By Anne Levin

Princeton University is mailing checks this week for property tax assistance to some 700 Princeton homeowners. The payments are part of a 2016 settlement that ended litigation challenging the University’s property tax exemptions.

As part of the agreement, the University contributed $2 million last year and agreed to contribute $1.6 million a year this year and for the following four years to a property tax relief fund. The fund will distribute annual aid payments to Princeton homeowners who received a homestead benefit under the New Jersey Homestead Property Tax Credit Act in the most recent year for which homestead benefits were paid by the state. The fund is administered by the Community Foundation of New Jersey (CFNJ).

Beginning in 2011, area homeowners had argued that Princeton University is a profit-making institution and should not be exempt from property taxes. Two years ago, three days before the suit was set to go to trial, the University agreed to settle the case. Both parties asserted that they would have won the case in court.

About 750 Princeton homeowners received checks last year of almost $2,500 per eligible home. The 2018 aid payments are approximately $2,100 per eligible home. To be eligible to receive a payment this year, homeowners had to qualify for homestead benefits in 2015, and must continue to own their homes. Recipients will have 90 days to deposit their checks, and can use the funds for any purpose.

The 2017 distributions established a maximum amount per eligible home for the subsequent five years of the program. The settlement provides that in each year of the program any excess funds after all eligible distributions have been completed will be donated to 101: Inc., a nonprofit organization, to provide need-based scholarships for graduates of Princeton High School attending post-secondary educational institutions other than Princeton University.

For more information or questions, contact Joyce Jonat at CFNJ at (800) 659-5533 ext. 225.