New Jersey begins issuing Stay NJ property tax relief payments

The basics:

• New Jersey begins mailing first Stay NJ quarterly payments
• Program offers up to $6,500 in property tax relief for seniors
• About 430,000 eligible homeowners, disabled residents qualify
• Rollout draws criticism over state budget surplus requirements

New Jersey has begun distributing the first payments under Stay NJ. The state’s newest property tax relief program, seniors and disabled residents are eligible for the funds.

The Treasury Department’s Division of Taxation announced Feb. 9 it started mailing the first quarterly Stay NJ checks to an estimated 430,000 qualifying taxpayers who applied through the PAS-1 combined application for Stay NJ, ANCHOR and Senior Freeze.

The program is pre-funded through the previous few budget cycles. About $600 billion is set aside to fund Stay NJ through the end of this fiscal year, June 30.It has an annual price tag of about $1.2 billion. The long-term future of the program will rely on Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who will propose her first budget next month.

Eligibility

New Jersey homeowners aged 65 and older with incomes up to $500,000 can utilize Stay NJ. The program provides a 50% reimbursement on property taxes, up to a $6,500 cap.

Payments are issued as paper checks and paid in equal quarterly installments rather than as a lump sum. The average first installment totals $637.

The second payment is scheduled for mid-May.

The state calculates Stay NJ benefits using a formula tied to a taxpayer’s property tax bill as well as eligibility for the ANCHOR and Senior Freeze programs. Eligible applicants received notification in fall 2025 of the benefits they qualified for across programs. Senior Freeze payments went out last summer, followed by ANCHOR payments this past fall.

While the current payments cover the 2024 tax year, the filing season for tax year 2025 is now underway. Those property tax relief applications are due by Nov. 2, 2026.

The state expects to distribute benefits for that cycle beginning in summer 2026. It projects Stay NJ payments will arrive in February 2027, subject to the aforementioned state budget appropriations.

Pushback

The rollout has prompted sharp criticism from Assemblyman Brian Bergen, R-26th District, who argues the administration is violating the Stay NJ Act by issuing payments without meeting the law’s requirement that the state maintain a minimum 12% budget surplus. Bergen contends the current surplus falls more than $300 million short of that threshold and warned that distributing benefits now undermines fiscal safeguards written into the statute.

“This isn’t a gray area. The law is black and white, and the administration is choosing to ignore it,” said Bergen, who sent a letter to acting State Treasurer Aaron Binder voicing his concerns. “Democrat leadership in the Legislature decided to disregard the law in this year’s budget. If Sherrill and Binder are already going along with their reckless approach to taxpayer’s money, then nothing they have said or will say in the future is worth anything.”

In a statement to NJBIZ, a Treasury spokesperson said, “The Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Act included language that conditioned the appropriation to the Stay NJ program. Specifically, the language notwithstands the 12% budgetary surplus target provision (subsection c. of section 16 of P.L.2023, c.75.) Therefore, the Stay NJ program is proceeding forward in accordance with the Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Act.”