[Adopted 10-25-1983; amended in its entirety 9-26-2000][1]
The City of Norwalk hereby enacts a tax relief program for elderly
and disabled homeowners pursuant to Section 12-129n of the Connecticut
General Statutes for eligible residents of the City of Norwalk, on
the terms and conditions provided herein. This ordinance is enacted
for the purpose of assisting elderly and disabled homeowners with
a portion of the costs of property taxation.
Any resident of the City of Norwalk who qualifies under the
following requirements is eligible for property tax relief with respect
to real property owned and occupied by such person as his or her principal
residence.
A.
Such resident is 65 years of age or over or his or her spouse, who
is living with such resident, is 65 years of age or over; or such
resident is 60 years of age or over and is the surviving spouse of
a taxpayer who was qualified in the City of Norwalk under this ordinance
at the time of his or her death, with respect to real property on
which any such resident or spouse is liable for taxes under the provisions
of § 12-48 of the Connecticut General Statutes; or
B.
Such taxpayer is under age 65 and eligible 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 qualified for permanent total disability benefits
under any federal, state or local government retirement or disability
plan, including the Railroad Retirement Act, and any government-related
teacher's retirement plan, in which requirements with respect
to qualifications for such permanent total disability benefits are
comparable to the requirements under social security; and provided
that
C.
Such person shall have been a taxpayer of the City of Norwalk and
have paid taxes for a period of five years immediately prior to his
or her receipt of tax relief under this ordinance. No tax relief shall
be given under this ordinance to any person who owes delinquent taxes
to the City of Norwalk.
D.
The property for which the tax relief is claimed is the legal domicile
of such person and is occupied more than 200 days of each year by
such person.
E.
Such person shall have applied for property tax relief under any
state statutes for which he or she is eligible; or if such person
has not applied for tax relief under any state statutes because he
or she is not eligible, he or she shall so certify by filing a form
acceptable to the Tax Collector swearing to his or her ineligibility
under current qualification requirements.
F.
All permanent residents in the domicile who are aged 25 years and
older and who occupy such domicile for more than 200 days of each
year shall have combined annual aggregate adjusted gross income, as
defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, plus tax-exempt
interest per Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as
amended, social security benefits, railroad retirement benefits and
income from other tax-exempt sources of an amount less than 155.76%
of the maximum qualifying income defined in Connecticut General Statutes,
Section 12-170aa. For the Grand List of October 1, 1999, this amount
shall be $33,500. The amount shall be adjusted annually as provided
by Section 12-170aa(2) for the calendar year immediately preceding
the year for which tax relief is sought and shall be posted in the
office of the Assessor.
[Amended 3-27-2001; 4-12-2016; 2-28-2017; 5-22-2018; 9-24-2019]
A.
In order to be entitled to the benefits provided herein, an application
must be filed with the Assessor not earlier than February 1 nor later
than May 15 of each odd-numbered year so that these benefits shall
be available to the taxpayer in the next following two fiscal years.
This application for such tax relief must be acted on in accordance
with the eligibility standards hereinabove set forth. The Assessor
is empowered to require all necessary documents to determine eligibility,
and the withholding of such information, if reasonably available,
shall be sufficient reason for the denial of tax relief.
[Amended 5-28-2002; 10-28-2014; 9-24-2019]
B.
For tax relief on the Grand List of 1999, applications must be filed
no later than October 27, 2000, and for tax relief on the Grand List
of 2000, applications must be filed no later than April 15, 2001.
Application for tax relief filed prior to the passage of this amendment
shall automatically be eligible for the increased tax relief provided
herein for the Grand List of 1999 and the increased relief provided
herein shall be applied retroactively by the Assessor on such applications.
No property tax relief provided for any person shall exceed,
in the aggregate, 75% of the tax which would, except for benefits
provided by state statutes and the within program, be laid against
said person.
The total tax relief granted under the provisions of this program
shall not exceed an amount equal to 1/2 of 1% of the total property
tax assessed in Norwalk in the preceding fiscal year.
Only one tax credit shall be allowed for each parcel of real
property eligible for tax relief under the within program. In the
event that title to real property is recorded in the name of the taxpayer
or his or her spouse, who are eligible for tax relief, and any other
person or persons, the tax relief under the within program shall be
prorated to allow tax relief equivalent to the fractional share in
the property of such taxpayer or spouse, and the person or persons
not eligible shall not receive any tax credit.
The tax relief granted to any person under the within program
shall not disqualify such person with respect to any benefits for
which such person is eligible under state statutes, and any tax relief
provided under the within ordinance shall be in addition to any such
benefits.
[Amended 3-27-2001; 4-27-2004; 2-26-2008; 3-22-2011; 10-28-2014; 4-12-2016; 2-28-2017; 5-22-2018; 9-24-2019]
Any individual or married couple eligible for tax relief as provided by this article, having income as provided in § 103-6F of this article, shall be entitled to tax relief as follows:
A.
For the 2019 grand list and all subsequent tax years:
(1)
Tier 1: 126.42% of maximum qualifying state income: $1,500.
(2)
Tier 2: 126.44% to 155.76%; $900, except that, if the maximum credits granted under the provisions of this program shall exceed an amount equal to 1/2% of the total property tax assessed in Norwalk in the preceding fiscal year, then the amount of benefits for Tier 2 shall be adjusted by subtracting the total amount of benefits for Tier 1 from the maximum tax relief allowed under the program pursuant to § 103-9, leaving a balance of tax relief available to Tier 2. The amount of benefits for each Tier 2 recipient shall be calculated by dividing the remaining funding for tax relief available to Tier 2 by the total number of eligible persons in Tier 2.
