Stay NJ, Senior Freeze, and ANCHOR, Explained
Homeownership often brings forth significant expenses in retirement, particularly when it comes to property taxes—a major concern in high-tax states like New Jersey. Fortunately, retirees in the Garden State may qualify for relief through three state programs: Stay NJ, Senior Freeze, and ANCHOR.
Key Takeaways
- Three programs, one form: Stay NJ, Senior Freeze, and ANCHOR each work differently, but eligible seniors apply for all three through the combined PAS-1 application (deadline November 2, 2026).
- Stay NJ: For homeowners 65+ earning $200,000 or less, this program covers up to 50% of your property tax bill—capped at $6,500 for incomes at or below $100,000, with lower tiers up to $200,000.
- Senior Freeze: Reimburses eligible seniors for property tax increases above a "base year" amount set in your first fully qualifying year—no dollar cap, and 2025 income limits are $168,268 (2024) and $172,475 (2025).
- ANCHOR: Open to homeowners and renters (income limits apply)—$1,500 or $1,000 for homeowners and $450 for renters, plus a $250 senior bonus for renters 65+.
- Plan around the thresholds: The three programs coordinate, so extra IRA withdrawals, Roth conversions, or capital gains that push you across an income tier can meaningfully reduce your combined benefit.
Program overview
While Stay NJ, Senior Freeze, and ANCHOR are all designed to provide property tax relief, they each operate differently. Stay NJ provides benefits to eligible homeowners aged 65+; Senior Freeze reimburses eligible seniors and some disabled residents for property tax increases; ANCHOR delivers broader relief to qualifying homeowners and renters. Here’s a bit more about each…
Stay NJ
Stay NJ, the newest of the three programs, specifically targets homeowners aged 65+ who earn $200,000 or less. Rather than a flat rebate, it's built to cover up to half of your property tax bill (subject to a cap) but works as a top-up with the state calculating ANCHOR and Senior Freeze benefits first and Stay NJ filling any remaining gaps toward that 50% target.
Senior Freeze
Senior Freeze (i.e., the Property Tax Reimbursement Program) generally reimburses eligible homeowners for property tax increases above a previously established “base year,” effectively freezing their bill at the earlier level and refunding the difference as taxes climb.
ANCHOR
ANCHOR (Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters) is broader in that it covers renters—who indirectly pay property taxes through rent—and residents under age 65.
To make things easier, the state now offers one single application (Form PAS-1) for all three programs.
How Stay NJ works
| Total income | Maximum benefit |
|---|---|
| $100,000 or less | $6,500 |
| $100,001–$150,000 | $5,000 |
| $150,001–$200,000 | $4,000 |
| Over $200,000 | Not eligible |
As the newest of New Jersey's major property tax relief programs, Stay NJ is specifically designed to help older homeowners stay in their homes (hence the name): covering up to half their bill and up to a cap currently topping out at $6,500 in 2026. After applying ANCHOR and Senior Freeze benefits, Stay NJ covers the remaining difference needed to reach the 50% target (up to the cap).
How to qualify
Current rules require the applicant or spouse to have been age 65+ during the tax year and have owned and occupied the home as a principal residence for all 12 months of the tax year. The property itself, meanwhile, must have been subject to property taxes or qualifying payments in lieu of taxes (i.e., P.I.L.O.T. payments). Finally, Stay NJ eligibility is limited to applicants with an income of $200,000 or less.
Tiered benefits based on income
Qualifying applicants with incomes of $100,000 or less can receive the full $6,500 benefit, whereas those with incomes of $100,001–$150,000 can receive up to $5,000 (up to $4,000 for incomes of $150,001–$200,000). Note future benefits are subject to future state budget appropriations.
How (and when) you get money back
Seniors use a single combined form (the PAS-1) to apply once a year—this year's deadline is November 2, 2026—with the benefit then paid in four quarterly installments rather than as a single check. Payments are typically made around the 15th of February, May, August, and November of the following year, though the state budget dictates precise payment timing.
Stay NJ and retirement planning
Income tiers make retirement-income planning particularly relevant. Let’s say “Linda,” age 70, owns her New Jersey home with $98,000 in annual income qualifying her for a maximum Stay NJ benefit of $6,500 based on income alone. Even just a couple thousand in additional IRA distributions, investment income, or other income, however, would push her above $100,000 with her maximum benefit falling to $5,000 as a result. This isn’t to say retirees should automatically avoid transactions that boost their income—a larger IRA withdrawal or Roth conversion may make sense for other reasons—but retirees near a Stay NJ threshold may want to consider property tax consequences when evaluating income timing.
The same income-timing logic applies well beyond Stay NJ: crossing certain thresholds can also affect your New Jersey Retirement Income Exclusion, so it's worth coordinating IRA distributions and Roth conversions against all of these limits at once.
How NJ Senior Freeze works
Despite its name, Senior Freeze doesn’t literally prevent a municipality from increasing a homeowner's property tax bill. Rather, the program reimburses eligible residents for qualifying property tax increases above a base year amount—effectively freezing out-of-pocket payments at the earlier level and refunding the difference as taxes climb. If your first fully eligible year sets a base year tax amount of $9,000, for example, when your bill rises to $11,000 several years later Senior Freeze will reimburse the $2,000 difference so long as you’ve continued to meet program requirements.
How your base year is determined
Your base year is the first year you meet every eligibility requirement. Since the program requires you to qualify for two consecutive years before reimbursements begin, that first qualifying year's property tax bill becomes your locked-in base with payments beginning the following year. You must continue meeting the yearly requirements to continue receiving them from that point forward, thus avoiding a base year reset.
