27 Feb How do I apply for the Senior Freeze? Do I qualify?

Q. My wife and I are 65 and wondering if I qualify for the Senior Freeze program. If I do, how would I apply?
— Looking for savings

A. The Senior Freeze property tax benefit reimburses eligible senior citizens and disabled persons for property tax increases.

To be eligible for the 2023 benefit — the current year of benefits, your 2022 income must be $150,000 or less and 2023 income must be $163,050 or less.

There is no longer a requirement that you be a New Jersey resident for 10 years in a row.

You or your spouse or civil union partner must have been 65 or older on or before Dec. 31, 2022, or receiving federal Social Security disability benefit payments (not benefits received on behalf of someone else) on or before Dec. 31, 2022 to qualify.

Homeowners must have owned and lived in their home since Dec. 31, 2019, or earlier, and still owned and lived in the home on Dec. 31, 2023 to qualify. They must have paid 2022 property taxes by June 1, 2023 and 2023 property taxes must be paid by June 1, 2024.

For mobile home owners, the requirement is that they must have leased a site in a mobile home park where they placed a manufactured or mobile home that they owned since Dec. 31, 2019, and they must have lived in the home and leased the site on Dec, 31, 2023. Site fees must have been paid by Dec. 31 of 2022 and 2023.

Second or vacation homes, homes that have more than four units or have more than one commercial unit, and those that are exempt from paying property taxes are not eligible.

The state started to mail the applications on Monday, Feb. 12

If you don’t receive your application by March 15, you should call the Senior Freeze Information Line at (800) 882-6597 to request an application or print a copy of Form PTR-1 from the state’s website.

Taxpayers also have the option to file their application online on the state Treasury’s website.

The application deadline is Oct. 31, 2024.

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This story was originally published in February 2024.

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