MAYOR’S CORNER –Bayonne Mayor James Davis’s Column
In mid-February, the New Jersey Department of the Treasury began mailing applications for the 2023 Senior Freeze Property Tax Reimbursement Program. The state has announced good news for senior taxpayers. The program has increased the income limit so that more people are eligible to apply. The New Jersey Treasury Department also eased the residency requirement for first-time applicants. I would like to thank our state leadership for making these welcome changes to the tax system in New Jersey.
According to the New Jersey Treasury Department, “Senior Freeze reimburses qualifying seniors and disabled residents for increases in property taxes or mobile home park site fees on their principal residences. A new law passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Murphy…expanded the program to increase the income limit for the program to $150,000 (previously $99,735 for the 2022 season), and to eliminate the requirements that an applicant must be a New Jersey resident for ten consecutive years.” The reimbursement takes place after the year in which the property taxes were paid. That is why the program just announced in 2024 is called the 2023 Senior Freeze Property Tax Reimbursement Program.
According to the New Jersey Treasury Department, “To qualify for the reimbursement, taxpayers must meet all the eligibility requirements for each year from the base year through the current application year. Eligibility must be continuous; otherwise, a new base year must be established.”
The state announced the following requirements for taxpayers to be eligible for the 2023 Senior Freeze:
- Be age 65 or older on December 31, 2022, or receive Social Security disability payments on December 31, 2022, and also on December 31, 2023; and
- Own and live in their home or lease a site in a mobile home park for a manufactured or mobile home that they owned since December 31, 2019, or earlier; and
- Paid all 2022 property taxes by June 1, 2023, and all 2023 property taxes by June 1, 2024; and
- Their annual income was $150,000 or less in 2022 and $163,050 or less in 2023. With some exceptions, all income must be taken into account, including Social Security, pension, etc.
