A last-ditch effort to keep seniors from leaving NJ: ‘Stay NJ property tax relief’

(The Center Square) – The state of New Jersey has implemented what appears to be a last-ditch effort to prevent seniors from leaving the state: “Stay NJ” property tax relief.

In response to a senior exodus, the state Legislature passed the Stay NJ Act in 2024, which Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law. It first created a Stay NJ Task Force to determine how to provide property tax relief for senior homeowners and tenants with incomes under $500,000 a year.

The task force presented its findings to the governor and Legislature, which were incorporated into an amended law that was enacted in November 2024. It became effective Jan. 1, 2026, and applies to the 2025 tax year.

It includes three programs: the “Stay NJ,” “ANCHOR” and “Senior Freeze” property tax reimbursement programs.

Two of the programs, Senior Freeze and Stay NJ, apply only to eligible homeowners. The ANCHOR program applies to eligible homeowners and renters. All three apply to seniors age 65 and older.

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The Stay NJ program offers property tax benefits to eligible homeowners age 65 and older. It reimburses 50% of their property tax bill, up to a maximum of $13,000, with a 2025 benefit cap of $6,500.

To qualify, applicants must have owned and lived in their home for all 12 months of 2025 and reported an income below $500,000.

The Senior Freeze Program reimburses eligible seniors and the disabled with property tax or mobile home park site fee increases on their principal residence. It is based on residency, income and age.

The Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters (ANCHOR) program offers property tax relief to residents who own or rent property in New Jersey as their main home and meet certain income limits. Renters living in subsidized housing may qualify for ANCHOR as long as their rental unit is subject to local property taxes.

With the new law in effect this year, state lawmakers are hoping to keep a dwindling tax base of seniors who have been hit hard by property tax increases of several hundred percent every year.

Primarily living on fixed income, some seniors are forced to get part time jobs just to cover their increased costs, including high property taxes. Many have paid off their mortgages but find themselves being forced to sell because they can’t afford to pay their property taxes and keep their home, according to multiple reports.

New Jersey ranks second for having the highest property taxes in the country. Personal income taxes are as high as 10.75%, in addition to a multitude of other taxes New Jersey residents pay, according to a Tax Foundation analysis.

New Jersey also ranks near last, 49, on the Tax Foundation’s 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index.

Last year, for the eighth consecutive year, more residents moved out of New Jersey than any other state, reporting a 62% outbound migration,” according to a United Van Lines study.

While New Jersey “is attracting younger professionals and families who see the region as a ‘launch state,’” the report states, it’s “losing retirees. This reveals a shift in migration patterns that while major outbound states like New Jersey, New York, and California still pull ambitious job seekers, they’re simultaneously losing more people motivated by retirement, affordability and lifestyle changes.”

According to U.S. Census data, New Jersey ranked seventh nationally for net out-migration per capita. The Garden State lost 16,283 more residents than it gained in 2025; nearly 200,000 residents have left the state since 2020, according to the data.

The top reasons cited for leaving the state are high taxes and cost of living.

The NJ Treasury Department is currently holding “property tax relief” public events statewide every week to assist seniors.