New Jersey residents will now be able to apply for the 2023 Senior Freeze program. The state Treasury Department will start mailing out the New Jersey Senior Freeze program applications today. Taxpayers need to understand the requirements for the program as the state has made a few new requirements for the 2023 filing season.
Property Tax Reimbursement: who will get it?
New Jersey’s Senior Freeze Program reimburses senior citizens and disabled persons for increased property taxes or mobile home park site fees on their principal residence.
New Jersey’s Senior Freeze Program, also called the Property Tax Reimbursement, sends annual checks to over 150,000 residents to help offset any increase in their local property tax bills. The program covers residents who are 65 or older or who receive Social Security disability payments.
Also, to qualify for the program, a person needs to be a New Jersey resident. Moreover, the resident must be a homeowner, have lived in the home since Dec. 31, 2019, or earlier, and paid property taxes on time.
Additionally, a person needs to meet the income requirements to qualify for the New Jersey Senior Freeze program. Lawmakers recently made changes to the income requirements and the residency requirement for the 2023 filing season.
For the 2023 filing season, the income limit has been increased to $150,000. The threshold income for 2021 was $94,178 or less, while for 2022, it was $99,735. Also, lawmakers eliminated the earlier requirement that required an applicant to be a New Jersey resident for 10 consecutive years.
All other requirements, including age, disability and three-year homeownership, remain unchanged. The two new changes mean those who haven’t qualified previously stand a chance to receive the Property Tax Reimbursement for 2023.
New Jersey Senior Freeze program: how to apply
New Jersey’s Treasury Department will start mailing the Senior Freeze applications on Feb. 12, 2024. Those who don’t receive the applications by late March need to contact the Treasury Department’s Senior Freeze Information Line at 1-800-882-6597 to request an application.
Your reimbursement checks will be issued to the names printed on the application. So, if the mailed application carries the name of your deceased spouse, you need to cross it out and print the date of death above it to help the department make the required changes. Also, you need to attach a copy of the death certificate with the application.
According to the Treasury Department, it will start issuing reimbursements to qualified applicants in July. The reimbursement is only available in the form of a paper check. Thus, it is important that your application contains your most recent mailing address. The last date to apply for the 2023 New Jersey Senior Freeze program is Oct. 31, 2024.
Visit the state Treasury Department’s Senior Freeze program webpage to know more about the program.
