NJ Bill Cutting Property Taxes 50 Percent For Some Moves Forward

NEW JERSEY — A new program providing property tax relief to senior citizens is moving through the New Jersey legislature, and would cut up to 50 percent of the bill for those eligible.

The "StayNJ" bill would give eligible homeowners who are 65 years of age or older a 50 percent property tax credit, up to a maximum of $10,000. There is no income limit for eligibility to receive a property tax credit under the program, the bill states.

The program also expands eligibility requirements for the state's "senior freeze" program. Legislators forecast that the program would cost $1.2 billion by fiscal year 2028, and each year after.

An Assembly committee approved the bill (A1) on June 8, just three weeks after it was proposed. As it is written, the property tax credits would begin going out in the first quarter of 2025. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-NJ-19) introduced the program.

"Under the bill, a property taxpayer who may be eligible to apply for an ANCHOR property tax rebate and a homestead property tax reimbursement shall only be entitled to the greater of the STAY NJ credit, or the combined amount of the ANCHOR property tax rebate and the homestead property tax reimbursement," the bill states.

Critics of StayNJ point out that the bill does not include seniors who rent their homes. About one in four New Jersey residents aged 65 or older are renters and would be left out of the proposal according to New Jersey Policy Perspective, a progressive think tank. More than half of senior renters are Black or Hispanic/Latin American, researchers added.

New Jersey Policy Perspective said this program would "benefit wealthy homeowners the most, leave renters behind, and widen the racial wealth gap."

"The program also comes at an enormous cost to the state, just as revenue collections are coming in lower than expected, putting funding for existing public programs and services that seniors rely on at risk," said NJPP senior policy analyst Peter Chen.

Only 13 municipalities in New Jersey have an average property tax bill of over $1 million that would qualify for the full StayNJ credit, NJPP said.

“Making New Jersey more affordable for seniors is a noble goal, but we’re not going to get there by giving the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Phil Murphy a $10,000 check," Chen continued. "There are more effective and efficient ways to target relief to the seniors who are struggling the most with high housing costs, grocery bills, and prescription drug prices.”

A Senate version of the bill (S1) was introduced in the legislature June 5 and referred to the Budget and Appropriations Committee.