By Kaitlyn Dunphy, Esq.
New Jersey will provide property tax relief payments to eligible homeowners and renters through the Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters (ANCHOR) program. The deadline for filing a benefit application is Dec. 30, 2022.
Payments are expected no later than May 2023, either by check or direct deposit.
For homeowners
Homeowners with a 2019 income of $150,000 or less will be eligible for a benefit of $1,500, while homeowners with income above $150,000 up to $250,000 will receive a $1,000 benefit.
You are considered a homeowner if, on Oct. 1, 2019, you owned a house, owned a condo on which you paid property taxes, were a resident shareholder of a cooperative housing complex, or were a resident of a continuing care retirement community where you pay proportionate share of property taxes on your unit. The property must be located in New Jersey, and you can only file for your main residence.
You do not qualify as a homeowner if you were exempt from paying property taxes or made payments-in-lieu-of-tax.
Homeowners should have received postal mail or email from the state that included an ID and PIN to file the application. If you have not received them, you can retrieve that information while applying online for the ANCHOR benefit (link in sidebar) if you filed a Homestead Benefit application last year for the same property. If not, call the ANCHOR hotline at 888-238-1233.
For renters
Tenants who rented and occupied an apartment, condo, or house, or who rented or owned a mobile home located in a mobile home park in New Jersey on Oct. 1, 2019 as their principal residence are eligible for a $450 benefit. Your name must appear on the lease and you must have paid at least a portion of your rent. Your unit, if in a building of multiple units, must have had its own separate kitchen and bathroom. The renter must have had an income not more than $150,000 in the 2019 tax year to qualify.
Renters who lived in tax-exempt, subsidized, or campus housing, or whose rental property was otherwise not subject to local property taxes, do not qualify for ANCHOR.
Tenants will also be asked whether you shared rent with anyone, and if so, their names, and whether you or your spouse/civil union partner were disabled as of
Dec. 31, 2019.
Kaitlyn Dunphy is an associate director of NJEA Legal Services and Member Rights in the NJEA Executive Office. She can be reached at kdunphy@njea.org.
How to apply
To file, you’ll need your taxpayer identification number (for most applicants, that’s your Social Security number), your New Jersey gross income from Line 29 of your NJ-1040 (report “0” if you are not required to file a NJ-1040), your 2019 tax filing status and your date of birth. You should also have this information for your spouse or civil union partner, if applicable. If requesting direct deposit, you may be asked for bank account and routing information.
Homeowners, unlike tenants, will also need an ID and PIN as described in this article.
Both homeowners and renters can apply online at:
www1.state.nj.us/TYTR_Saver/jsp/common/HBWelcome.jsp
Homeowners can also apply by phone at: 877-658-2972
Homeowners may opt file a paper application, found at:
nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/anchor/anchor-h.pdf
Those filing on behalf of a deceased homeowner or trust must file on paper.
FAQ for homeowners
state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/anchor/home-faq.shtml.
Tenants may opt to file a paper application, found at:
nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/anchor/anchor-t.pdf
FAQ for tenants
nj.gov/treasury/taxation/anchor/tenant-faq.shtml.
If you have other questions about the ANCHOR program, visit:
nj.gov/treasury/taxation/anchor or call the ANCHOR hotline Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 888-238-1233.