25 Apr Land rent and the Homestead Rebate

Q. I live in a 55+ community and pay land rent. On the senior freeze, 18 percent annually is consider my property tax. Does it work for the Homestead Rebate too? I own the house.
— Looking for savings

A. We’re assuming from your question that you do not receive a property tax bill directly from the municipality you live in, and all property taxes you pay are done so through your rent payment to the community.

If that’s the case, you wouldn’t be eligible based on the Homestead Rebate requirements, said Steven Gallo, a certified public accountant with U.S. Financial Services in Fairfield.

“The New Jersey rebate is a tax credit deducted against your tax bill, and since you don’t receive a tax bill, there is no place to apply the credit,” Gallo said. “Back in 2014, New Jersey discontinued the tenant credit portion of the rebate plan which you would have been eligible for, but now tenants no longer receive any credit.”

Gallo said the Homestead Rebate rules have been extremely difficult to interpret and have been subject to change.

“The New Jersey’s Homestead Rebate program has been extremely shaky over the years and due to the poor economic state of New Jersey, the rebate credits have been years behind in being paid,” he said.

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This post was initially published in April 2017.