The New Jersey Senior Freeze, formally the Property Tax Reimbursement, pays eligible homeowners 65 and older the difference between their current property tax bill and the taxes they paid in a locked-in “base year.” For the 2025 application cycle, your income cannot exceed $168,268 for the 2024 tax year and $172,475 for the 2025 tax year.1New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement) Income Limits History Applications are filed on the PAS-1, a single combined form that also covers ANCHOR and Stay NJ, and the deadline is November 2, 2026.2Department of the Treasury. PAS-1 Combined Application
Who Qualifies
You need to clear four gates: age or disability, New Jersey residency, homeownership, and income.
On the age side, you must be at least 65 on or before December 31 of the tax year you’re claiming. If you’re younger, you can still qualify if you receive federal Social Security disability benefits or disability payments under the federal Railroad Retirement Act.3New Jersey Revised Statutes. New Jersey Revised Statutes 54 4-8.67 – Definitions Relative to Homestead Property Tax Reimbursement
For residency and ownership, you must have lived in New Jersey for at least ten consecutive years and have owned and occupied your current home for at least the last three years before filing your first application.4NJ Division of Taxation. Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement) Eligibility Requirements The home has to be your principal residence — the address where you’re registered to vote and maintain your legal address. Houses, condominiums, cooperatives, and mobile homes on rented sites all qualify. Vacation homes, rentals, and seasonal residences do not.3New Jersey Revised Statutes. New Jersey Revised Statutes 54 4-8.67 – Definitions Relative to Homestead Property Tax Reimbursement
You also need to be current on your property tax payments. Delinquent taxes disqualify you until you catch up.
How the Base Year Works
The base year is the first year you met every eligibility requirement at once: age or disability, ten years of residency, three years of ownership, and income below the cap. The property taxes you paid that year become your frozen amount. In each later year, if your current tax bill is higher than the base year figure, the state reimburses you the difference.
The base year stays put as long as you remain eligible. If your taxes happen to drop below the base year in some year, no reimbursement is issued for that year, but the base year itself doesn’t change.
One thing that catches people off guard: the reimbursement does not lower your tax bill. You pay your municipality the full amount and receive a separate check or direct deposit from the state.
Income Limits and What Counts as Income
The income test applies to both the base year and the reimbursement year. For the 2025 application, the limit is $168,268 for the 2024 tax year and $172,475 for the 2025 tax year.1New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement) Income Limits History These figures adjust upward most years.
Income here means almost every dollar you took in during the calendar year, taxable or not. That includes the gross amount of Social Security benefits, pension and retirement distributions, interest, dividends, wages, and any other source. The portion of Social Security exempt from federal income tax is irrelevant — the Senior Freeze counts it in full. You’ll need to document income for both the base year and the current year, so hold onto your 1099s, Social Security statements, and W-2s for both periods.
Going over the cap in the reimbursement year means no payment for that year. There is a one-time exception: if you exceed the limit for a single year and fall back below it the next, you keep your original base year when you reapply.4NJ Division of Taxation. Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement) Eligibility Requirements Two or more consecutive years over the limit, and you have to establish a new base year once you qualify again.
How to Apply
Starting with the 2025 cycle, New Jersey replaced the old PTR-1 and PTR-2 with a single application, the PAS-1. That one form covers Senior Freeze, ANCHOR, and Stay NJ, so you don’t file separately for each.2Department of the Treasury. PAS-1 Combined Application The state will not file it for you, even if you’ve received the reimbursement in prior years. You have to submit it yourself.
You can file online at propertytaxreliefapp.nj.gov, or on paper.5NJ Division of Taxation. Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement) If you received Senior Freeze or ANCHOR in the past, the state will mail you a PAS-1.2Department of the Treasury. PAS-1 Combined Application You no longer need your municipal tax collector to certify the property taxes you paid; the state verifies that on its own now.
The deadline for the 2025 application is November 2, 2026.5NJ Division of Taxation. Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement) Missing it means losing the reimbursement for the year outright. There’s no grace period, though the legislature has extended the deadline occasionally in past years.
When Payments Arrive
Once your application is processed, the state compares your current tax bill against your base year and calculates the reimbursement. Payments generally go out by check or direct deposit during the late summer or fall following the filing period. If something is missing or unclear, the Division of Taxation will send a letter asking for the additional information.
What Happens If You Move
Moving is the sharpest edge of the Senior Freeze. Under current law, the three-year homeownership clock restarts at the new address every time you change residences. Even if you’ve collected the reimbursement for a decade, moving forces you to wait at least two full tax years at the new home before you can reapply. Your old base year is gone too — the state will set a new one tied to the first year you re-qualify at the new address. Bills to let homeowners carry their base year with them have been proposed, but as of 2026 no such change has been enacted.
How Senior Freeze, ANCHOR, and Stay NJ Fit Together
Stay NJ, launched in 2026, is a separate property tax relief program for residents 65 and older that runs on top of the Senior Freeze and ANCHOR. Because the PAS-1 covers all three, filing once lets the state figure out which programs you qualify for and how they layer.6Division of Taxation. Stay NJ – Property Tax Relief for Senior Citizens Stay NJ benefits are calculated after the Senior Freeze and ANCHOR amounts are set, and they’re paid in quarterly installments rather than a lump sum.7NJ Division of Taxation. Property Tax Relief Programs Stay NJ eligibility and benefit amounts can change with each state budget.
If you qualify for the Senior Freeze, file the PAS-1 by November 2, 2026 and the state will sort out which combination of programs pays you.