| 18 | 30 | | (a) Any municipality, upon approval of its legislative body may provide that an owner of real property or any tenant for life or for a term of years liable for property taxes under section 12-48 who meets the qualifications stated in this subsection shall be entitled to pay the tax levied on such property, calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section for the first year the claim for such tax relief is filed and approved in accordance with the provisions of section 12-170w, and such person shall be entitled to continue to pay the amount of such tax or such lesser amount as may be levied in any year, during each subsequent year that such person meets such qualifications, and the surviving spouse of such owner or tenant, qualified in accordance with the requirements pertaining to a surviving spouse in this subsection, or any owner or tenant possessing a joint interest in such property with such owner at the time of such owner's death and qualified at such time in accordance with the requirements in this subsection, shall be entitled to continue to pay the amount of such tax or such lesser amount as may be levied in any year, as it becomes due each year following the death of such owner for as long as such surviving spouse or joint owner or joint tenant is qualified in accordance with the requirements in this subsection. After the first year a claim for such tax relief is filed and approved, application for such tax relief shall be filed biennially on a form prepared for such purpose by the assessor of such municipality. Any such owner or tenant who is qualified in accordance with this section and any such surviving spouse or joint owner or joint tenant surviving upon the death of such owner or tenant, shall be entitled to pay such tax in the amount as provided in this section for so long as such owner or tenant or such surviving spouse or joint owner or joint tenant continues to be so qualified. To qualify for the tax relief provided in this section a taxpayer shall meet all the following requirements: (1) On December thirty-first of the calendar year preceding the year in which a claim is filed, be (A) [seventy] sixty-five years of age or over, (B) the spouse of a person, [seventy] sixty-five years of age or over, provided such spouse is domiciled with such person, or (C) sixty-two years of age or over and the surviving spouse of a taxpayer who at the time of such taxpayer's death had qualified and was entitled to tax relief under this section, provided such surviving spouse was domiciled with such taxpayer at the time of the taxpayer's death, (2) occupy such real property as his or her home, (3) either spouse shall have resided within this state for at least one year before filing the claim under this section and section 12-170w, (4) the taxable and nontaxable income of such taxpayer, the total of which shall hereinafter be called "qualifying income", in the tax year of such homeowner ending immediately preceding the date of application for benefits under the program in this section, was not in excess of limits set forth in section 12-170aa, as adjusted annually, evidence of which income shall be submitted to the assessor in the municipality in which application for benefits under this section is filed in such form and manner as the assessor may prescribe. The amount of any Medicaid payments made on behalf of such homeowner or the spouse of such homeowner shall not constitute income. The income of the spouse of such homeowner shall not be included in the qualifying income of such homeowner for purposes of determining eligibility for tax relief under this section, if such spouse is a resident of a health care or nursing home facility in this state, and such facility receives payment related to such spouse under the Title XIX Medicaid program. In addition to the eligibility requirements prescribed in this subsection, any municipality that provides tax relief in accordance with the provisions of this section may impose asset limits as a condition of eligibility for such tax relief. |
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