Office of the State Treasurer

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2005
 CONTACTS:  

Kathy Hennessy
(609) 984-7110

"Senior Freeze" Checks on the Way

 TRENTON -- Acting Governor Richard J. Codey and State Treasurer John E. McCormac announced today that eligible senior and disabled residents will soon receive their 2004 Property Tax Reimbursement (PTR) checks. The Division of Taxation began the statewide mailing of reimbursement checks today. This year, checks issued under the PTR Program, which is also referred to as the “Senior Freeze”, average $578.

“The Senior Freeze program is fully funded in this year’s budget as part of our commitment to easing the property tax burden in New Jersey, particularly for seniors and the disabled residents on fixed incomes,” said Acting Governor Codey. “In order to ensure that all eligible residents get the chance to apply, we also extended the deadline for submitting an application to August 15,” Codey said.
Under the Senior Freeze, eligible applicants are directly reimbursed by the State for the difference between the amount of local property taxes paid in the “base year” (the year they became eligible and first filed for the program) and the amount of property taxes paid for the reimbursement year.
Treasurer McCormac noted that funding for the Senior Freeze program rose from $73.4 million last year to $98.4 million this year. “Governor Codey made the Senior Freeze program a top funding priority for FY 2006,” noted Treasurer McCormac. The Governor’s commitment means that more than 100,000 low-income senior and disabled residents will receive much-needed relief from rising property taxes,” he said.

Starting today, the Division will mail approximately 100,350 checks, which will average $578. At this time last year, 80,319 checks were mailed, which averaged $415.

With the extended deadline and the time it takes to process applications, the number of checks issued to eligible participants will rise. Last year, there were 64,000 additional applications processed after the July 15 initial mailing, bringing the total number of 2003 PTR checks issued to date to 145,016.
Each year, the Division of Taxation receives thousands of applications for which a reimbursement cannot be issued because necessary information or required documentation was omitted. Applicants who filed incomplete applications will receive information on how to correct the problem, according to Taxation Director Robert K. Thompson. “The Division will be sending notices requesting the required information from these applicants. The sooner they return the requested information to us, the sooner we can process their application and send them the benefits for which they are eligible.”
Applicants with questions or who want to check the status of their reimbursement checks may call the Property Tax Reimbursement Hotline at 1-800-882-6597. Information about the Program is also available on the Division of Taxation’s Web site at www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/propfrez.htm.

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