Property Deed, property tax statement, mortgage statement, bill of sale. I’m assuming this is for the ANCHOR program?

If this is for the ANCHOR program, we were instructed to send a copy of our deed with the rest of the paperwork. Because somehow the state didn’t have on record that we own our house even though we pay taxes - go figure!

if you don't have a copy of your deed, you can print it out from your county recorder's website. Recorded deeds are public records.

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He didn't say property taxes. The states division of taxation knows you own your home.

Correct! The state employee I spoke to called the accounting department over at the division of taxation and they had our ownership on record, but the department that directly deals with the ANCHOR has program did not. Just seems like the information is not recorded across the board, or at least can get missed sometimes. The employee alluded to this becoming more common since COVID. Either way, we had to send a copy of our deed.

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It's not new. I've duplicated my effort with state documents for years. I expect it now.

> they don't have access to the deed info.

Yes they do. And they still make you do the work then bill you for giving them their records.

> Someone could deduct property taxes for a home they don't own and the state wouldn't know until they audited the return

You can deduct property tax you pay on a property you don't own. If it is fraudulent they will discover it in processing.

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I can't speak for the entire state, but in Monmouth Co., the Open Public Records link will show the current owner of any property.