29 Aug I couldn’t get through on the ANCHOR hotline. What can I do?

Q. I was a homeowner in South River for 31 years before getting a Blue Acres flood zone buyout. I rented for a very short time during which the first ANCHOR program was dated October 2019. I was offered a rental tax break if I could prove it. I was a homeowner then and did not have rental proof of October. No relief check. Of course nobody answered the posted phone number. Surprise. What do I do?
— Frustrated

A. We know the ANCHOR hotline, in years past, well, stunk. The state has made improvements since then, but it’s too soon in the season to know how well, or poorly, it will fare this year.

Let’s first look at your situation and your eligibility.

It all depends on when you sold the home and whether you can, indeed, prove you were a renter.

The key date for the current benefit is Oct. 1, 2021.

If you were a renter or a homeowner on that date, you could be eligible, the Division of Taxation said.

“A homeowner is eligible if they owned and occupied the property as a principal residence on October 1, 2021,” it said. “Therefore, a homeowner impacted by the Blue Acres buyout could still be eligible for ANCHOR if they were the homeowner of record on October 1, 2021.”

If you were a renter on that date, the state will expect you to show some kind of proof, such as a lease, rental payments made, or even bills you received to the rental address that month, which would show where you were living.

But you’re talking about the 2019 benefit. The same eligibility requirements would hold, so you’d need proof of residency for Oct. 1, 2019, to get the benefit.

We know you said you couldn’t get through on the phone — the ANCHOR hotline at (888) 238-1233 or (609) 826-4282 — but you can also visit a regional help center. You can see all the locations here.  Though appointments are not required, you can make one on the state website.

Good luck.

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This story was originally published in August 2024.

NJMoneyHelp.com presents certain general financial planning principles and advice, but should never be viewed as a substitute for obtaining advice from a personal professional advisor who understands your unique individual circumstances.