24 Jun My son bought a home in N.J. Can he get the Homestead Rebate?

Q. My son became a New Jersey homeowner in June 2021. Since the Homestead Rebate works on a delay, when should he apply and how should he apply?
— Dad

A. The Homestead Rebate is a valuable benefit.

But it seems your son is out of luck for this benefit year.

Even if he was otherwise eligible, he wouldn’t get the benefit now because he was not a New Jersey homeowner on Oct. 1, 2018, said Charles Pawlik, a certified financial planner and chartered financial analyst with Beacon Trust in Morristown.

In order to qualify for the Homestead Benefit, a homeowner needs to have been a New Jersey resident who owned and occupied a home in New Jersey that was their principal residence on Oct. 1, 2018.

The homeowner is also required to have paid property taxes on that home in 2018, he said.

Plus, there is an income requirement to qualify. Your income must be $150,000 or less for homeowners age 65 or over, or blind or disabled. Your income must be $75,000 or less for homeowners under the age of 65 and not blind or disabled, Pawlik said.

For people who met those requirements, the deadline to file for the tax year 2018 benefit was Nov. 30, 2021.

You can learn more at the state Treasury’s website and click on “Property Tax Relief.”

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This story was originally published on June 24, 2022.

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