicants with income of $200,000 or less, with a maximum of $6,500 for incomes up to $100,000.
- Do I lose Stay NJ if I sell my house?
- For the 2025 tax year, Stay NJ required owning and living in the home for all 12 months of 2025. If that rule carries forward, a sale partway through a year means no Stay NJ for that home for that year.
Sources
- NJ Division of Taxation, ANCHOR Program
- NJ Division of Taxation, ANCHOR Filing Information
- NJ Division of Taxation, How ANCHOR Benefits Are Calculated
- NJ Division of Taxation, Stay NJ
- NJ Division of Taxation, Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement)
- NJ Division of Taxation, 2025 Form PAS-1 instructions
- NJ Division of Taxation, Property Tax Relief Programs
- NJ Treasury, 2025 Average Residential Statistics
- Google Trends, New Jersey, past 90 days
Written by Slava Zborovsky, Broker Associate with The Agency One Rock and a licensed New Jersey broker since 2007. About Slava · LinkedIn
