Stay NJ Benefits: Eligibility, PAS-1 and 2027 Payments

What Changed in the 2026 Budget?

The Fiscal Year 2027 Appropriations Act was signed on June 30, 2026. Its new Stay NJ rules affect different groups at different times. Tax, filing, and payment years differ.

For the 2024 tax year, Stay NJ recipients started receiving payments in 2026. The state later changed the remaining 2026 installments. It split the previously planned third-quarter amount between August and November 2026, reducing the year’s overall benefit from the earlier expectation. Check your award.

For the 2025 tax year, residents apply during 2026. The enacted budget limits the Stay NJ portion paid in 2027 to applicants whose relevant income is $200,000 or less. The Division’s newer property relief FAQs also state this limit.

Why an old form may disagree: The original 2025 PAS-1 booklet, prepared before the budget was final, still says income below $500,000 for Stay NJ. Its own instructions warn that the state budget can change the rules. For payments governed by the later enacted budget, use the Division’s newer $200,000 guidance. A household above that amount may still qualify for ANCHOR under its separate rules.

Which Tax Year Is Your Payment For?

The benefit uses past-year home and income facts, though checks arrive later.

Its 2025 application status page identifies the February and May 2027 installments for the 2025 tax-year benefit. Any later 2027 payments are subject to future budget decisions. The state specifically labels its full-year maximum figures as annualized, based on an assumption about the Fiscal Year 2028 budget.

Who May Qualify for Stay NJ?

Stay NJ is a statewide New Jersey program run by the Division of Taxation. There is no separate county application. Town tax records still matter.

• Age: You or your spouse was at least 65 by the end of 2025.
• Home: You owned and occupied a New Jersey main home for the full calendar year, January 1 through December 31, 2025.
• Residency: New Jersey was your place of residence, and the property was your main home, not a vacation or investment property.
• Housing charge: The home was subject to property tax or qualifying payments in lieu of tax, often called P.I.L.O.T.
• Income: The later state budget sets the limit at $200,000 for the 2027 payment program.

Married homeowners should check the filing and combined-income rules. Even when only one spouse is on the deed, the state’s PAS-1 instructions address joint applications. The same booklet explains life estates, trust-owned homes, condominiums, co-ops, and continuing care retirement communities. Ask how special ownership rules apply.

Sharing a home with a sister, friend, or other non-spouse owner can affect the amount credited to you. The state bases the Stay NJ amount on your ownership share. A duplex or another multi-unit property may also require the state to count only the share used as your main home.

How Much Could Stay NJ Pay in 2027?

The Division lists different annualized maximums for 2027 based on the income used for Stay NJ. These are ceilings, not promised payments, and assume no later budget change.

The state designed Stay NJ around relief tied to a portion of eligible property taxes, not a flat cash gift. The final amount depends on the state’s calculation, ownership share, other relief, and the budget. Do not add the maximum Stay NJ amount to full ANCHOR and Senior Freeze awards and expect that sum in checks.

For example, a household in the lowest income band does not automatically receive $6,500. If its share of eligible taxes is smaller, or other relief has already covered much of its taxes, the Stay NJ amount may be lower or zero. Income alone cannot determine an award.

How Stay NJ Works With ANCHOR and Senior Freeze

Each program serves a different job. ANCHOR provides property-tax relief under its own income and residence rules. Senior Freeze reimburses qualifying increases above a base-year property tax amount. Stay NJ adds another possible form of senior homeowner relief after the other benefits are considered.

New Jersey may find you eligible for more than one program from the same application. The Division calculates the award for each program and sends a benefit statement. Its ANCHOR calculation guidance and FAQs say total covered property-tax relief cannot exceed the qualifying home’s property taxes for the same year. The combined cap also considers certain local property-tax deductions.

If your Stay NJ income is above $200,000 but not above the ANCHOR homeowner limit of $250,000, do not abandon PAS-1 without screening the ANCHOR rules. If you meet Senior Freeze requirements, check that program separately too. Its income and ownership-history tests are different.

The Senior Freeze program page gives the reimbursement rules. Our New Jersey senior tax guide gives a wider explanation of tax-year relief; this page stays focused on Stay NJ itself.

How to Apply With Form PAS-1

For the 2025 tax year, homeowners age 65 or older must file the combined Application for Property Tax Relief, Form PAS-1. Do not assume the state will file it for you because you received a past payment. The form screens for Stay NJ, ANCHOR, and Senior Freeze. No separate Stay NJ form is needed.

1. Choose a filing method. File online or get the official paper application. Paper filing is available if you cannot use the online identity check.
2. Gather property facts. Have your county and municipality codes, block and lot details, 2024 and 2025 property-tax figures, and any P.I.L.O.T. records if relevant.
3. Prepare income information. Gather your 2024 and 2025 NJ-1040 records and Social Security statements where applicable. The detailed PAS-1 worksheet includes income that may not appear in the usual taxable-income total.
4. File on time. Online submissions must be completed by 11:59 p.m. on November 2, 2026. Paper applications postmarked by that date count as timely under the printed instructions.
5. Save your proof. Keep a copy of the form or the online reference number. Watch for a request for more documents and a benefit statement.

Online applicants may need to verify their identity with ID.me. The state describes the process on its filing information page. If you cannot complete that check, you may submit paper PAS-1 instead. A driver’s license, state ID, or passport may help with an online identity check.

Some applications involving trusts, life estates, a death in the family, or a move during 2025 need extra documents or schedules. Ask about a move before guessing which home qualifies.

If Your Payment Is Delayed or Missing

Filing does not guarantee payment. Online applications can take up to three weeks to appear in the 2025 status system; paper applications can take up to 12 weeks. The state may ask for additional income or home records.

Use the official application status checker. It asks for your Social Security or taxpayer ID number and the ZIP code on your application. Enter this information only on the genuine state website. If you submitted online but have no reference number, check whether you actually completed the submission.

If the amount looks wrong, ask the Division which tax year it used, which program produced the adjustment, and which income figure it counted. Request an explanation of any correction or denial in writing. Do not assume a local property-tax appeal is the same as review of a State Stay NJ benefit decision. Ask the state which review process and notice deadline apply.

Three Short Phone Scripts

Income rule: “I filed PAS-1 for tax year 2025. Can you confirm which income amount you counted for Stay NJ under the 2027 budget and whether you need another document?”

Payment question: “I am checking my Stay NJ payment for tax year 2024 or 2025. Which payment year and quarter is shown on my account?”

Review request: “My Stay NJ notice looks incorrect. Can you tell me how to request a review, what proof to send, and the deadline for my case?”

Reality Checks and Common Mistakes

• Do not use the older $500,000 amount to predict eligibility for the 2025 tax-year benefit paid under the 2027 rules.
• Do not treat the annualized maximum as a check amount. Future state budgets and coordinated relief can change payments.
• Do not confuse local tax bills and state benefits. Keep paying required municipal property-tax installments unless your tax collector tells you otherwise.
• Do not assume a PAS-1 approval is a Stay NJ approval. You can qualify for one program but not another.
• Do not pay a stranger to speed up a benefit. The state warns about texts and emails that pretend to be tax-relief messages. See its fraud and filing warnings.

For help beyond property taxes, see the New Jersey senior assistance guide. If you need help understanding a tax letter or filing issue, our tax help guide covers other routes. The Division decides Stay NJ eligibility.