22 Aug Are N.J.’s property tax programs a shell game?

Q. Since we are only in the 2021, the ANCHOR payout year, does that mean that we will end up skipping benefit years when we start receiving benefits under Stay NJ? Where is the “Homestead Rebate“ or any of the other funds for seniors? It seems like a shell game to me. Or is it just being replaced and those funds are being redirected to the Stay NJ program that helps seniors who make half a million a year!! Seems complicated beyond common sense.
— Homeowner

A. It certainly is complicated.

The Homestead Rebate, which was paid behind the actual current tax year — after former Gov. Chris Christie delayed the benefit twice — was replaced by ANCHOR.

ANCHOR stuck to the same payment schedule so it’s also behind the actual tax year.

Now, Stay NJ could also make more changes.

When Stay NJ kicks starts in 2026, senior homeowners would get 50% off their property tax bills, capped at $6,500, from a combination of Stay NJ, ANCHOR, and Senior Freeze. Also, no one would get less than they currently receive under ANCHOR and Senior Freeze together.

The state would compare a senior homeowner’s combined ANCHOR and Senior Freeze benefit to a Stay NJ benefit. “An applicant would receive the higher of the two, up to 50% of property taxes, not to exceed $6,500,” it said.

It said if the senior homeowner has not received the equivalent of 50% of their taxes, up to $6,500, from ANCHOR and Senior Freeze combined, an additional benefit under Stay NJ would be paid by check.

Also, homeowners not eligible for ANCHOR or Senior Freeze but eligible for Stay NJ would receive the maximum Stay NJ benefit of $6,500 or 50% of their property taxes.

Each benefit has different income limitations, making it frustrating to figure out what you are eligible for. But as part of Stay NJ, the state would create one application for Stay NJ, ANCHOR, and Senior Freeze effective Feb. 1, 2025, according to recommendations by the Stay NJ Task Force.

New legislation would be needed at least 90 days prior to make sure there’s time to design, print and mail the combined application.

The task force also recommended the definitions of taxable income be made the same for all three tax breaks to limit confusion.

So what happens with the tax years assigned to each benefit? The task force recommended making all three benefits move to the same timeline. So there would be no ANCHOR benefit labeled for 2023, but eligible residents would still get annual payments as long as it’s funded in the yearly budget.

Do we lose a year, then?

State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, the main author of the Stay NJ law, told NJ Advance Media it’s really not a lost benefit year.

“It will just jump,” Coughlin said. “You’ll still get (an ANCHOR benefit) every year. It’s not like we’re taking a year off.”

I’m not sure I agree. It does feel like we lose a year. True, if the benefit continues to get paid every year, we won’t feel it in the wallet. But what if lawmakers or the governor decide we need to “delay” a benefit year again?

It certainly could happen.

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This story was originally published in August 2024.

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