New Jersey's budget law still describes the Stay NJ benefit as "50 percent of the property taxes paid for the eligible claimant's principal residence." The same sentence in the FY2027 Appropriations Act then adjusts that figure for ANCHOR and Senior Freeze payments and caps it, with a different ceiling for each income tier. At Allendale's tax levels, the cap is reached long before half the bill. For a homeowner whose calculated benefit hits that cap, the credit tops out at a dollar figure set by household income, no matter how large the tax bill is.
Where the 50 percent line falls on an Allendale bill
The state's 2025 Average Residential Statistics put Allendale's average residential tax bill at $17,912 for 2025, on an average assessment of $882,362. Half of that bill is about $8,956. Governor Sherrill signed the budget on June 30, 2026, and under it the largest annualized Stay NJ benefit for the 2025 tax year is $6,500.
On the average Allendale home, then, the cap limits the benefit before the 50 percent formula does. The tier figures are annualized maximums, not guaranteed payments. Here is how each one compares with that $17,912 average:
| Household income, tax year 2025 | Annualized maximum Stay NJ benefit | Maximum as share of Allendale's 2025 average bill |
|---|---|---|
| $0 to $100,000 | $6,500 | about 36% |
| $100,000.01 to $150,000 | $5,000 | about 28% |
| $150,000.01 to $200,000 | $4,000 | about 22% |
| Over $200,000 | $0 | 0% |
The Division of Taxation's Stay NJ page says income is calculated the same way as for Senior Freeze, and spouses or civil union partners living in the same home combine their incomes. The jump at $200,000 is a cliff. A household at exactly $200,000 is in the tier with a $4,000 maximum. A household one dollar above it gets nothing from Stay NJ for the 2025 tax year.
The higher the town's bill, the smaller the share
A flat cap treats a $13,000 bill and a $20,000 bill the same way. Across the towns this practice covers, the top-tier maximum covers anywhere from half the average bill to under a third of it:
| Town | 2025 average residential tax bill | Top-tier $6,500 maximum as share of that bill |
|---|---|---|
| Ridgewood | $20,596 | about 32% |
| Upper Saddle River | $20,432 | about 32% |
| Saddle River | $20,339 | about 32% |
| Glen Rock | $20,141 | about 32% |
| Ho-Ho-Kus | $19,834 | about 33% |
| Allendale | $17,912 | about 36% |
| Wyckoff | $16,425 | about 40% |
| Ramsey | $15,131 | about 43% |
| Waldwick | $12,961 | 50% |
Waldwick is the only town on this list where half the average bill, about $6,480, comes in under the $6,500 cap. That makes it the one place where the program still works the way its name suggests. Everywhere else, two owners in the same income tier whose calculated benefits both reach the cap get the same maximum, even when their tax bills are thousands of dollars apart.
This matters for anyone comparing Allendale with Upper Saddle River or Saddle River. For owners at the cap, the roughly $2,500 gap in average bills between Allendale and those towns stays the same once the credit comes off, because the ceiling is identical in all three.
Allendale's 2026 bill moved, and the ceiling stayed put
Once a homeowner's calculated benefit is at the cap, every change in the bill lands on the homeowner, dollar for dollar. Allendale's 2026 numbers show how many moving parts sit underneath that bill.
The Borough's 2026 budget newsletter reports that the average assessed home value rose about 12 percent in 2026, which the Borough calls higher than in recent years. In the same year, the amount raised by municipal taxes fell 0.09 percent, from $11,114,779 to $11,105,287, and the municipal tax rate dropped 10.21 percent. The Borough estimates the municipal portion of the average home's bill rose about $38, or 0.9 percent. It adds that "an increase in valuation does not automatically mean an increase in your taxes," and that roughly 60 percent of residents saw minimal, neutral or lower tax impacts over the past two years.
