There is good news for New Jersey Anchor tax rebate recipients who received the benefit during the program’s first year. New Jersey’s Department of the Treasury recently announced a second Anchor tax rebate check, which will come sometime later this year. Also, the department added that the process is going to be even easier this time around.
Second New Jersey Anchor Tax Rebate: Who Will Get It?
On Tuesday, the state announced that over 1.3 million residents who received the New Jersey Anchor tax rebate earlier this year, can expect another payment later this year. The state is sending a letter to these residents confirming their eligibility for the payment.
According to the Department of the Treasury, it started mailing the letters on Tuesday. Along with confirming their eligibility, the mail informs recipients how they will get the rebate money, and confirms their mailing address and bank information.
More importantly, the mail informs that recipients don’t need to file a new application for the second Anchor rebate payment.
If there is no change in the mailing and bank information, recipients don’t need to do anything, including filing a new application. Those whose information is unchanged can expect to receive the New Jersey Anchor tax rebate by November 1.
Those who need to update their mailing or bank information can do so online by the end of September.
According to the Department of the Treasury, they have identified over 1.3 million of the 1.7 million ANCHOR recipients whose qualifying information has stayed the same from last time. The remaining 400,000 people belong to one of the following categories:
- Their filing characteristics changed between 2019 and 2020.
- There was a change in property ownership.
- There was a death, a change in marital status or banking information, or any other verification that prevented the department from confirming the recipient’s eligibility.
Is It Politically Motivated?
The second New Jersey Anchor tax rebate payment is expected to be sent by November 1, i.e., six months after the first one. Interestingly, the rebate payment date is a week before Election Day.
Gov. Phil Murphy called the second rebate payment “welcome news” for the millions of residents. His opponents, however, slammed the timing as “convenient,” adding that sending payment with that timing is aimed at steering votes in favor of Murphy’s party in November.
A spokesperson for the governor denied the claims that the timing is politically motivated.
“First critics of Anchor voted against it, now they’re complaining that relief is coming out too soon. It sounds like they just aren’t happy that the administration and legislative leadership are working together to make New Jersey more affordable,” the spokesperson said.
Sending relief checks before an election year is not new in New Jersey.
Gov. Brendan Byrne’s name, for instance, appeared on rebate checks sent out during the Homestead program’s first year. Sen. Raymond Bateman, Byrne’s GOP challenger at the time, partly credited this tactic for his loss.
