More than 1 million New Jersey renters and homeowners to be notified of tax relief

More than 1 million New Jersey renters and homeowners can expect a notice in the mail in the coming days about their eligibility for a property tax rebate as high as $1,750.

The rebates are part of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters (ANCHOR) program. It provides payments to any renters earning less than $150,000 a year and any homeowner earning less than $250,000. The majority of residents are eligible to receive $1,500. Any homeowners over the age of 65 are eligible for as much as $1,750.

The State Division of Taxation, which is sending out the notices this week, said residents who received the rebates last year don’t need to take any action provided their information hasn’t changed.

“This program has been a huge success,” Gov. Phil Murphy said on WNYC’s Ask Governor Murphy call-in show last week. “What's even better is we've streamlined this process. We've eliminated most, if not all, the paper.”

Murphy began the program in 2022, but the first payments did not go out until March 2023. This fiscal year’s checks will go out in November. Murphy said he expects some 1.5 million New Jersey residents will receive a check.

Anyone whose information has changed can update their application online . The deadline to update an application and receive a check in November is Sept. 15. The final deadline to apply for a rebate is November 30, 2024.

New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation. The average effective property tax rate in New Jersey is 2.26%, compared with a national average of 0.99%, according to the New Jersey Real Estate Network.