ANCHOR property tax relief program applications mailed to homes

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Mayor Michael Venezia announced that Bloomfield residents, and residents across the state, will soon be receiving mailers from the NJ Division of Taxation with filing information and an application for the 2019 ANCHOR — Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters — property tax relief program. 

“We want to make sure the residents of Bloomfield are checking their mailboxes, whether virtually or physically, for their ANCHOR filing information. Receiving mail from The NJ Division of Taxation isn’t usually something any of us look forward to but in this case there are some majorly expanded property tax relief options available that I encourage eligible residents to apply for,” Venezia said. “We also want residents to know that this program will now also include more of our residents who rent their homes, so be sure to check whether you are newly eligible for these direct payments. My hope is that this larger investment in tax relief will help put more money into the pockets of the working people and families of Bloomfield in a year that has been fiscally stressful for so many of us.” 

The ANCHOR program replaces the Homestead Benefit program and expands the amount of property tax relief while also boosting eligibility to twice as many homeowners, and also includes tenants renting their homes. The division will be emailing ANCHOR program filing information to homeowners who had requested their application be sent through email when they filed their 2018 Homestead Benefit application at the same time the physical mailers are sent out.

The NJ Division of Taxation mailers began arriving to tenants and homeowners in Essex County on Sept. 14 and the department has asked that residents not call about a missing mailer until at least two weeks after the expected delivery date for their county.

To be eligible, homeowners must have: been a New Jersey resident; owned and occupied a home in New Jersey that was their principal residence on Oct. 1, 2019; paid the 2019 property taxes on their main home; and had 2019 New Jersey gross income of not more than $250,000.

To be eligible, tenants must have: been a New Jersey resident; rented and occupied an apartment or residence in New Jersey that was their principal residence on Oct. 1, 2019; lived in a unit with its own separate kitchen and bath facilities, if the building had more than one dwelling unit; paid rent on their main home, which was subject to local property taxes; and had 2019 New Jersey gross income of not more than $150,000.

Applicants will choose to receive their benefits either as a check or direct deposit and must file their application by Friday, Dec. 30.

The online application, eligibility requirements, filing instructions and paper applications can also be accessed at nj.gov/treasury/taxation/anchor. The automated telephone filing system, which will be available 24/7 during the filing period, can be reached at 1-877-658-2972.

Text telephone service for hearing-impaired users is available at 1-800-286-6613 or 609-984-7300.

  Mayor Michael Venezia