Your Stay NJ check is in the mail — here’s what to expect

I've said it before this summer, and I'm saying it again: check your mailbox. Stay NJ's third quarterly payment for 2026 is going out right now, on a rolling basis, and if you're eligible, this is the one you've been waiting for since May.

Unlike ANCHOR, which pays out once a year in a lump sum, Stay NJ splits its benefit into four equal quarterly checks, covering the 2024 property tax year. February started it off. May followed. August is now the third installment, with November closing out the cycle. 

How much should you expect

The trend has been ticking upward each quarter. February's average payment was $637. May's came in at $645.58, about $50 higher. There's no official August average published yet as checks go out, but the pattern suggests this round should land in a similar range or slightly higher.

Eligibility hasn't changed for this check: homeowners 65 or older, or those receiving Social Security or Railroad Retirement disability, with 2024 income of $500,000 or less, can have up to 50% of their property tax bill reimbursed, capped at $13,000. 

SEE ALSO: Your Stay NJ check really is half what you got before — here's why

PAS-1 Form | screenshot by EJ

One thing that's genuinely different this year

Here's where people are getting confused, and it's worth clearing up directly. The state's new FY2027 budget, signed June 30, introduced a $200,000 income cap and a tiered benefit structure for Stay NJ. That change is real. But it doesn't apply to the check landing in your mailbox this month. It applies to the next benefit year, the payments covering 2025 property taxes, which don't start until February 2027. This August check is still running under the old rules.

One more thing worth remembering: Stay NJ is mailed exclusively as a paper check. There's no direct deposit option, so don't assume something's wrong if you don't see a deposit hit your bank account. If you're eligible and nothing arrives in a reasonable window, the state's online benefit status tool can tell you where your payment stands.

November is the last installment for this benefit year. After that, it's a several-month wait until the new cycle, and the new rules, begin.