Property tax relief for seniors in New Jersey

In short: If you are 65 or older, New Jersey has three state programs on one form, the PAS-1: Senior Freeze, Stay NJ and ANCHOR. Stay NJ can bring your total relief up to 50% of your property tax bill, up to $6,500, if your income is under $500,000. File the 2025 PAS-1 by November 2, 2026 at propertytaxrelief.nj.gov or by mail.

The programs at a glance

Program Who it helps Income limit (2025 income) What you get
Senior Freeze Homeowners 65+ or on disability, in the home since December 31, 2022 $172,475 Repays any rise in your property tax over your "base year"
Stay NJ Homeowners 65+ who owned and lived in their New Jersey home all of 2025 under $500,000 Tops up your relief to 50% of your tax bill, up to $6,500
ANCHOR (homeowners) Homeowners whose home was their main home on October 1, 2025 $250,000 $1,500 if income is up to $150,000; $1,000 above that
ANCHOR (renters) Renters 65+ whose rental was their main home on October 1, 2025 $150,000 $700
Senior deduction Homeowners 65+ or disabled $10,000 (Social Security and some pensions not counted) $250 off your tax bill each year

Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement)

Senior Freeze pays you back for increases in your property tax. Your "base year" is the first year you qualified. Each year you qualify, the state repays the difference between what you were billed that year and your base-year amount.

You qualify for the 2025 benefit if:

  • you were 65 or older on December 31, 2025, or got federal Social Security Disability or Railroad Retirement Disability for yourself in 2025
  • you owned and lived in your home since December 31, 2022 (mobile home owners who lease a park site also qualify)
  • your home is subject to property taxes
  • your total income was no more than $168,268 for 2024 and no more than $172,475 for 2025

Stay NJ

Stay NJ is for homeowners 65 and older. The state first works out your ANCHOR benefit, then Senior Freeze. If those two together come to less than half your property tax bill, Stay NJ pays the difference.

  • Only the first $13,000 of property tax counts, so the most Stay NJ can bring you to is $6,500.
  • If ANCHOR plus Senior Freeze already cover half your bill or more, you get no Stay NJ payment.
  • Stay NJ is paid in four payments a year, in February, May, August and November. Payments for the 2025 application are expected to begin in early 2027.

ANCHOR

ANCHOR is for homeowners and renters of any age, but people 65 and older apply on the PAS-1. Your home must have been your main home on October 1, 2025. People under 65 who do not get disability benefits do not use the PAS-1; they apply for ANCHOR separately.

What counts as income

For these programs, income includes wages, taxable pensions and IRA withdrawals, interest and dividends (including tax-free interest), business profits, rents, alimony and Social Security benefits. You use your NJ-1040 and your SSA-1099. If you do not file a tax return, worksheets in the instructions help you add it up.

A loss in one kind of income counts as zero. It cannot cancel out income of another kind. Child support is not counted.

The senior property tax deduction

This is separate from the PAS-1. It takes $250 off your property tax bill every year.

  • You must be 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled.
  • You must own the home and live there as of October 1 of the year before, and have lived in New Jersey for at least one year by then.
  • Your income must be $10,000 or less, not counting Social Security and government pensions, with some limits.
  • A surviving spouse 55 or older who has not remarried can keep the deduction.

How to apply: file Claim Form PTD with your town's tax assessor or tax collector. After that, you file a yearly income statement with the tax collector to keep it.

How to apply for Senior Freeze, Stay NJ and ANCHOR

  1. Get your numbers. You need your block and lot numbers and the property tax billed for 2024 and 2025. Your tax bill or local tax collector has them. You do not need to send proof of taxes paid.
  2. File the 2025 PAS-1 by November 2, 2026:
    • Online at propertytaxrelief.nj.gov. You get a reference number and can choose direct deposit.
    • By mail to NJ Division of Taxation, Revenue Processing Center, Property Tax Relief Programs, PO Box 635, Trenton, NJ 08646-0635. Sign in blue or black ink. Use one envelope for each application.
  3. Add papers only if they apply: a deed or lease the first time for a life estate; a trust agreement and deed the first time for a home held in trust; a death certificate for a spouse who died.
  4. Watch for a letter in autumn 2026 that shows your benefit amounts.

Questions: call 1-800-323-4400.

Things people often miss

  • All your relief together cannot be more than the property tax you paid.
  • A totally and permanently disabled veteran who had a full property tax exemption in 2025 cannot get these benefits.
  • All payments depend on money in the state budget.
  • If a person who applied dies, the payment goes to the surviving spouse or the estate.
  • You may be asked later to prove your age, disability, rent or taxes. Keep your papers.

Free help

Call the Division of Taxation at 1-800-323-4400 for the PAS-1. For the senior deduction, ask your town's tax assessor; the state's Property Administration office is at 609-292-7974.

See also all benefits in New Jersey and Social Security retirement.

Phone numbers: Free help lines for New Jersey agencies

Check what you may qualify for

Sources

Page last reviewed: 2026-10-18