How to Complete and Submit NJ Form PAS-1: Senior Freeze Application

To apply for the NJ Senior Freeze, file Form PAS-1 with the New Jersey Division of Taxation by November 2, 2026 for the 2025 tax year. You can file online through the state’s property tax relief portal at propertytaxreliefapp.nj.gov or mail a paper form to Trenton.¹ The program reimburses eligible homeowners for property tax increases that occur after they enter the program, effectively locking in your tax burden at the amount you paid in your first qualifying year.

Starting with the 2025 tax year, Form PAS-1 replaced the old PTR-1 (first-time filers) and PTR-2 (returning filers). The single form now covers Senior Freeze along with ANCHOR and Stay NJ.²

Check That You Qualify First

You have to meet every requirement for both the base year and the current application year:³

Age 65 or older, or receiving Social Security disability or federal Railroad Retirement disability benefits. Starting with tax year 2024, this is measured as of the application year rather than the base year.⁴
Owned and lived in your current New Jersey home as your main residence for at least three consecutive years, including the full tax year you’re claiming. The old ten-year state residency requirement was eliminated starting with tax year 2023.
Household income within the limit for each year being compared. For the current cycle, that’s $168,268 for 2024 and $172,475 for 2025. If you’re married or in a civil union and live together, you combine incomes even if you file separately.
Property taxes paid in full for both the base year and the current year.

If you qualified last year but your income went over the limit this year, there’s a one-time exemption: you keep your existing base year and can reapply the next year without starting over, as long as you meet every other requirement.³

Homes held in trust qualify, but you’ll need to attach the full trust agreement and the deed with your first application. Life estate holders are treated as owners and should include the deed or lease that establishes the life estate.²

Know Your Base Year Before You File

Your base year is the first tax year you met every eligibility requirement at the same time. The property taxes billed for that year become the frozen amount, and your reimbursement each year equals your current taxes minus that frozen amount.⁵

This is where applicants slip up. Your base year isn’t the year you first applied. It’s the year you first satisfied all the requirements together. If you turned 65 two years into owning your home, your base year is the year you hit the three-year ownership mark, not your 65th birthday year.

If current-year taxes come in lower than your base year, say after a successful tax appeal or a reassessment, you won’t get a reimbursement that year, and the state may lower your base year to reflect the new assessed value.⁶

What Counts as Income

Senior Freeze income is broader than your NJ-1040 figure. With very few exceptions, every dollar you received during the year counts, even income that isn’t taxable on your state or federal return.⁷

Social Security benefits, including Medicare Part B premiums deducted from your check
Pensions, annuities, and IRA distributions, including qualified Roth IRA distributions
Wages, salaries, and bonuses
Taxable and tax-exempt interest and dividends
Net capital gains, rental income, and business income
Inheritances, royalties, and gambling winnings
Disability benefits and unemployment benefits

If any category produces a net loss, enter zero. You can’t use a loss in one category to offset gains in another.²

Gather Your Documents

Before you start the form, pull together:

Social Security number or ITIN. If you’ve applied for an ITIN but haven’t received it, include a copy of federal Form W-7.
Property tax bills for both your base year and 2025. If you’ve misplaced a bill, your municipal tax collector can issue a certification.
Income documents: your 2024 and 2025 Forms NJ-1040, SSA-1099 statements, and 1099s for pensions, interest, and other income.
Trust agreement and deed, or life estate documents, if applicable (first-time filers only).
Death certificate if you’re filing on behalf of a deceased person as the personal representative.

You don’t mail proof of taxes paid with the application, but the Division can ask for documentation later to verify age, disability status, property taxes, or rent, so keep everything accessible.²

Filling Out Form PAS-1

The income section asks for figures from both 2024 and 2025. For most lines, you’ll pull numbers straight from your NJ-1040. Line (a) corresponds to the total from line 27 of your NJ-1040. Line (b) is tax-exempt interest from line 16b. Roth IRA distributions and early disability pension payments go on their own lines.²

If you didn’t file an NJ-1040, the PAS-1 instructions include a worksheet to calculate the equivalent amount. Don’t skip it. The Division cross-checks reported income against federal records, and mismatches are one of the most common reasons applications get flagged.

Mobile home residents don’t pay property taxes directly. Instead, 18% of your total annual site fees is treated as your property tax equivalent, and the reimbursement is calculated by taking 18% of current-year site fees minus 18% of base-year site fees. Add up all twelve months of payments from your lease or statements before multiplying.⁵

Submitting the Application

You can file online at propertytaxreliefapp.nj.gov, which the state recommends because it confirms receipt faster.¹ Paper forms go to:

NJ Division of Taxation
PO Box 900
Trenton, NJ 08646-0900⁸

The deadline for the 2025 tax year is November 2, 2026.⁹ If the online portal asks you to verify your identity and you can’t complete that step, you can still file on paper. Failing identity verification doesn’t automatically disqualify you; the Division will still review your eligibility based on what you submit.⁶

What Happens After You File

The Division reviews your application, verifies income against state and federal records, and confirms your property tax amounts with your municipality. If something doesn’t line up, they’ll send a letter requesting documentation.⁶

Respond quickly. If the Division later adjusts your income above the limit based on information it receives, you’ll have to repay any benefit already issued. Ignoring a verification letter is the fastest way to lose a reimbursement you otherwise qualify for.

Approved applicants receive the reimbursement by check or direct deposit. The state evaluates all property tax relief programs together and sends a year-end letter confirming which benefits you qualify for.

Federal Tax Treatment of the Reimbursement

Your Senior Freeze payment can affect your federal return. If you itemized deductions and deducted your property taxes in a prior year, the reimbursement is a recovery of an itemized deduction. Under IRS rules, you include the recovery in income only to the extent the original deduction actually reduced your tax.¹⁰

If the reimbursement arrives in the same year you paid the taxes, you reduce your property tax deduction by the reimbursement amount rather than reporting income. For a prior-year reimbursement, which is the usual Senior Freeze pattern, report the taxable portion on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z. Publication 525 includes Worksheet 2, “Recoveries of Itemized Deductions,” to calculate the amount.¹¹

If you took the standard deduction in the year you paid those taxes, the reimbursement generally isn’t taxable, because the deduction didn’t reduce your tax to begin with.

1
NJ Division of Taxation. Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement)
2
NJ Division of Taxation. 2025 Form PAS-1 Instructions
3
New Jersey Division of Taxation. Senior Freeze Eligibility Requirements
4
Justia. New Jersey Code 54:4-8.67 – Definitions Relative to Homestead Property Tax Reimbursement
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NJ Division of Taxation. Senior Freeze – Reimbursement Calculation for Homeowners
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NJ Division of Taxation. Property Tax Relief Programs FAQs
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Department of the Treasury, State of New Jersey. New Jersey Property Tax Reimbursement Program
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NJ Division of Taxation. NJ Division of Taxation – Mailing Addresses
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NJ Division of Taxation. NJ Division of Taxation – Property Tax Relief Programs
10
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income
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Internal Revenue Service. Publication 530 (2025), Tax Information for Homeowners