They make the rules. I'd do what is legal and best for my situation.
Njhowie, In my opinion I wouldn’t expect the Senior Freeze program to be around much longer. The Anchor rebate program for the past two years was helpful for many homeowners and renters because there was no age requirement. The Governors address last week mentioned extending Anchor and the future StayNJ rebate programs, but I seriously doubt they will be fully funded at a cost of $4.5 billion per year https://www.nj.com/news/2024/02/you...-again-under-gov-murphys-proposed-budget.html
BTW, the politicians here had given a 100% reduction on taxes to apartments that had a small number of units for low income... so EVERY apt complex started to have 'low income' units which were not that low BTW... guess who picks up the taxes lost on this? Yep, you do... so do not feel bad when you get a break...
OK, OK, you have me convinced! I do think I'll increase my charitable donations accordingly. I've focused mostly on my church plus organizations that help people out of poverty (education, counseling, job help), but could add something like our local food assistance program that could help people struggling with the increased taxes.
You might check with the power company. Some have a foundation that can take donations to help low income folks.
The school districts here are downright predatory in their taxation (via property tax), to the tune of 73% of our total tax bill. A bitter pill for people like us who never had children.