Senior Citizen, Disability & Surviving Spouse

  • New Jersey Citizenship as of October 1 of the pretax year
  • Property Ownership as of October 1 of the pretax year
  • Residence in New Jersey and in dwelling house as of October 1 of the pretax year and
  • Residence in New Jersey for 1 year immediately prior to October 1 of the pretax year
  • Senior Citizen - age 65 or more as of December 31 of the pretax year
  • Permanent and Total Disability Deduction - Permanently and totally disabled as of December 31 of the pretax year
  • Surviving Spouse Deduction - age 55 or more as of December 31 of the pretax year and at the time of spouse’s death. The spouse must have been receiving either the senior citizen deduction or the disability deduction for the same dwelling as the surviving spouse deduction being claimed
  • Income (including income of the claimant’s spouse) will not exceed $10,000. (Income means all income received from whatever source derived including, but not limited to, salaries, wages, bonuses, commissions, tips, and other compensations before payroll deductions, all dividends, interest, realized capital gains, royalties, income from rents, business income, and in their entirety, pension, annuity and retirement benefits. Realized capital gains, except for capital gain from the sale or exchange of real property owned and used by the claimant as his/her principal residence, dividends, interest, pensions, annuities and retirement benefits must be included in full without deductions even though they may be wholly or partially exempt for Federal income tax purposes.) 
  • Excludable Income - Income can be excluded under one of the following three categories: Social Security Benefits or Federal Government Retirement / Disability Pension including Federal Railroad Retirement Benefits or State, County, Municipal Government and their political subdivisions and agencies Retirement / Disability Pension. Please contact the Assessor’s Office for the latest income guidelines as the Excludable Income has a maximum amount of exclusion that changes each year.

Only one of the deductions may be received per principal residence regardless of the number of qualified claimants residing on the premises.

Deductions That Don't Qualify

Vacation, summer or second homes do not qualify for any of the above deductions.

Current Deductions

The current deduction for the senior citizen deduction or the disability deduction or the surviving spouse deduction is $250 deducted from the tax bill for each year the claimant qualifies.

Applications

Applications are available in the Assessor’s Office, online or through the State of New Jersey website.