ANCHOR: Do You Qualify For New Jersey’s $1,500 Property Tax Relief? – Earlier this month, Democratic Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy announced a $2 billion property tax relief program.
Along with senate President Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, Governor Murphy announced on June 15 an expansion of the ANCHOR Tax Relief Program. It will be the biggest tax relief plan in the history of the state and is designed to help families struggling with the rising cost of food, fuel, and household goods.
In a statement, the governor said that the relief program will grow from $900 million, which was initially proposed in March, to over $1 billion. It will reduce the cost of property taxes for more than 1.16 million homeowners across the state as well as 900,000 renters from the start of financial year 2023.
“I am proud to stand alongside Speaker Coughlin to announce the delivery of $2 billion in direct property tax relief, which will provide over 2 million rebates to New Jersey households. This is a truly historic tax relief program for our state,” Governor Murphy said in the statement. “Today we take a step forward on this administration’s promise to make New Jersey a stronger, fairer, more affordable state for our middle-class and working families.”
Senate President Scutari said that it was “extremely important” to see additional tax cuts extend into the new year, and described the new plan as “historic.”
Who Receives What Relief?
Under the expanded scheme, the ANCHOR Property Tax Relief program will be simplified and split into three levels of eligibility.
Households with income below $150,000 will receive a property tax credit for their 2023 property tax bill worth $1,500. Roughly 870,000 homeowners will qualify for a check of this size.
New Jersey households with income between $150,000 and $250,000 will receive a $1,000 property tax credit, which is roughly 290,000 households across the state.
Finally, around 900,000 renters across the state with incomes up to $150,000 will receive $450 per year to offset the increasing cost of rent which has been driven in part by the rising cost of property tax.
If you are not sure about your eligibility, the New Jersey state website provides a breakdown of existing ANCHOR rules here.
Households will automatically receive the property tax credits based on their tax filings, meaning no household will need to take specific action to receive the benefits. The deduction will be made at the time of payment in financial year 2023.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
