New Jersey’s ANCHOR tax relief program pays $450 to $1,750 to residents who owned or rented their principal home in the state on October 1, 2025, with the application due by November 2, 2026.1New Jersey Division of Taxation. ANCHOR Filing Information ANCHOR, short for Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters, replaced the older Homestead Benefit and extended eligibility to tenants. The amount you receive depends on whether you own or rent, your 2025 New Jersey gross income, and whether you were 65 or older by the end of that year.
Who Qualifies
Three conditions decide eligibility: where you lived on October 1, 2025, whether the property was taxed, and how much you earned that year. You must have owned or rented a principal residence in New Jersey on that date, and the property must be subject to local property taxes.1New Jersey Division of Taxation. ANCHOR Filing Information A home that is completely exempt from property tax does not qualify its owner.
Income limits depend on your housing status. Homeowners need a 2025 New Jersey gross income of $250,000 or less. Renters must be at $150,000 or less.2Division of Taxation. Property Tax Relief Programs FAQs The figure the state uses is Line 29 of your NJ-1040. If you weren’t required to file a New Jersey return, use what you would have reported.
Renters in PILOT Buildings
Renters in buildings that make Payments-in-Lieu-of-Taxes to a municipality were originally excluded. Under updated guidance, those tenants now qualify for the $450 renter benefit.3New Jersey Division of Taxation. ANCHOR Program Renters/Tenants Frequently Asked Questions Tenants in government-assisted housing also qualify as long as the building itself pays property tax. A rented room without kitchen privileges does not count. Homeowners in fully tax-exempt properties still get nothing.
Homes Held in Trust
If your home sits in a revocable living trust and you remain the beneficiary and occupant, you generally still qualify, because you keep control of the property. An irrevocable trust shifts legal ownership to the trust itself, which complicates things. Check with the Division of Taxation before filing if that is your situation.
How Much You’ll Receive
Homeowners earning $150,000 or less get $1,500. Homeowners earning between $150,001 and $250,000 get $1,000. Renters within the $150,000 cap get a flat $450 regardless of where they fall in that range.4New Jersey Division of Taxation. ANCHOR Program – How ANCHOR Benefits Are Calculated
Anyone who was 65 or older by December 31, 2025 adds $250 to the base benefit, whether owner or renter.4New Jersey Division of Taxation. ANCHOR Program – How ANCHOR Benefits Are Calculated This is the most commonly overlooked piece of the payment. If you turned 65 at any point in 2025, the supplement is yours.
- Homeowner, under 65, income $150,000 or less: $1,500
- Homeowner, under 65, income $150,001 to $250,000: $1,000
- Homeowner, 65 or older, income $150,000 or less: $1,750
- Homeowner, 65 or older, income $150,001 to $250,000: $1,250
- Renter, under 65: $450
- Renter, 65 or older: $700
What to Gather Before You Apply
Have these ready. Missing information is the leading cause of processing delays.
- Social Security Number or ITIN for you and any spouse or civil union partner on the application.
- Your 2025 New Jersey gross income from Line 29 of your NJ-1040. Use the combined figure if you filed jointly.
- Homeowners: your County/Municipality Code and Block/Lot/Qualifier from your property tax bill. If you are 65 or older, you may also need property tax amounts for 2024 and 2025; under 65, 2025 alone.
- Banking details for direct deposit if you want one. Skip it and you’ll get a paper check.
One change worth noting: the Division of Taxation no longer mails ID numbers and PINs. Online filers verify identity through ID.me instead.1New Jersey Division of Taxation. ANCHOR Filing Information Old PIN mailers from prior years can be thrown out. Renters don’t need property tax figures but will need to confirm the address where they lived on October 1, 2025.
How to File
File through the online portal on the New Jersey Division of Taxation website. The system takes you through each field and issues a confirmation number at the end. The state does not file for you automatically; you have to submit the application yourself.5New Jersey Division of Taxation. Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters (ANCHOR)
If online filing isn’t an option, download the paper ANC-1 form from the same website and mail it in. Paper takes longer to process. You pick direct deposit or paper check during the application.
The deadline is November 2, 2026.1New Jersey Division of Taxation. ANCHOR Filing Information There is no grace period, and the state has not offered extensions in past cycles. Miss it and you forfeit the benefit for the whole year.
When the Payment Arrives
Payments begin September 15 and go out on a rolling basis. Most applicants see their money within 90 days of filing, unless the Division needs more information.6NJ Division of Taxation. Property Tax Relief Programs for Homeowners, Mobile Home Owners, and Renters File close to the November deadline and your payment will likely land in early 2027.
Check your status through the online benefit tracker on the Division’s website, or call 1-888-238-1233. The phone system has an automatic callback feature so you don’t have to wait on hold. In-person help is at the state’s Regional Information Centers.
Filing for a Deceased Resident
If an eligible owner or renter died on or after October 1, 2025, a surviving spouse, civil union partner, or personal representative can still file.1New Jersey Division of Taxation. ANCHOR Filing Information A surviving spouse or partner lists only their own name, even if the couple previously filed jointly. A personal representative filing for an estate enters the decedent’s name followed by “estate of” and attaches a death certificate. Payments issued to an estate come in the estate’s name, so keep the estate account open until the check clears.
Does ANCHOR Affect Federal Taxes or SSI?
ANCHOR is not income for New Jersey state tax purposes. On the federal side, it depends on whether you itemized. If you took the standard deduction in the year the property taxes were paid, the ANCHOR benefit is not taxable, which covers most New Jersey residents. If you itemized and deducted your property taxes on Schedule A, the IRS treats a property tax rebate as a recovery of that deduction, and part or all may need to go on Schedule 1 of Form 1040, but only to the extent the original deduction actually reduced your tax.7Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income The $10,000 state and local tax cap limits that figure for many filers. Publication 525 includes a worksheet to calculate the taxable portion.
For Supplemental Security Income, the payment is excluded from countable income and from the resource limit for 12 months after you receive it. After that, any unspent portion counts toward the $2,000 individual or $3,000 couple limit, so spend or move it into an exempt account before the year is up.
ANCHOR is separate from the Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement). You can collect both if you qualify for each.2Division of Taxation. Property Tax Relief Programs FAQs