[Adopted 6-15-1983 (Ch. 6, Art. VI, of the 1983 Code);
last amended 2-28-2007]
The Town of Woodbridge hereby enacts a program
for municipal property tax relief for certain elderly or disabled
homeowners, which hereafter may be referred to as the "Elderly and
the Totally Disabled Homeowners Program," to provide a tax credit,
pursuant to § 12-129n of the Connecticut General Statutes,
to eligible residents of the Town of Woodbridge on the terms and conditions
provided herein.
Any resident who owns real property in the Town
of Woodbridge as an individual and is liable for payment of real property
taxes to the Town of Woodbridge shall be entitled to a tax credit
on the annual taxes for such real property for the following fiscal
year, provided that all of the following conditions are complied with:
A.
Such resident is 65 years of age by December 31 of
the calendar year preceding application for tax relief; or his or
her spouse is 65 years of age by December 31 of such preceding year
and resides with said resident; or such resident is 60 years of age
or over by December 31 of such preceding year and is the surviving
spouse of a taxpayer who qualified for a tax credit under this article
at the time of his or her death; or such resident is under 65 years
of age and has been qualified in accordance with applicable federal
regulations to receive permanent total disability benefits under social
security or has not been engaged in employment covered by social security
and accordingly has not qualified for benefits thereunder, but has
become qualified for permanent total disability benefits under any
federal, state or local government retirement or disability plan,
including the Railroad Retirement Act[1] and any government-related teacher's retirement plan,
in which requirements with respect to qualifications for such permanent
total disability benefits are comparable to such requirements under
social security.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 45 U.S.C. § 231
et seq.
B.
Such resident or the spouse of such resident, as applicable,
has resided at and paid real estate taxes on a residence located in
Woodbridge for a period of one year prior to his or her application
for tax credit and no delinquent taxes are due for any real or personal
property associated with such residence or by any individual using
such residence as his or her legal mailing address, whether or not
such taxes are levied in connection with such residence. Delinquent
taxes must be paid in full by the mailing date of the first installment
of the tax bill for which the credit would apply.
C.
The property for which the credit is claimed is the
house and house lot which is the principal residence of such resident.
D.
The income eligibility for the Elderly and the Totally
Disabled Homeowners Program shall be computed by adding together the
modified income, as described hereinafter, of all members of the resident's
household age 21 years of age or older as of December 31 of the calendar
year preceding the year in which application is made for tax relief,
and which household members are either by the State of Connecticut
or federal guidelines considered residents of that address, or who
claim that address as their residence as evidenced by drivers' licenses,
voter registration, tax filing, mailing address, family member's school
attendance, etc. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the income of a member
of the household who is over 21 years of age but under the age of
26 years on the subject date shall not be included if that individual
is a full-time student at a fully accredited educational institution
approved or licensed by any state. The applicant annually must provide
certified proof of such enrollment.
(1)
Modified income shall be computed for each includable
household member as follows:
|
Federal adjusted gross income (AGI)
|
$XXX
| ||
|
ADD:
| |||
|
Social security not included in federal AGI
|
$XXX
| ||
|
Tax-exempt interest income
|
$XXX
| ||
|
Net losses per Form 1040 (used at arrive at
AGI)
|
$XXX
| ||
|
Business losses
|
$XXX
| ||
|
Capital losses
|
$XXX
| ||
|
Other losses
|
$XXX
| ||
|
Schedule E losses
|
$XXX
| ||
|
Farm losses
|
$XXX
| ||
|
Net operating losses
|
$XXX
| ||
|
Disability income not included in federal AGI
|
$XXX
| ||
|
SUBTRACT (only if itemized for federal):
| |||
|
Medical expenses in excess of 7.5% of AGI (per
form 1040, Schedule A)
|
($XXX)
| ||
|
RESULT EQUALS modified income
|
$XXX
| ||
(2)
The modified income qualifying for relief hereunder
and the amount of the tax credit shall be determined with reference
to the schedule of qualifying income and maximum tax reduction set
forth in the State of Connecticut's Elderly and Totally Disabled Tax
Relief Program (the "State Program") as set forth in C.G.S. § 12-170aa
or successor legislation as follows:
|
Group
|
Household Modified Income
|
Tax Credit
| |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Group I
|
From $0 up to the maximum income allowed for
married taxpayer to qualify for relief under state program
|
$1,400
| |
|
Group II
|
Income in excess of Group I limit, with maximum
income level of 1.7 times the maximum income allowed for eligibility
in Group I
|
$1,120
|
(3)
A resident's marital status is immaterial to qualification for relief hereunder, except to the extent described under Subsection A of this section. Reference to "married taxpayer" under State Program, § 12-170aa(c), above, is only for the purpose of providing a maximum income eligibility guideline for this article. Marital status does not affect the amount of the tax credit.
