NJ 2016 Homestead Benefit Program

You may be eligible if you met these requirements:

• You were a New Jersey resident; and
• You owned and occupied a home in New Jersey that was your principal residence on October 1, 2016*; and
• Property taxes for 2016 were paid on that home; and
• You met the 2016 income requirements:
  • $150,000 for homeowners age 65 or over or blind or disabled; or
  • $75,000 for homeowners under age 65 and not blind or disabled.

*If you were not a homeowner on October 1, 2016, you are not eligible for a Homestead Benefit, even if you owned a home for part of the year.

You are not eligible unless you are required to pay property taxes on your home.

For example, you are not eligible if you:

• Are completely exempt from paying property taxes on your principal residence (such as certain totally and permanently disabled war veterans).
• Made P.I.L.O.T. (Payments-in-Lieu-of-Tax) payments to your municipality. These payments are not considered property taxes for purposes of the Homestead Benefit.

You are not eligible for a benefit for a vacation home, a “second home,” or a property you owned and rented to someone else. If you owned more than one property in New Jersey, only file the application for the property that was your principal residence on October 1, 2016.

The Deadline to File Your 2016 Application is November 30, 2018.