Stay NJ payments are starting, but will the tax rebates last?
By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... After three years of funding, the state's Treasury Department is sending out the first payments for the Stay NJ property tax relief program for 2026.
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With a price tag of about $1.2 billion each year and guaranteed funding only though June of this year, [2026] the program may see changes moving forward.
..... for now, the program, open to qualifying seniors and disabled residents, is underway. Checks are being mailed to about 430,000 qualifying taxpayers who applied last year [2025] as part of the combined Stay NJ ANCHOR and Senior Freeze application process, state officials said.
..... The payments will be distributed in quarterly installment as opposed to a lump sum and will see an average benefit for the first installment of about $637.
..... Those payments are calculated based on propriety tax bills as well as eligibility for ANCHOR and Senior Freeze. The next quarterly payment is scheduled to be mailed in mid-May. [2026]
..... Applicants go a letter last fall [2025] explaining how the benefits from the three programs - Stay NJ, ANCHOR and Senior Freeze - would work depending on their eligibility. Now all seniors qualify for all three programs, but eligibility is determined by criteria like household income and length of residence.
..... Senior Freeze payments were sent out last summer, [2025]
and ANCHOR payments were sent in the fall. [2025]
..... The payments being sent now for Stay NJ are for tax year 2024. The application process for tax year 2025 is just starting, and from can be completed at propertytaxreliefapp.nj.gov
..... Geared toward keeping seniors in New Jersey during their golden years, Stay NJ is designed to offer property tax rebates to those 65 and older with incomes of up to $500,000. It is projected that 90% of eligible recipients have incomes of less than $200,000.
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It's not a guaranteed program for the long term, though. The state Treasury Department acknowledged in a release announcing the payments that the "availability of New Jersey's property tax relief program is subject to state budget appropriations."
..... The budget for fiscal year 2026, which runs through June 30, 2026, includes $2,431,572,000 for ANCHOR, $239,300,000 for Senior Freeze and 4280,000,000 for Stay NJ.
..... That isn't the only money dedicated for Stay NJ. It's actually the third and final tranche of funding needed to cover just the sate of the program.
..... Including this third year of funding, the state has set aside $600 million for the program and is expected to cover payments to eligible recipients from January through June 2026.
..... State Treasury officials confirmed last February [2025] that there is no "buildup plan" for fiscal year 2027 for which Governor Mikie Sherrill will present her budget plan to the legislature next month. [03/2026] The estimated to cost of Stay NJ is $1.2 billion annually.
..... It was a source of tension even when it was first introduced in May 2023. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and his leadership counterpart, Senate Nick Scutari, first proposed the program, and it was met with resistance form the executive branch.
..... Then-Governor Phil Murphy said at the time that there were a few things about the bill that were concerning, with the "biggest one" the expense being added to the budget. His office was said to be preparing for all impossibility, including a government shutdown.
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Ultimately the legislation passed, and the payments have been building up for this first six months of funding, but not everyone is on board with it.
..... Assemblyman Brian Bergen said Monday [02/09/2026] in a letter to Treasurer Aaron Binder that the requirements to issue Stay NJ payments, including a minimum 12% budget surplus, have not been met and hat the "12% requirement exists to protect taxpayers when times get tough."
..... He went on to criticize the lack of long-term planning for distributing funds.
.... "they;re draining three years of reserves in one shot while costs are about to explode,' Bergen said. "that's not responsible budgeting."
.... Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email sobko@northjersey.com