26 Apr I’m confused about how to file for ANCHOR. Help!

Q. I’m confused on how to file for this year’s ANCHOR benefit for senior renters. I want to file but nothing is clear about when to do that.
— Renter

A.

Your confusion probably comes because there is no longer a separate application for senior renters.

When the Stay NJ property tax benefit became law, the state created a combined application — PAS-1 — to cover the ANCHOR, Senior Freeze and Stay NJ benefits.

Whether you are a homeowner or renter age 65 or over, you’d complete that same PAS-1 application.

But non-senior renters have to complete ANC-1, a totally separate application.

While the PAS-1 application is available online, the ANC-1 isn’t — yet.

You were specifically asking about the application for seniors. You can file anytime. The deadline is Nov. 2, 2026.

In earlier years, taxpayers got used to the state automatically filing their application for them. That’s not happening anymore for the PAS-1.

“We will not automatically file the Property Tax Relief Application, Form PAS-1, for taxpayers 65 and over, or those collecting Social Security/Railroad Retirement disability benefits,” the Treasury Department says on its website.

Will it happen in the future? Maybe.

Also note that funding has to be determined for these benefits by lawmakers as part of the state budget, which is due July 1.

It’s possible that the benefit amounts for Stay NJ, as well as eligibility requirements, could change.

Nothing is off the table as part of negotiations happening in Trenton right now, but it’s not expected that the ANCHOR benefit itself will change.

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This story was originally published in April 2026. 

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