E.
Filing. The application period for filing for a tax
credit will be from February 1 through May 15 and will use the previous
year's income information as calculated in the foregoing subsection.
All applicants must provide all proof of their income, including but
not limited to their federal income tax return filed, their SSA benefit
form(s), and all forms 1099's, including tax-exempt income statements.
The Assessor's office and those administering the program shall treat
such information as being submitted in confidence and such information
shall be protected from disclosure to the maximum extent permitted
by federal and/or state law. The filings will be on a biannual basis.
F.
Limitation on number of tax credits. Only one tax
credit, as heretofore set forth, shall be allowed for each parcel
of land eligible for the tax credit under this article.
G.
Proration. In any case where title to real property
is recorded in the name of the taxpayer or his or her spouse who is
eligible for a tax credit and any other resident or residents, the
tax credit under this article shall be prorated to allow a tax credit
equivalent to the fractional share in the property of such taxpayer
or spouse and the residents not otherwise eligible for a tax credit
shall not receive any tax credit.
H.
If any resident entitled to the tax credit pursuant
to this article dies or sells or transfers title to the real property
on which the tax credit is granted, no additional tax credit shall
be allowed for his or her interest in the property for any fiscal
year commencing after the date of death or sale or transfer of the
property. Furthermore, the credit will be prorated from such date
of death, sale or transfer. The successor in title shall be responsible
for notifying the Assessor's office and Tax Collector's office of
any of the foregoing occurrences within 30 days of such occurrence.
[Added 3-12-2014; effective 4-11-2014]
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in § 382-7, if property is held in trust for a resident who would otherwise qualify for the Elderly Tax Relief Program, the tax relief may still be granted if the resident is the primary beneficiary of the trust during his or her lifetime and the resident meets all other requirements under this program. Under these circumstances, the application for relief shall be accompanied by a copy of the trust agreement. The trust agreement shall be reviewed and approved by the Assessor and the Town Counsel prior to any relief being granted to the resident.
The Assessor shall calculate the credit of each resident who shall have satisfied all of the conditions as above set forth in accordance with § 382-7 of this article, except that a lesser deduction shall be made when and to the extent required to insure that:
A.
The credit granted by the Town, together with all
elderly benefits obtained from the State of Connecticut pursuant to
State law, shall not result in a reduction of the applicant's total
real estate tax by more than 75% of the total amount thereof.
B.
The Town shall allocate the sum of $190,000 annually
commencing with the budget for fiscal year July 1, 2013, for the “Elderly
and the Totally Disabled Homeowners Program.” In the event total
tax credits to qualified applicants under this article exceed the
sum of $190,000 in any fiscal year, the Assessor shall, in her discretion,
request an allocation, in addition to the appropriation of $190,000
in any fiscal year from the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance
in order to satisfy tax credits to all qualified applicants.
[Amended 3-6-2013, effective 4-6-2013]
The Assessor shall annually prepare a report
for the Finance Director to present to the Board of Selectman and
Board of Finance of the cost of the program and the number of participants
in the program.
