New Jersey Property Tax Relief: Stay NJ, Senior Freeze, and Deductions

New Jersey property tax relief runs through five main programs: ANCHOR (up to $1,750 for homeowners, $450 for renters), Stay NJ (reimburses seniors for half their property tax bill), the Senior Freeze (locks in your tax bill at a base-year amount), fixed $250 annual deductions for seniors, disabled residents, and veterans, and a full property tax exemption for veterans with a 100-percent service-connected disability. For the 2025 tax year, applications for ANCHOR, Stay NJ, and Senior Freeze are all due November 2, 2026.¹ The $250 deductions and the disabled veteran exemption are handled separately through your municipal tax assessor.

ANCHOR

The Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters program replaced the older Homestead Benefit and is the state’s broadest relief tool. It pays a flat amount based on income and whether you own or rent your primary residence.

Homeowners earning $150,000 or less: $1,500
Homeowners earning $150,001 to $250,000: $1,000
Renters earning $150,000 or less: $450

Residents 65 or older receive an additional $250, which brings the maximum homeowner benefit to $1,750.² Payments arrive as direct deposits or checks rather than as credits on your local tax bill.

The state now auto-files ANCHOR applications for most eligible residents. If that applies to you, a confirmation letter arrives in place of any application work on your end. Residents who are not auto-filed can file online or mail in Form ANC-1.²

Stay NJ

Stay NJ is the newest program and the most valuable one for seniors who qualify. It reimburses 50 percent of your property tax bill up to a maximum of $13,000 per year, though the 2025 benefit is capped at $6,500. The state began issuing first-quarter payments for the 2024 program year in February 2026, so money is actively going out the door.³

To qualify, you must be 65 or older in the application year, own and live in your home for the full 12 months of the tax year, and have income below $500,000. Social Security disability alone does not qualify you for Stay NJ, which is a difference from the Senior Freeze. Benefits are paid in equal quarterly installments.³

Stay NJ is calculated after ANCHOR and Senior Freeze amounts are determined, so the three programs coordinate. You don’t need to pick one over another, but your Stay NJ payment reflects what the other programs already cover.

Senior Freeze

The Senior Freeze works differently from a flat payment. It reimburses you for the amount your property taxes have risen since your base year, which is the first year you met every eligibility rule and filed. If your taxes were $6,000 in your base year and are now $7,500, the state sends you the $1,500 difference. Your out-of-pocket cost stays frozen even as local rates climb.⁴

You qualify if you or your spouse is 65 or older, or receives Social Security disability. You must have owned and lived in the home for at least the three calendar years before you apply.⁵ The old ten-year New Jersey residency requirement has been eliminated.

Income limits adjust each year. Combined household income cannot exceed $168,268 for tax year 2024 or $172,475 for tax year 2025.⁶ Here’s the catch most people miss: you have to stay under the limit every year from your base year forward. Exceed it once and you lose the frozen base, then have to re-establish eligibility with a new, higher base year. Check the threshold annually even if you’ve been approved before.

$250 Annual Deductions

Separate from the big programs, New Jersey offers fixed $250 annual deductions that come straight off your property tax bill. These are smaller, but they apply automatically once you’re approved.

Seniors and Disabled Residents

A $250 deduction is available if you’re 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled. It extends to unmarried surviving spouses who continue living in the same home.⁷ You need at least one year of New Jersey residency, ownership of the property, and income below the program threshold after excluding Social Security and certain government pension payments.⁸

Veterans

A separate $250 deduction goes to honorably discharged veterans with active-duty military service and to their unremarried surviving spouses. A 2020 constitutional amendment removed the old wartime-service requirement, so all honorably discharged veterans with active-duty service now qualify.⁹ There’s no income cap. You must be a New Jersey resident and hold legal title as of October 1 of the year before the tax year.¹⁰

Full Exemption for 100-Percent Disabled Veterans

If you’re an honorably discharged veteran with a 100-percent permanent and total service-connected disability, N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.30 fully exempts your home and the land it sits on from property taxes.¹¹ Qualifying conditions include paraplegia, total blindness, amputation of both arms or both legs, and any other disability the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rates at 100 percent as permanent and total.

The exemption carries over to an unremarried surviving spouse, even if that spouse later moves to a different New Jersey home.¹¹ It stacks with other tax exemptions you may already receive. Claims go through your local municipal tax assessor.

How to Apply

For the 2025 tax year, most eligible homeowners and renters will have their ANCHOR applications auto-filed, with confirmation letters arriving around August 2026. If you’re not auto-filed, or if you’re applying for Senior Freeze or Stay NJ, use the Division of Taxation’s online portal or mail the appropriate form.²

Have the following ready before you start:

Social Security numbers for all household members
Your prior-year New Jersey income tax return
Your property’s block and lot numbers, from your local tax bill or assessment notice
For Senior Freeze: records of property taxes paid in both your base year and the current year

The 2025 filing deadline for ANCHOR, Senior Freeze, and Stay NJ is November 2, 2026.¹ The $250 deductions and the disabled veteran exemption go through your local tax assessor’s office, not the Division of Taxation portal.

If you qualify for more than one program, apply for all of them. The three main programs are designed to coordinate, and the state calculates the combined benefit based on your full eligibility. Skipping one because you assumed another covered it is the most expensive mistake applicants make.

If Your Assessment Is Too High

None of these programs change the assessed value of your home. If that value is inflated, you’re overpaying before any credit applies. You can appeal to your County Board of Taxation; the deadline is April 1 in most counties, May 1 if your municipality conducted a revaluation or reassessment that year, and January 15 in Burlington, Gloucester, and Monmouth counties.¹² An appeal is the only route to lowering the underlying bill rather than reimbursing part of it.

1
NJ Division of Taxation. NJ Division of Taxation – Property Tax Relief Programs
2
New Jersey Division of Taxation. Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters (ANCHOR)
3
New Jersey Division of Taxation. Stay NJ – Property Tax Relief for Senior Citizens
4
NJ Division of Taxation. NJ Division of Taxation – Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement)
5
Justia. New Jersey Code 54:4-8.67 – Definitions Relative to Homestead Property Tax Reimbursement
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. Senior Freeze Eligibility Requirements
7
Justia. New Jersey Code 54:4-8.41 – Deduction From Taxes
8
Division of Taxation. Property Tax Deduction for Senior Citizens/Disabled Persons
9
New Jersey Department of the Treasury Division of Taxation. Property Tax Deduction Claim by Veteran or Surviving Spouse/Civil Union or Domestic Partner of Veteran or Serviceperson
10
NJ Division of Taxation. NJ Division of Taxation – $250 Veterans Property Tax Deduction
11
Justia. New Jersey Code 54:4-3.30 – Disabled Veterans Exemption
12
NJ Division of Taxation. NJ Division of Taxation – Assessment and Appeals