How to qualify
The 2026 NJ Freeze application is for the 2025 Senior Freeze benefit, with a filing deadline of November 2, 2026. To qualify, an applicant or spouse generally must have been age 65+ as of December 31, 2025 with homeowners having owned and lived in the home since December 31, 2022 (or earlier) through December 31, 2025. (Mobile homeowners can also qualify if they meet program home ownership/park site leasing rules.) Income (applying to two years) is the other major test: total annual income generally must have been $168,268 or less in 2024 and $172,475 or less in 2025. These thresholds and dates reset with each year's application, so anyone applying in a later cycle should confirm current figures with the New Jersey Division of Taxation.
How much money is reimbursed
Senior Freeze has no maximum dollar cap, the reimbursement is simply the difference between your current-year property tax bill and your locked-in base-year amount; the more your taxes have risen above that base, the larger the check (with no ceiling). The amount can't exceed your actual property tax increase, however, reimbursing what you paid above the base (not more).
How (and when) you get money back from the state
Seniors use a single combined form (the PAS-1) to apply; if approved, the state sends reimbursement via direct deposit (if you file online) or paper check (if you file by mail). Payments go out on a rolling basis (currently in July, September, November, and December but reset each year); the earlier you file, the sooner you’re paid.
How NJ ANCHOR works
| Who you are | Benefit |
|---|---|
| HomeownerIncome $150,000 or less | $1,500 |
| HomeownerIncome $150,001–$250,000 | $1,000 |
| RenterIncome $150,000 or less | $450 |
| Senior renter (65+)$450 base + $250 senior add-on | Up to $700 |
As noted earlier, ANCHOR isn’t exclusively a senior benefit but a key piece of property tax relief for retirees since seniors can qualify for a larger benefit and (unlike the other two programs) renters are eligible too.
How to qualify
The ANCHOR benefit open to applicants in 2026 is for the 2025 tax year, with a filing deadline of November 2, 2026 (the state began issuing payments on September 15th). To qualify, homeowners and renters must have a New Jersey gross income of $250,000 or less or $150,000 or less, respectively. The property must have been your principal residence on October 1, 2025, the home owned and occupied or otherwise rented as a main home (for renters) on that day.
Benefit amounts tiered by income, with an added bonus for senior renters
Homeowners with an income of $150,000 or less receive $1,500; those with an income between $150,001 and $250,000 receive $1,000.
Renters receive $450.
For the 2025 benefit, the additional $250 senior bonus applies to renters only, bringing a senior renter (65+ by December 31, 2025) to as much as $700. For senior homeowners, that $250 value has been folded into the Stay NJ program rather than paid through ANCHOR, so senior homeowners receive the standard $1,500 or $1,000 amount.
Separately, renters aged 65+ who aren't required to file a New Jersey income tax return may also qualify for the state's Property Tax Credit of up to $50. These income limits, amounts, and dates apply to the 2025 benefit and reset each cycle; anyone applying in a later year should confirm current figures with the New Jersey Division of Taxation.
How and when you’re paid
ANCHOR pays you directly rather than crediting your tax bill, by direct deposit or paper check depending on what you select on your application. If you received last year's ANCHOR benefit by direct deposit, the state reuses that banking information automatically; those who’ve changed accounts or would prefer a check must file their own application to update it. Payments go out on a rolling basis—with earlier filers paid sooner—and the state began distributing payments September 15, 2026 for the 2025 benefit, paying most applicants within roughly 90 days of filing. As with the other programs, this timing applies to the current cycle and can shift from year to year so be sure to confirm the latest schedule with the New Jersey Division of Taxation.
Can you receive Stay NJ, Senior Freeze, and ANCHOR simultaneously?
Potentially, yes. While the three programs are designed to work together (and the combined PAS-1 application evaluates eligible seniors for all three), receiving this trio of benefits doesn’t mean a retiree can simply total each program's maximum benefit. New Jersey coordinates its property tax relief programs, with the total benefits likewise subject to limitations.
The bottom line
New Jersey property taxes can create a significant financial burden in retirement, but Stay NJ, Senior Freeze, and ANCHOR provide several avenues for relief. More than anything, retirees should view property tax relief as part of their overall retirement-income picture. A few thousand dollars of annual relief may not eliminate New Jersey's property taxes altogether, but it can positively impact what it costs to remain in a longtime home and the amount of retirement income needed to support this.
Property taxes are just one piece of the New Jersey tax puzzle—a full plan also weighs the NJ inheritance tax and, for those considering a move, the so-called NJ “exit tax” on home sales.
Want help weighing how these NJ programs fit into your broader retirement income and tax picture? Schedule a FREE discovery call with one of our financial advisors to get the clarity you need.
Reviewed for accuracy
Paul Muller, AEP®, CFP®
Founder and Relationship Manager at Vision Retirement, with 30+ years in the financial industry.
Read full bio →FAQs
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Three major programs may provide property tax relief to NJ seniors: Stay NJ, Senior Freeze, and ANCHOR. While Stay NJ is specifically designed for qualifying homeowners aged 65+, Senior Freeze reimburses qualifying seniors and some disabled residents for property tax increases above an established base year. ANCHOR provides benefits to eligible homeowners and renters, including seniors.
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Potentially, yes. The three programs are designed to work together, the combined PAS-1 application evaluating eligible seniors for all three. Receiving three benefits doesn’t mean a retiree can simply total each program's maximum benefit, however, with New Jersey coordinating its property tax relief programs and total benefits subject to limitations.
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Stay NJ eligibility is limited to applicants with an income of $200,000 or less, with benefits tiered based on income amount.
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New Jersey seniors can use Form PAS-1 to apply for all three programs.
Disclosures:
This document is a summary only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or business.
