The application for the 2025 tax year (Form PAS-1, which covers Senior Freeze, ANCHOR and Stay NJ together) is due November 2, 2026. Owners 65 and older must file it themselves; the state does not file for them. And for ANCHOR, the home that counts is the one you owned and lived in on October 1.
Why Downsizing Is Different Here
Most of the property tax help New Jersey gives older homeowners is tied to a specific house. Three state programs, a local deduction and a reduced transfer fee each have their own rule about ownership, occupancy and dates. None of them should stop you from moving if the house no longer fits. They should shape when you move, which application you file before you go, and whether your next home is one you own or rent.
The rules below come from the Division of Taxation's own pages as they read in October 2026. Every one of these programs depends on the yearly state budget, so treat the dollar amounts as this year's figures, not promises.
The Three Relief Programs, and What a Move Does to Each
| Program | Who qualifies (2025 tax year) | What selling or moving does |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement) | 65 or older by December 31, 2025, or on Social Security or Railroad Retirement disability; owned and lived in the home since December 31, 2022 and still there at the end of 2025; income no more than $168,268 for 2024 and $172,475 for 2025 | It repays increases over a base year at one house. A newly bought home must be owned and lived in for three years before it can qualify, and it gets its own base year |
| ANCHOR | Owned and occupied a New Jersey main home on October 1, 2025; income up to $250,000. Renters qualify too, with income up to $150,000 | Paid for whichever home you owned or rented and lived in on October 1. Owners received $1,500 or $1,000 for 2025 by income; renters 65 and older received $700 |
| Stay NJ | 65 or older during 2025; owned and lived in the home for all 12 months of 2025; income up to $200,000 | Owners only. Renters and mobile home owners are excluded, and a new home needs a full calendar year of ownership and occupancy |
One protection applies to all of them: the combined total of these benefits, plus the $250 senior or veteran deduction, cannot exceed the property tax actually paid on your main home for the same year. A smaller house with a smaller tax bill therefore lowers the ceiling as well.
Where Stay NJ Stands in October 2026
Stay NJ was built to cover half of a senior owner's tax bill, and it has been trimmed as it has been funded. The budget signed on June 30, 2026 split the third-quarter payment for the 2024 tax year in two, half in August and half in November 2026, which the state says leaves recipients with a lower total for the calendar year.
For the 2025 tax year the maximum benefit is tied to income: up to $6,500 at incomes of $100,000 or less, $5,000 between $100,000 and $150,000, and $4,000 between $150,000 and $200,000. Above $200,000 there is no Stay NJ payment. Those 2025 benefits are scheduled for February and May of 2027, and the state labels the figures as annualized on the assumption that the next budget does not change the program.
The practical point for anyone planning a sale: your 2025 eligibility depends on where you lived during 2025. The tests are about that year, so selling in late 2026 does not by itself cancel a benefit you qualified for. What it does mean is that you should file the 2025 PAS-1 before November 2, 2026, with a mailing address that will still reach you after you move.
Timing the Sale Around October 1
- Before you list or accept an offer
File what you are owed
Submit the PAS-1 for the year you lived there. If you also receive the $250 senior deduction, it was granted on the condition that you owned and occupied the home on October 1 of the pretax year, so tell the tax collector when ownership changes.
- Late summer
Decide which side of October 1 you close on
ANCHOR follows the home you occupied on that date. If the next place is a rental, the renter benefit applies instead and is smaller; if it is a home you buy, the new home becomes the ANCHOR address once you live there on October 1.
- At contract
Claim the senior transfer fee rate
Your attorney or the title company files Form RTF-1 with the deed to take the reduced rate, explained below.
- After the move
Start the clock at the new address
A purchased home begins the three-year Senior Freeze wait and the full-year Stay NJ requirement from the day you own it and live in it.
The Senior Rate on the Realty Transfer Fee
In New Jersey the seller owes the realty transfer fee, collected as the deed goes on record. A resident seller who is 62 or older, blind or permanently disabled pays a reduced rate when selling a one- or two-family home the seller owns and lives in at the time of sale. If the house is held by joint tenants, every owner must qualify; a married couple or civil union partners holding as tenants by the entirety need only one of them to qualify.
The difference is real. Using the Division's posted rates, a $400,000 sale at the standard rate carries a fee of $3,215. At the senior rate the same sale carries $1,495, a saving of $1,720. Because the form asks whether you occupied the home at the time of sale, check with your attorney before you move out months ahead of closing.
The Profit From the Sale
New Jersey follows the federal rule on a home sale. Up to $250,000 of profit escapes tax on a single return, with a ceiling of $500,000 for a married couple filing together, at any age, so long as you held title and made it your residence for at least 24 of the 60 months before closing. If you bought decades ago, ask your tax preparer to work out the gain before you agree to a price.
If you are moving to a child's home in another state, the state still lets you claim the principal residence exemption on the closing tax form when you leave on or after the day of the transfer, so long as the whole gain is excluded. When it is not, an estimated payment is due at closing.
Your Options, Side by Side
| Option | In practice | Suits you if | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stay and use the relief programs | File the PAS-1 every year and keep the $250 deduction | The house still works for you physically and you can keep up with it | Stay NJ amounts depend on each year's budget |
| Sell and buy a smaller New Jersey home | One sale, one purchase, ideally coordinated on dates | You want to keep owning and stay near family | Senior Freeze and Stay NJ restart at the new address |
| Sell and rent | Sale proceeds free; no maintenance | You value freedom from repairs over tax programs | Renters get only ANCHOR, a smaller benefit |
| List with an agent | Prepare, stage and show the house to the open market | The home is well kept and nothing is rushing you | Clearing decades of belongings comes before the photos |
| Sell to a cash buyer like us | One walkthrough, a written figure, a date you set | The house needs updating or you cannot face the clean-out | Our price will usually be lower than a polished listing could bring |
The Belongings Question
Often the hard part of downsizing is not the paperwork. It is forty years of furniture, tools, photographs and a basement no one has opened in a decade. When you sell to us, you pack what you are keeping, give relatives a weekend to choose their keepsakes, and walk away from whatever is left. Clearing what remains is our job, and it is reflected in the written offer rather than billed separately.
We also set the settlement date around your next home rather than our schedule. If your new apartment or condo is not ready, we can push settlement out by weeks or months, and in some cases we agree in the contract to let you remain for a short, fixed period after closing.
What to Gather Before You Call
- Your most recent property tax bill (it shows block, lot and the tax amounts the PAS-1 asks for)
- Any Senior Freeze, ANCHOR or Stay NJ letters you have received
- The deed, so we can see whose names are on it and how the title is held
- Your mortgage or home equity line statement, if there is still a balance
- The date your next home will be available, if you know it
Division of Taxation Property Tax Relief Hotline: 1-888-238-1233. The Division also runs Regional Information Centers and in-person PAS-1 filing events. Legal Services of New Jersey hotline: 1-888-576-5529.
Relief payments are not taxable income for New Jersey purposes, and the state never asks for personal details by unsolicited text or email.