15 Oct When will the 2017 Senior Freeze be ready?

Q. When will the 2017 senior property tax freeze be available and what are the limitations?
— Senior

A. You’re asking about the benefit that’s commonly called the Senior Freeze.

If you’ve never filed before, you can find the application – Form PTR-1 – on the Division of Taxation’s website.

If you have filed in the past, you will receive a personalized application – Form PTR-2 – by mail, said Chen Lu, an enrolled agent with Lassus Wherley in New Providence.

Lu said if you qualify to use form PTR-2 and you did not receive a personalized application, call the Property Tax Reimbursement Hotline at (800) 882-6597 to request one to be mailed to you.

The Senior Freeze program reimburses senior citizens and disabled persons for property tax increases, Lu said.

“For applicants who meet all the eligibility requirements for 2016, and again for 2017, the amount of the 2017 reimbursement will be the difference between the 2016 and 2017 property tax due and paid, as long as the amount paid for 2017 is greater than the amount paid for 2016,” Lu said.

But there are income limitations. It used to be that your 2016 income must be less than or equal to $87,007, and your 2017 income must be less than or equal to $87,268.

But then there was a change: “The State Budgets for FYs 2017 and 2018 set the following qualifications for Senior Freeze payments: Applicants were eligible only if their total income was $70,000 or less (the original limit was $87,007), and they met all the other program requirements. Eligible applicants whose income was over $70,000 but was $87,007 or less did not receive a reimbursement but established eligibility for future years with their applications,” the state’s website said.

“Income includes but is not limited to Social Security benefits, pension and retirement benefits, taxable and tax-exempt interest, dividends capital gains and more,” she said. “The income is combined income if married or in a civil union.”

The due date for the 2017 Senior Freeze application is Oct. 31, 2018, Lu said.

It will take a while before you see your reimbursement check. You can check the schedule here.

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