Affordable NJ Communities for Homeowners & Renters - ANCHOR (Homstead Rebate Program)

New Jersey has announced a new Property Tax Relief Program which will replace the previous Homestead Benefit program for 2019. The Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters (ANCHOR) Property Tax Relief Program will benefit a large number of homeowners and includes tenants. Residents, who qualify, need to be aware that they will soon be receiving mailers from the NJ Division of Taxation with filing information and an application for the 2019 ANCHOR – Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters – property tax relief program.

The ANCHOR program replaces the Homestead Benefit program and expands the amount of property tax relief while also boosting eligibility to twice as many homeowners, and also includes tenants renting their homes. The Division will be emailing ANCHOR program filing information to homeowners who had requested their application be sent through email when they filed their 2018 Homestead Benefit application at the same time the physical mailers are sent out.

The NJ Division of Taxation mailers began arriving to tenants and homeowners in Bergen County, which includes the Borough of Franklin Lakes, on September 16th and the department has asked that residents not call about a missing mailer until at least two weeks after the expected delivery date for their county.

Homeowners:  to be eligible, homeowners must have:
  • Been a New Jersey resident; and
  • Owned and occupied a home in New Jersey that was your principal residence (main home) on October 1, 2019; and
  • Paid the 2019 property taxes on your main home; and
  • Had 2019 New Jersey gross income of not more than $250,000.

Tenants: to be eligible, tenants must have:
  • Been a New Jersey resident; and
  • Rented and occupied an apartment or residence in New Jersey that was your principal residence (main home) on October 1, 2019; and
  • Lived in a unit with its own separate kitchen and bath facilities (if the building had more than one dwelling unit); and
  • Paid rent on your main home, which was subject to local property taxes; and
  • Had 2019 New Jersey gross income of not more than $150,000.

Applicants will choose to receive their benefits either as a check or direct deposit and must file their application by Friday, December 30, 2022. The benefit will be paid no later than May 2023.

The online application, eligibility requirements, filing instructions, and paper applications can also be accessed at https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/anchor/index.shtml. The automated telephone filing system, which will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, during the filing period, can be reached at 1 (877) 658-2972.

Text Telephone Service (TTY/TDD) for hearing-impaired users: 1 (800) 286-6613 or (609) 984-7300.