Credit: (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)New Jersey homeowners and renters anxious to get in line for the next round of state-funded Anchor property-tax relief benefits should not have to wait much longer.
Officials from the Department of the Treasury have indicated the latest round of applications and letters confirming automatic eligibility for the next round of benefits will be distributed later this month.
The kickoff for the latest Anchor filing season comes a little over a month after Gov. Phil Murphy and lawmakers enacted an annual budget that fully funded the relief program with more than $2 billion. But they left the size of Anchor benefits unchanged from last year, for both homeowners and renters.
That decision was made amid a period of stubborn inflation and after another year-over-year increase pushed the size of the average New Jersey property-tax bill to a record-high $9,803 statewide.
Anchor’s formal title is the “Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters” program.
More Anchor details
By the numbers
Several years ago, Anchor replaced the state’s long-standing Homestead relief program, which had provided state-funded benefits — but only to homeowners — in recent years and at smaller amounts than those offered under Anchor.
Last year, a total of 1.3 million homeowners and 700,000 renters, received Anchor benefits during the last round of distribution, according to Treasury.
In recent days, Treasury officials have posted on social media about the pending start to the latest Anchor filing season. A planned mid-August timeline for the distribution of applications and the start of automatic enrollment was also discussed during a recent meeting of the New Jersey State Investment Council.
ANCHOR provides property tax relief to residents who own or rent property in New Jersey as their principal residence and meet certain income limits.
— NJ Dept of Treasury (@NJTreasury) July 26, 2024
Check your eligibility at https://t.co/tTVqpeupED. pic.twitter.com/mYe7mh8fpK
Under the latest state budget, the next round of Anchor benefits will continue to range from $450 to $1,750, depending on age, annual income and whether an eligible resident is a renter or homeowner.
Who’s eligible for Anchor benefits?
According to detailed eligibility standards written into the fiscal year 2025 budget, homeowners who earned up to $150,000 annually in 2021 are eligible to receive Anchor benefits totaling $1,500 this year.
Homeowners who earned more than $150,000 and up to $250,000 annually in 2021 are eligible to receive Anchor benefits totaling $1,000.
Meanwhile, renters who earned up to $150,000 annually in 2021 are also eligible to receive Anchor benefits totaling $450.
But eligible seniors ages 65 and older qualify for an extra $250, pushing the size of the maximum senior homeowner benefit to $1,750, and the maximum senior renter benefit to $700.
Last year, Treasury officials launched an automatic enrollment process for those who’d previously applied for and received Anchor benefits.
Unlike the Homestead program, which utilized direct credits on property-tax bills during its final years of operation, Anchor benefits are distributed via check or direct deposit.
While benefits are remaining flat this year as average property-tax bills continue to rise — by more than $300 last year, according to the latest state data — inflation is also cutting into the value of Anchor benefits.
According to an NJ Spotlight News analysis of the latest federal inflation data, the buying power of Anchor benefits dropped between $13 and $50 over the last year, depending on whether the recipient was a renter or homeowner.
Enrollment push
Last year, Treasury officials launched the automatic enrollment process for those who’d previously applied for and received Anchor benefits.
For that group, confirmation letters were distributed in mid-August to those eligible for automatic enrollment, and most benefits were distributed by Nov 1. Those who needed to change their mailing address, bank account number, or other qualifying information were given until Sept. 30 last year to do so.
Meanwhile, applications for Anchor benefits were also distributed in mid-August last year to other homeowners and renters as part of efforts to ensure all who were eligible for benefits would be able to receive them.
That group had until Dec. 29 to file their applications, with most benefits provided on a rolling basis within 90 days of filing.
Specific details about this year’s filing season are expected to be released by Treasury by the middle of this month.
Earlier this year, the Assembly passed legislation that calls for keeping on track long-range plans to launch an altogether new relief program that has the potential to further increase relief benefits for many senior homeowners, as early as 2026.
Applications for that program, called Stay NJ, could go out as early as next year under a streamlined application process that would also take into account an applicant’s eligibility for Anchor, as well as Senior Freeze, which is another program aimed at offsetting the property-tax burden faced by seniors in New Jersey.
Under the legislation, which the Senate must also approve, Stay NJ benefits would be distributed to senior homeowners making up to a $500,000 annual income threshold whose annual property-tax bills are not already being cut in half due to benefits provided through the Anchor and Senior Freeze programs.
