[Adopted 10-6-2003]
A. 
Any person who owns real property in the Town of Killingworth or who is liable for the payment of taxes pursuant to § 12-48 of the Connecticut General Statutes and who occupies the real property as a principal residence shall be entitled to tax relief for the elderly or totally disabled pursuant to § 12-129n of the Connecticut General Statutes.
B. 
To be eligible, a person or spouse living with such person must be 65 years of age or older at the end of the previous calendar year or be a nonminor under the age of 65 and eligible in accordance with federal law to receive permanent total disability benefits under social security, the Railroad Retirement Act or any government-related teachers' disability retirement plan.
C. 
The surviving spouse, 60 years of age or older, of a person previously qualified hereunder at the time of death is also eligible. If the surviving spouse remarries such person must requalify.
D. 
An applicant must have resided in the same domicile and paid real property taxes in the Town of Killingworth for one year immediately preceding the receipt of relief hereunder.
E. 
All persons must also have applied for any real property tax relief available pursuant to any other applicable state statutes.
F. 
Applicants must be current on all taxes and fees payable to the Town of Killingworth to be eligible for real property tax relief pursuant to this program.
G. 
The real property for which the relief is claimed must be the sole, legal domicile of such person. Such person must occupy the property more than 250 days of each calendar year and such person must not be registered for a tax relief program in any other jurisdiction. In the event that a person is absent from the property due to health reasons, such person must have an abiding intent to return to the property within two years in order to remain eligible for relief hereunder.
H. 
If a person is in a care facility on a permanent basis and has a spouse living in the real property who is 60 years of age or older and who meets all other qualifications, the relief hereunder shall continue.
A. 
If a person owns the property jointly with a nonspouse, tax relief under this program will be proportionate to the person's interest in the property. If such property is occupied as a multifamily dwelling, a person shall receive tax relief only with respect to the portion of the property that is such person's legal domicile.
B. 
Life tenancy. A person is entitled to tax relief if such person retains life tenancy or life use in the property, provided that such person is legally responsible for payment of property taxes and meets all other program requirements.
A. 
The maximum allowable income for the Killingworth senior citizens tax relief program shall be $40,000.
B. 
The qualifying income includes adjusted gross income defined in the Internal Revenue Code and tax-exempt interest plus any other income not included in the federal adjusted gross income.
(1) 
"Income" shall mean all moneys received, unless specifically exempted, including wages, commissions, fees, self-employment net income, gross social security, payments for jury duty, dividends, interest and annuities, taxable IRA, interest or proceeds from gifts, bequests, or inheritances, lottery winnings, net income from sale or rental of real property, pensions, including veterans and railroad retirement, severance pay, tax-exempt interest, unemployment compensation, workers' compensation, alimony and all other sources of income, such as gifts, bequests or inheritance.
(2) 
Specifically excluded are social security payments made on behalf of a dependent person, casualty loss reimbursements by insurance companies, grants for disaster relief, life insurance proceeds, and any donations less than $1,001 in cash or "in kind" from any local, not-for-profit entity, such as a church or benevolent group, or other local charitable corporation, foundation or club.
[Amended 10-29-2015]
A. 
Qualifying persons residing in the same domicile longer than 12 months and less than 60 months with a maximum income of no more than $50,000 will be eligible for annual tax relief of $100.
B. 
Qualifying taxpayers residing 60 or more consecutive months in the same domicile will be eligible for annual tax relief according to the following schedule:
Income
Tax Relief
Less than $40,001
$700
$40,001 to $45,000
$500
$45,001 to $50,000
$300
C. 
The real property tax relief provided by this program shall be in addition to, but not dependent upon, those benefits available to a person under §§ 12-129b to 12-129d, inclusive, and 12-170aa of the Connecticut General Statutes, provided that the Town and state benefits in any one year shall not exceed in the aggregate 75% of the property tax which would have been imposed on said person but for the benefit of tax relief programs.
D. 
The total relief granted under provisions of this article shall not exceed an amount equal to 1/2 of 1% of the total real property tax assessed in the Town's preceding tax year. In the event that the benefits in any one year exceed this cap, the tax relief allowed will be prorated to keep the total maximum expenditure at the cap.
A. 
A person must file a written application on forms provided by the Town of Killingworth for this program annually between February 1 and May 15 of the year in which the tax relief is claimed.
B. 
Such person shall present to the Assessor a copy of such person's federal income tax return for the previous calendar year and such other information as the Assessor may reasonably require or, if income is under the required amount to file a tax return, such person must provide evidence of qualifying income as the Assessor may reasonably require to establish compliance with this program.
C. 
Such person shall sign an affidavit in the presence of the Assessor or present with such person's application a sworn affidavit affirming the accuracy of the statements in the application.
D. 
When the Assessor determines that the applying taxpayer is entitled to tax relief under this program, the Assessor shall compute the amount of such tax relief.
E. 
Applications, affidavits and other documentation presented in support of the application for tax relief shall not be open for public inspection and shall not be disclosed except to proper authorities in the case of an appeal or in connection with claims of fraud.
F. 
Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Assessor may appeal to a board of review consisting of the First Selectman (Chairman), the Chairman of the Board of Assessment Appeals and the Municipal Agent. The majority vote of these three individuals shall determine the outcome of said appeal.
Relief hereunder is not assignable. Upon the sale/or transfer of property, the relief hereunder shall terminate and the Assessor shall prorate the increased tax liability from the date of the conveyance and the Tax Collector shall bill the new owner for any increased taxes.
A. 
The senior citizens tax relief program shall be reviewed by the Board of Selectmen in the first year after implementation and in every subsequent revaluation year thereafter. The Board of Selectmen will make recommendations to the Board of Finance and the Town Meeting of the Town of Killingworth for changes, modifications, exceptions, deletions and/or clarifications relating to this article and/or this senior citizens tax relief program.