The regional high school portion moved more. In its 2026-27 budget presentation, Northern Highlands Regional shows Allendale's share of the regional budget rising from 41.95 percent to 44.45 percent, with Allendale's tax levy for the district up 11.68 percent, from $11,255,659 to $12,569,981. Allendale's taxable base grew over the same period, from about $2.32 billion to about $2.59 billion. The district's table shows a typical home assessed at $991,079 paying $19.62 more in regional school tax, $4,818.43 compared with $4,798.80.
School taxes make up most of the rate. The Borough's user-friendly budget breaks down the 2024 rate of 2.108 per $100 of assessed value, and the local school at 0.837 plus the regional school at 0.486 account for the largest part of it. The state lists Allendale's 2025 general rate at $2.030.
Put those pieces together and the bill depends on assessments, two school budgets, the Borough's levy and the county. For an owner whose calculated benefit is at the cap, the Stay NJ credit doesn't move with any of them. When the bill goes up, the homeowner pays the whole increase. When it goes down, the credit stays the same until the calculated benefit falls back below the cap.
The calendar from here
Because the payment schedule is fixed while the bill keeps changing, it helps to know where things stand in early November 2026:
- The filing window has closed. The deadline for the 2025 Form PAS-1, which covers Senior Freeze, ANCHOR and Stay NJ together, was November 2, 2026.
- November 2026 brings a half payment. The budget took the third-quarter payment for the 2024 tax year and split it into two halves, paid in August and November 2026. The Division says this lowers recipients' total benefit for 2026.
- February and May 2027 cover the 2025 tax year. The budget funds only those two quarterly payments, capped in total at $3,250, $2,500 or $2,000 depending on the income tier, and adjusted for any ANCHOR and Senior Freeze amounts.
- Anything after May 2027 depends on the FY2028 budget. The Division presents its maximums "assuming no changes to the Stay NJ Program in the Fiscal Year 2028 budget."
That last point comes out of a funding cut. NJ Spotlight News reported that the Governor and lawmakers cut the Stay NJ allocation to $756 million, down from a projected $1 billion-plus, and narrowed eligibility from the earlier $500,000 income ceiling. Sherrill's June proposal of a $4,000 maximum and a $250,000 ceiling was replaced by the tiered caps in the final budget, as New Jersey Monitor covered at the time. The program's shape has already changed twice in one budget cycle.
How this shows up in a keep-or-sell conversation
For the 2025 tax year, the eligibility rules on the Division's page require the applicant or spouse to have been 65 or older during 2025 and to have owned and lived in a home for the full 12 months of 2025. Renters do not qualify. The program can be combined with ANCHOR and Senior Freeze, but the Division's FAQ says total relief cannot exceed the property taxes paid on the principal residence.
For an Allendale owner whose calculated benefit reaches the cap, it helps to look at the credit and the bill separately when comparing the cost of staying with the cost of moving, since the bill can change from year to year while the cap does not. How Stay NJ applies to someone who sells or moves within New Jersey depends on details in the state's application materials, and the Division of Taxation is the source to confirm them with.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm your own eligibility and figures with the Division of Taxation or a qualified tax professional.
Questions that come up
Does a higher assessment mean a higher Stay NJ credit? Only if your calculated benefit is still below the cap for your income tier. On Allendale's 2025 average bill of $17,912, half the bill is already above every tier's cap.
Did Allendale's 12 percent rise in assessed value raise tax bills by 12 percent? No. The Borough's newsletter estimates the municipal portion of the average home's bill rose about $38 in 2026, because the municipal rate fell as values rose.
Where can I check a specific benefit amount? The Division of Taxation sends each applicant a statement showing their Senior Freeze, ANCHOR and Stay NJ amounts, and has an online status tool linked from its Stay NJ page.
If you're weighing what your Allendale tax bill means for keeping your home or selling it, I'm glad to go through your home's assessment and the sales nearby with you, one figure at a time. Claudia H. Sanchez offers a personalized market consultation and a complimentary home valuation, so you can make that decision with real numbers in front of you.
