Over 125,000 qualifying seniors across New Jersey can soon expect to receive their property tax reimbursement checks through the state’s newly expanded and simplified Senior Freeze program, with more rounds of payments for eligible applicants on the way.
The Department of the Treasury’s Division of Taxation began issuing Senior Freeze reimbursement checks on Monday, July 15th, with the first wave of payments totaling over $145 million. The Division will continue issuing weekly reimbursements as more applications are filed and approved. The deadline to file an application for Tax Year 2023 is October 31st, 2024.
Senior Freeze reimburses qualifying seniors and disabled residents for increases in property taxes or mobile home park site fees on their principal residences. Governor Phil Murphy and the Legislature significantly expanded the program for the 2023 filing season to open up the program to 58,000 new households, including increasing the income limit to $163,050 for 2023 and eliminating the requirement that an applicant must be a New Jersey resident for ten consecutive years. Future annual increases will be determined by the maximum Social Security benefit cost of living increase for that year for single and married filers respectively.
The Division of Taxation and Treasury’s Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services worked closely together to streamline the process this year, including reviewing and perfecting pending applications early in the season and prioritizing Senior Freeze payment processing. These efforts led to a 42 percent increase in the number of approved applications by this point in the season compared to last year.
“The Senior Freeze program eases the burden on many older residents who want to stay in the communities where they’ve raised families, built careers, and made lasting memories,” said State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio. “Our Division of Taxation and Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services have worked hard to simplify and improve the process for our residents to apply for and receive this valuable property tax relief, and the tremendous increase to date in the number of approved applications this early in the season shows their efforts have paid off.”
The Senior Freeze program is designed to relieve increasing property tax burdens for qualified applicants by establishing a base year of eligibility and “freezing” property taxes at that level by comparing that base with any subsequent year. The difference is then refunded by the state annually.
In order to qualify for reimbursement, taxpayers must meet all eligibility requirements from each year from base year through current application year. Eligibility must be continuous; otherwise a new base year must be established.
To be eligible for 2023 Senior Freeze:
- Be age 65 or older on December 31, 2022 or receive Social Security disability payments on December 31, 2022.
- Own/live in home or lease site in mobile home park since December 31, 2019.
- Paid all property taxes: June1 deadlines (for both years).
- Annual income: ≤$150k (2022), ≤$163k (2023). All income considered except few exceptions like Social Security/pension etc.
Qualifying residents can apply/check status online via direct online filing service created by Treasury (njportal.com/taxation/ptr) or call Information Line at 1-800-882-6597.
