The StayNJ property tax relief program for seniors reimburses eligible New Jersey homeowners age 65 and older for 50 percent of the property taxes they paid on their primary residence, up to $6,500 for the 2025 tax year.1New Jersey Division of Taxation. Stay NJ – Property Tax Relief for Senior Citizens Payments arrive as quarterly paper checks rather than a reduction on your tax bill, and the first checks for the program began going out in February 2026. Applications for the 2025 tax year are open until November 2, 2026.
Who Qualifies
You need to meet all three of these conditions for the entire tax year:
- You are 65 or older by December 31 of the tax year, or you receive Social Security Disability benefits at any age.
- You own your New Jersey home and use it as your primary residence for the full 12 months.
- Your household’s annual gross income is below $500,000.
Ownership is defined broadly. Tenant-shareholders in a cooperative, mutual housing organization, or continuing care retirement community qualify based on their proportionate share of the property taxes assessed against the building.2New Jersey Legislature. New Jersey PL 2023 c075 Mobile homeowners are not eligible.1New Jersey Division of Taxation. Stay NJ – Property Tax Relief for Senior Citizens
Watch the income definition. “Gross income” for StayNJ is wider than the taxable income on your return. It counts your full gross Social Security benefits plus all taxable and non-taxable income reported on your New Jersey Gross Income Tax return, including excluded pension income, income covered by the retirement exclusion, non-taxable dividends, and non-taxable interest.3State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Stay NJ Task Force Report A household that looks well under $500,000 on taxable income alone can sit closer to the line once those add-backs are counted.
How Much You Get
The credit is 50 percent of what you paid in property taxes on your principal residence for the prior tax year, subject to a statutory cap.2New Jersey Legislature. New Jersey PL 2023 c075 For the 2025 tax year, the cap is $6,500. The full eventual maximum written into the law is $13,000.1New Jersey Division of Taxation. Stay NJ – Property Tax Relief for Senior Citizens After the initial implementation period, the cap adjusts each year based on the percentage increase in the average residential property tax bill statewide.
Two quick examples. If your 2025 property tax bill was $10,000, half of that is $5,000, which is below the cap, so your credit is $5,000. If your bill was $18,000, half would be $9,000, but the $6,500 cap limits what you actually receive.
How StayNJ Works With ANCHOR and the Senior Freeze
StayNJ does not stack on top of ANCHOR and the Senior Freeze. The state calculates what you would receive under ANCHOR and Senior Freeze combined, then compares that figure to what StayNJ alone would pay you. You get whichever is higher, not both.3State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Stay NJ Task Force Report The total benefit across all three programs cannot exceed the property taxes you actually paid.
You don’t need to choose between programs or run the math yourself. The state runs the comparison automatically when it processes your application.1New Jersey Division of Taxation. Stay NJ – Property Tax Relief for Senior Citizens For most seniors with moderate property tax bills, StayNJ produces the larger benefit. Seniors with very low property tax bills or unusually large Senior Freeze reimbursements may find their existing benefits still come out ahead.
How and When You Get Paid
StayNJ does not reduce your property tax bill at the municipal level. The state mails paper checks in equal quarterly installments over the year, not a single lump sum.1New Jersey Division of Taxation. Stay NJ – Property Tax Relief for Senior Citizens You still owe your full property tax bill to your town on the normal schedule; the checks reimburse you afterward. All property tax relief benefits remain subject to change by the state budget.
How to Apply
New Jersey uses one combined application, Form PAS-1, for StayNJ, ANCHOR, and the Senior Freeze. A single filing covers all three.1New Jersey Division of Taxation. Stay NJ – Property Tax Relief for Senior Citizens The deadline for the 2025 tax year is November 2, 2026.
Have these ready before you start:
- Social Security numbers and dates of birth for you and any co-owner on the deed
- Your 2024 and 2025 property tax bills
- Your 2024 and 2025 New Jersey gross income information from your state tax return
- Your current address exactly as it appears in your municipality’s records
Match the name and address on your application to your local tax assessor’s records exactly. Mismatches are one of the most common causes of processing delays. You can also mail in a paper application; the form and instructions are on the Division of Taxation’s property tax relief page.4State of New Jersey. Stay NJ Property Tax Credit Program After you submit, the Division of Taxation checks your information against internal income and property tax records and sends a confirmation when your application is accepted.
If You Receive SSI, SNAP, or Medicaid
A check in the mail raises a fair question about means-tested benefits. Federal and state tax refunds and credits are generally not counted as income for SSI and are exempt from the SSI resource limit for 12 months after receipt. Tax refunds and one-time payments typically don’t count as income for SNAP either.
The risk is letting the money sit. If quarterly checks accumulate in a bank account and push your countable resources over program limits after the exemption period ends, that can affect eligibility. Spending the money on property taxes or household expenses within the exemption window avoids the problem. If you receive means-tested benefits, ask your caseworker how the quarterly payments interact with your specific case.