Substitute House Bill No. 7244
Public Act No. 19-171
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E PROPERTY TAX EXEMP TION FOR
SERVICE MEMBERS AND VETERANS HAVING DISA BILITY
RATINGS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivision (20) of section 12-81 of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective
October 1, 2019, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after
October 1, 2019):
(20) Subject to the provisions hereinafter stated, property not
exceeding three thousand five hundred dollars in amount shall be
exempt from taxation, which property belongs to, or is held in trust
for, any resident of this state who has served, or is serving, in the
Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Air Force of the United
States and (1) has a disability rating by the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs amounting to ten per cent or more of total
disability, provided such exemption shall be [fifteen hundred] two
thousand dollars in any case in which such rating is between ten per
cent and twenty-five per cent; two thousand five hundred dollars in
any case in which such rating is more than twenty-five per cent but not
more than fifty per cent; [twenty-five hundred] three thousand dollars
in any case in which such rating is more than fifty per cent but not Substitute House Bill No. 7244
Public Act No. 19-171 2 of 3
more than seventy-five per cent; and three thousand five hundred
dollars in any case in which such person has attained sixty-five years
of age or such rating is more than seventy-five per cent; or (2) is
receiving a pension, annuity or compensation from the United States
because of the loss in service of a leg or arm or that which is
considered by the rules of the United States Pension Office or the
Bureau of War Risk Insurance the equivalent of such loss. If such
veteran lacks such amount of property in his or her name, so much of
the property belonging to, or held in trust for, his or her spouse, who is
domiciled with him or her, as is necessary to equal such amount shall
also be so exempt. When any veteran entitled to an exemption under
the provisions of this section has died, property belonging to, or held
in trust for, his or her surviving spouse, while such spouse remains a
widow or widower, or belonging to or held in trust for his or her
minor children during their minority, or both, while they are residents
of this state, shall be exempt in the same aggregate amount as that to
which the disabled veteran was or would have been entitled at the
time of his or her death. No individual entitled to exemption under
this subdivision and under one or more of subdivisions (19), (22), (23),
(25) and (26) of this section shall receive more than one exemption. No
individual shall receive any exemption to which he or she is entitled
under this subdivision until he or she has complied with section 12-95
and has submitted proof of his or her disability rating, as determined
by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, to the assessor of
the town in which the exemption is sought. If there is no change to an
individual's disability rating, such proof shall not be required for any
assessment year following that for which the exemption under this
subdivision is granted initially. If the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs modifies a veteran's disability rating, such
modification shall be deemed a waiver of the right to such exemption
until proof of disability rating is submitted to the assessor and the right
to such exemption is established as required initially. Any person who
has been unable to submit evidence of disability rating in the manner Substitute House Bill No. 7244
Public Act No. 19-171 3 of 3
required by this subdivision, or who has failed to submit such
evidence as provided in section 12-95, may, when he or she obtains
such evidence, make application to the collector of taxes within one
year after he or she obtains such proof or within one year after the
expiration of the time limited in section 12-95, as the case may be, for
abatement in case the tax has not been paid, or for refund in case the
whole tax has been paid, of such part or the whole of such tax as
represents the service exemption. Such abatement or refund may be
granted retroactively to include the assessment day next succeeding
the date as of which such person was entitled to such disability rating
as determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,
but in no case shall any abatement or refund be made for a period
greater than three years. The collector shall, after examination of such
application, refer the same, with his recommendations thereon, to the
board of selectmen of a town or to the corresponding authority of any
other municipality, and shall certify to the amount of abatement or
refund to which the applicant is entitled. Upon receipt of such
application and certification, the selectmen or other duly constituted
authority shall, in case the tax has not been paid, issue a certificate of
abatement or, in case the whole tax has been paid, draw an order upon
the treasurer in favor of such applicant for the amount without interest
which represents the service exemption. Any action so taken by such
selectmen or other authority shall be a matter of record and the tax
collector shall be notified in writing of such action;