ANCHOR Check Status: When NJ Pays ANCHOR, Stay NJ and Senior Freeze (2026)

The three programs at a glance: who, how much, and when

New Jersey runs three property tax relief programs from one application. People under 65 who are not on Social Security or Railroad Retirement disability file the ANC-1, which covers ANCHOR only. Most of them were filed for automatically. People 65 or older, or on that disability, file the PAS-1, which covers all three.

The Division decides which programs you qualify for. It sends a letter at the end of the year with the amount from each.

• The deadline for the 2025 application, ANC-1 or PAS-1, was November 2, 2026.
• Online applicants could choose direct deposit or a paper check. Paper applications are paid by paper check only.
• Renters and mobile home owners cannot get Stay NJ. Mobile home owners in a park count as renters for ANCHOR.

Using the Status Checker, and what “No 2025 application found” means

The Status Checker asks for two things only: your Social Security number or ITIN, and the ZIP code you put on the application. It then shows your filing status or payment date.

If it says no 2025 application was found, the site gives four common reasons. The number or ZIP code does not match. It is too soon. The online application was never submitted. Or you are looking for a prior-year PAS-1, which has its own page.

• Online filers should have a Web Reference Number from the confirmation screen. The site says that without one, the application was not successfully submitted.
• To change something after you submitted, the site says to contact the Division by phone or email with your full name and the property's full address.
• The Division verifies identity through ID.me for online applications. Its staff cannot get into your ID.me account. If you skip or fail ID.me, you can still file on paper.

ANCHOR amounts for the 2025 application

ANCHOR is based on where you lived on October 1, 2025 and on the income on line 29 of your 2025 NJ-1040. Homeowners above $250,000 and renters above $150,000 are not eligible.

Some news articles still list $1,750 for homeowners 65 or older. The Division's calculation page, last updated July 16, 2026, shows no age add-on for homeowners. The extra $250 appears for renters 65 or older only.

• If you are 65 or older and did not claim the $50 property tax credit, the Division adds it to your ANCHOR payment. That covers people who did not have to file a return.
• Condo owners and co-op shareholders who paid property tax on the unit count as homeowners. So do continuing care residents whose contract makes them pay the unit's share of property tax.
• A vacation home, a second home or a property you rent out does not qualify. Neither does a home that is fully exempt from property tax.

Why some ANCHOR payments came September 15 and others October 1

The Treasury's ANCHOR fact sheet gives two start dates. People who filed a PAS-1 began receiving payments on September 15, 2026. People the state filed for automatically began receiving them on October 1, 2026.

Both groups are paid on a rolling basis, not all on one day. The Division says most applicants are paid within 90 days unless it needs more information. The Status Checker adds that, in some cases, payments will be made after 2026.

• Our arithmetic on the 90-day guide: an application filed on November 2, 2026 would reach 90 days on January 31, 2027.
• If you get a benefit check by mistake, the Division asks you to return it to the Division of Taxation, PO Box 266, Trenton, NJ 08695-0266.

Stay NJ: the November 2026 half-payment and the 2027 schedule

Stay NJ pays homeowners 65 or older in quarterly installments. The Fiscal Year 2027 Appropriations Act, signed June 30, 2026, split the third 2026 payment on the 2024 benefit in two. Half came in August 2026 and half comes in November 2026. The Division says this means a lower overall benefit for calendar year 2026.

For the 2025 application, the Division's Stay NJ page says the benefit will be paid in February and May 2027. The Status Checker lists quarterly windows in February, May, August and November 2027.

• The Division shows these maximums on an annualized basis and assumes no change to Stay NJ in the Fiscal Year 2028 budget.
• To qualify, you or your spouse were 65 or older during 2025, and you owned and lived in the home for all 12 months of 2025.
• The home was subject to property taxes or a payment in lieu of taxes (P.I.L.O.T.). Income is counted the same way as for Senior Freeze and combined for a married couple living in the same home.
• Each applicant gets a benefit statement showing the Senior Freeze, ANCHOR and Stay NJ amounts.

Senior Freeze: your payment window depends on when you applied

Senior Freeze reimburses the increase in property tax over your base year. The Division's formula is property taxes billed for the current year minus property taxes billed for the base year. If this year's taxes are not higher than the base year's, there is no reimbursement.

Our arithmetic on a hypothetical home: base-year taxes of $8,400 and 2025 taxes of $9,150 give a Senior Freeze reimbursement of $750.

• You, or your spouse, were 65 or older on December 31, 2025, or receiving Social Security or Railroad Retirement disability payments by then.
• You owned and lived in the home since December 31, 2022 or earlier, and still did on December 31, 2025.
• Total income was $168,268 or less for 2024 and $172,475 or less for 2025, combined for a married couple in the same home.
• A home paying P.I.L.O.T. does not qualify for Senior Freeze, even though it can for Stay NJ.

The cap, the income test and taxes on the payments

All of your relief together cannot be more than the property taxes paid on your main home for the same year. The cap counts ANCHOR, Senior Freeze, Stay NJ and the property tax deduction for seniors, disabled people and veterans.

The income test is wider than your tax return. The Division says to include all income for the year, even income New Jersey does not tax. If it later adjusts your income above a limit, you must pay the benefits back.

• Counted: income on the NJ-1040, tax-exempt interest, Roth IRA distributions and rollovers into a Roth IRA, excluded retirement income such as a disability pension, and federal Social Security.
• Not counted, among others: unemployment benefits, ANCHOR, Homestead and Senior Freeze benefits, and income tax refunds.
• The Division says property tax relief payments are not taxable income for New Jersey income tax.
• If you own the home with someone other than a spouse, Senior Freeze is based on your ownership share. The Division's example: own half, and the benefit is based on half the taxes.

How the separate property tax deduction or $50 credit works on the NJ-1040 is in the NJ income tax brackets guide.

Filing for someone who died, and when to bring in a CPA

An application can be filed for a relative who died, if that person lived in the home and met the rules for 2025. For a homeowner who died on or after October 1, 2025, the executor or surviving spouse attaches documents such as the death certificate. A benefit filed for an estate is issued in the estate's name.

A CPA is worth considering if your income is close to a line: $150,000 or $250,000 for ANCHOR, $172,475 for Senior Freeze, or $200,000 for Stay NJ. The same goes for a Roth conversion, a pension with after-tax money in it, or an estate filing. Check the license in New Jersey's own record first.

To confirm a CPA's license, status and any Board action, use the NJ CPA license lookup guide.

If you pay quarterly tax on retirement income, the January 15, 2027 date is in the NJ estimated tax payments guide.

What you can still change before December 31, 2026 is in the tax planning services guide.