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New Jersey renters and homeowners have some of the highest housing costs in the nation, but the state has several programs designed to provide relief.
Marita Sciarrotta, director of the Division of Taxation, said all New Jerseyans who are 65 years old or older must apply for the Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters program, known as ANCHOR, the Senior Freeze and the Stay NJ property tax relief programs, by filling out the PAS-1 application no later than Nov. 2.
She said first-time ANCHOR applicants under the age of 65, disabled homeowners and those living in mobile homes must also file an ANC-1 application form by Nov. 2.
According to the Division of Taxation, individuals under the age of 65 that previously applied for the ANCHOR program do not need to file a new application, but all older state residents must fill out a new PAS-1 application, even if they did so last year.
What information do you need?
She said to complete the PAS-1 application residents will need to enter their total income information for 2024 and 2025, including Social Security money received, the total amount they paid in property taxes for those years, and personal information including Social Security numbers.
“There’s a lot of prompts in the application, on paper as well as the one online, that will tell you exactly what you need to do and where you enter that information,” Sciarrotta said.
She said New Jersey renters and homeowners under the age of 65 that have not previously filed for ANCHOR property tax relief must provide similar income, and other information, in an ANC-1 application form by Nov. 2.
Sciarrotta said all three of the property tax relief program applications for older state residents are now combined into the PAS-1 form.
“We’ve put it on one application to make it easier for our senior clients,” she said.
Help is available
Sciarrotta said there are several ways renters and homeowners can get assistance in filling out the application forms. Residents can call 1-888-238-1233 for assistance, in addition to getting help at in-person events being held across the state.
Sciarrotta said telephone appointments with a representative can also be scheduled, and residents can check on the status of benefit claims online, as well.
She said the programs now in place have provided tax relief to more than 2 million state residents over the past few years.
“The property tax relief programs do provide a way to reimburse, or to give to taxpayers a percentage back of the property taxes they’re already paying,” Sciarrotta said.
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