New Jersey's ANCHOR Touches Many Homestead Could Not

By Morgan Sweeney | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square New Jersey

June 1, 2022

(The Center Square) – New Jersey homeowners and renters can look forward to more property tax credits in 2023.

ANCHOR, a $900 million new property tax relief program, is replacing its predecessor, the Homestead Rebate Program, raising the number of program beneficiaries from 470,000 to 1.8 million. ANCHOR is an acronym for the Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters Program.

“The time has come to realize that continuing to write and rewrite the Homestead program renders its meaning meaningless to more and more families,” Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said when he first unveiled plans for ANCHOR to the public in March, as recorded in New Jersey Business Magazine.

The Homestead Rebate Program, begun in 1977, was established to relieve some of the financial pressures of homeowners paying high property taxes. The Tax Foundation cites New Jersey as the state with highest property tax burden in the country. The program assisted homeowners making up to $75,000 per year – about 470,000 Garden State residents – and supplied an average rebate of $626 per household.

Murphy wants to do more. According to a release, "homeowners making up to $250,000 – more than three times the previous maximum allowed income – could receive $700 or more in property tax credits in 2023."

The program also extends benefits to a group left out of the Homestead program: renters. Though renters don’t pay property taxes, the cost of rent generally rises and falls with property taxes. "Renters whose annual income is as high as $100,000 are eligible for up to a $250 rebate," the release said.

"As planned, ANCHOR’s benefits become richer each of the next three years, with the state dispensing a total of $1.5 billion in property tax relief averaging a $1,150 rebate per eligible household in fiscal year 2025," the release said. This synchs with Murphy's reelection campaign, in which he pledged to address “long-standing affordability issues” in the state, including property taxes.

"With ANCHOR, property tax benefits will reach the subset of Garden State homeowners making between $75,000 and $250,000, a group formerly untouched by the Homestead program and among the top 15% of earners in New Jersey," according to the New Jersey Policy Perspective.

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