Property Tax Relief Cut For Millions In New NJ Budget

Mikie Sherrill’s first state budget in her tenure as governor has officially been adopted, and as expected, there will be some changes to property tax relief program eligibility.

Sherrill’s record $60.7 billion spending plan was passed by the state Legislature minutes before the deadline. The governor’s new budget has the largest funding for property tax relief in New Jersey history, but fewer residents will be receiving benefits than originally thought.

In March, Sherrill’s proposed budget called for cuts to the Stay NJ program, a tax relief program introduced in 2025 to help senior citizens with tax relief, with the purpose of encouraging them to stay in the Garden State upon retiring.

Under the proposed budget, the Stay NJ income requirement would have been cut in half, meaning that the eligible seniors would have an income below $250,000, the same eligibility requirement as the ANCHOR program. Additionally, it lowered the maximum benefit from $6,500 to $4,000.

Under the officially adopted budget, residents who qualify for Stay NJ will still be able to see a maximum benefit of $6,500. However, the qualifier ceiling has dropped to $200,000, meaning that those who make more than that will not be eligible for any Stay NJ relief.

In other words, those making up to $150,000 will qualify for up to $5,000 in Stay NJ benefits, and those making up to $200,000 will qualify for up to $4,000. Eligible residents who bring home less than $100,000 in 2026 would qualify for the full $6,500 relief.

“I charted out for Stay (NJ) in March, and working together with Assembly Speaker (Craig) Coughlin, it’s in an even stronger place now,” Sherrill said. “Focused on middle-class seniors so they can afford to stay and retire in New Jersey… This budget puts affordability first. We're delivering the most property tax relief in state history.”

The changes to the Stay NJ funding came after outrage from residents and other politicians, including Stay NJ champion Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex.

Coughlin said he was “particularly pleased of where we ended up on Stay NJ” during the budget announcement.

Still, the new budget’s property tax relief funding has been met with criticism, including from Chris Widelo, State Director at AARP New Jersey, who said it “falls short.”

"As older New Jerseyans continue to face rising costs for housing, utilities, health care, property taxes, and other everyday essentials, making our state more affordable remains critically important,” Widelo said. “While the FY27 budget includes several important investments that support older adults, we are disappointed that it falls short of maintaining the full Stay NJ property tax relief benefit that older New Jerseyans were promised for 2026.”

Stay NJ has been a major point of contention between the governor and New Jersey lawmakers. Conceived under Phil Murphy in 2023, the program has paid out roughly $600 million to qualifying seniors. Sherrill’s changes to the program will lower its cost from more than $1.2 billion to roughly $742 million.

It should be noted that the changes reflected in Sherrill’s 2027 budget do not have any effect on 2025 tax relief. Those seeking Stay NJ benefits for 2025 can still do so as long as they qualify and made less than $500,000 last year. Learn more here — Major NJ Property Tax Relief Available Now: How To Get Your Cut

There are limited changes to the state’s largest property tax relief program, ANCHOR, under the new budget. While ANCHOR, which is funded with nearly $2.2 billion, will not have eligibility changes, senior homeowners will not receive the additional $250 check they saw in past years.

MORE: ANCHOR Rebate Incoming, State Offers Filing Help

Click here to view Governor Sherrill's "Budget Report Card," a portal where users can see a breakdown of the budget and where the money is going.

See Sherrill’s full budget address below: