Stay NJ maximums dropped for many seniors and the income cap fell from $500,000 to $200,000. Here’s what you can expect and how to apply before Nov. 2.
Monday, Nov. 2, is the last day to apply for New Jersey’s property tax relief programs for the 2025 benefit year. That’s ANCHOR, Stay NJ, and the Senior Freeze, and if you’re 65 or older, all three now go through one form.
The form got simpler this year. The money didn’t go the same direction for everyone. Senior homeowners lost the extra $250 they used to get from ANCHOR, and Stay NJ, the program that sent checks to about 430,000 households starting in February, now cuts off at $200,000 in income instead of $500,000.
Some people who got a Stay NJ check this year won’t get one next year. Here’s who, how much everyone else can expect, and where to get help before the deadline.
What Changed for Seniors
The $250 senior bonus for homeowners is gone. Lawmakers cut it while negotiating the state budget this summer. Senior renters still get their $250 bonus. Senior homeowners don’t.
The bigger hit is Stay NJ. The program pays seniors up to half their property tax bill, and until now anyone earning up to $500,000 could qualify. The new ceiling is $200,000, a 60 percent drop. A household making $210,000 that got a Stay NJ check this year gets nothing from the program in the next round.
The state hasn’t said how many of the 430,000 households who received checks will lose eligibility.
How the Cap Landed at $200,000
Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s original proposal set the cap at $250,000. Treasury officials told lawmakers that version would affect about 34,000 claimants and save the state roughly $88 million.
The Legislature went lower. The final budget set the line at $200,000, which means more households are out than the 34,000 estimate covered.
There’s another catch. The current budget only pays for the February and May 2027 Stay NJ installments. Anything after that needs new money from Trenton.
The state also changed this year’s payment schedule. The installment originally set for the third quarter was split between August and November 2026, and Treasury has acknowledged that means less Stay NJ money landing in 2026 overall.
How Much You Can Get
ANCHOR covers homeowners and renters of any age.
ANCHOR Income Limit Benefit Homeowners Up to $150,000 $1,500 Homeowners $150,000 to $250,000 $1,000 Renters Up to $150,000 $450 Senior renters Up to $150,000 $450 plus $250 bonus
Stay NJ is for homeowners 65 and older. The benefit is the lower of the amount below or half your property tax bill, and it can also be reduced by other relief you receive.
Stay NJ Income Maximum Benefit Up to $100,000 $6,500 $100,000 to $150,000 $5,000 $150,000 to $200,000 $4,000 Above $200,000 Not eligible
The two programs don’t line up perfectly, which works in some people’s favor. ANCHOR’s homeowner cap is still $250,000. A senior household earning $225,000 is out of Stay NJ but can still collect $1,000 from ANCHOR.
Senior Freeze Eligibility
The Senior Freeze reimburses eligible seniors for property tax increases, and its income limits moved slightly this year. You need to have earned $168,268 or less in 2024 and $172,475 or less in 2025.
You also have to be 65 or older on Dec. 31, 2025, or receiving federal Social Security disability or Railroad Retirement disability benefits. And you need to have owned and lived in your home since Dec. 31, 2022, or earlier, and still owned and lived there on Dec. 31, 2025.
Mobile homeowners qualify under the same timeline if they’ve owned their home and leased the site in a mobile home park since Dec. 31, 2022, and were still there on Dec. 31, 2025.
Getting a Stay NJ check this year doesn’t mean you automatically qualify for the Senior Freeze, or the other way around. Each program has its own rules.
Which Form You Need
Age 65 or older, or disabled, homeowner or renter: use the PAS-1. It’s new this year and covers ANCHOR, Stay NJ, and the Senior Freeze in one application.
“The PAS-1 application allows seniors and disabled residents to apply for all of New Jersey’s property tax relief programs at one time and makes the process as seamless as possible,” State Treasurer Aaron Binder said.
Under 65: ANCHOR is the only program open to you, and you’ll use the ANC-1 form.
Both are on the state’s site at propertytaxreliefapp.nj.gov.
Where to Get Help Before Monday
The Division of Taxation is running more than a dozen in-person events before the deadline where staff will file the application for you. The full list of dates and locations is on the Treasury site.
You can also walk into a Regional Information Center without an appointment.
The phone hotline is (888) 238-1233, but people have reported long waits getting through. A better bet this close to the deadline is scheduling a call with a representative at telegov.njportal.com/njtaxation.
The Treasury’s Stay NJ page has the full benefit breakdown if you want to double-check your tier before you file.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
