New Jersey’s ANCHOR Tax Rebate: Eligibility Extended to 2 Million More Homeowners and Renters

Last year, the New Jersey Department of the Treasury mailed checks of between $450 and $1,500 to 1.7 million homeowners and renters in the form of a property tax rebate. This year, the State is extending eligibility for the so-called ANCHOR (Affordable Communities for Homeowners and Renters) rebate to an estimated 2 million more residents.

If you got the rebate last year, you need do nothing additional to receive this year’s check. You automatically qualify for and will receive the rebate. If you’re on the expanded list of the eligible, you’ll receive a mailing by September 1 from the Treasury Department that will direct you to apply for the rebate by December 29. The directions for applying will be included in the mailing.

Eligibility is based on 2020 tax data. According to the Department, the intention is to make the rebates “an annual program” and that qualifying residents could expect to receive their checks every November.

Eligibility requirements for homeowners:

Eligibility requirements for renters:

Note that even if you have moved from an eligible residence, including out of state, you still quality for the rebate if you meet the eligibility requirements.

Essentially, the rebate program is an extension of a property tax “freeze” for senior citizens that provided a rebate of the increase in taxes over a previous year’s amount. The new rebate program was an effort to extend those benefits beyond senior citizens.