Source: http://townofdurhamct.org/content/28562/27556/27773/default.aspx
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 22:40:47+00:00

Document:
* The Assessor’s office will be closed (for medical leave) beginning Monday March 25 through Friday April 5th. Normal business hours will resume Monday April 8th.
Senior Tax Relief application WILL be taken during this time on Tuesdays and Thursdays only between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon. Go to the Senior Service office on the first floor.
No application will be taken at the Durham Activity Center.
2019 Notice to All Durham Senior Residents regarding Applications for State Elderly Homeowners and Totally Disabled Tax Relief program; the town of Durham Senior Tax Freeze and the Additional Veterans Programs.
The 2008 session of the General Assembly capped the assessment of antique and collectible motor vehicles 20 years old or older at $500, regardless of the registration status of the vehicle. To be eligible for the preferential assessment, the motor vehicle must be being preserved for historical interest purposes and it must not have been modified from the manufacturer's original specifications. If your motor vehicle did not have antique plates issued by the state Department of Motor Vehicles as of October 1, 2009, an affidavit to attest to fact that your 20-year-old motor vehicle meets the legal requirements for the preferential assessment. The $500 assessment will be applied to the October 1, 2009 Grand List for each signed affidavit received in the Assessment Division office by January 31, 2010. Affidavits returned after January 31, 2009 will be referred to the Board of Assessment Appeals when they meet in September, 2010. Motor vehicles registered with an antique plate issued by the state Department of Motor Vehicles prior to October 1, 2008 will automatically be assessed at $500. No affidavits are required from the owners of these vehicles.
Is October 1st in Connecticut. Motor Vehicles registered on October 1st will generate a bill due July 1. Vehicles registered subsequent to October 1st. will be a supplement to the October 1st Grand List. Supplement tax bills are due January 1st.
Application for motor vehicle property tax exemption or exemption benefit for Connecticut residents on active military duty who are stationed outside the State of Connecticut.
Veterans are reminded that they must file their honorable discharge papers with the Town Clerk prior to October 1, in order to have an exemption applied to the next July's tax bill. This applies only to veterans who have not previously filed.
Are available to qualified individuals. Inquiries should be directed to the Assessor's Office. Filing period is February 1st to October 1st of any year.
Owners of land who wish to apply for Open Space classification for the first time may do so from September 1st through November 1st. Landowners who have previously filed are not required to reapply except where there has been a change in the classification of land or a change in ownership.
Tax relief for elderly homeowners is available. Applications for Tax Credits are available in the Assessor's Office. Filing period is February 1st to May 15th .
Subdivision (55) of Statute 12-81 provides for a property tax exemption, in the amount of $1000, to certain persons who are permanently and totally disabled. To be eligible for this exemption a person must apply no later than October 1st. Applicant must be a Connecticut resident; be either the record owner of, hold life use in, or be the beneficiary of a trust estate with respect to the property on which the exemption will be applied; receive total disability benefits from one of the following: Social Security Administration; Federal, State or Local government retirement or disability plan (including that provided by the Railroad Retirement Act) or any government related teacher's retirement plan, containing qualification requirements comparable to those of the Social Security Administration. Contact Assessor's Office for applications.
Subdivision (17) of §12-81 provides for a property tax exemption, in the amount of $3,000, to certain persons who are blind. Blindness is defined in §12-92 as meaning "…total and permanent loss of sight in both eyes or reduction in vision so that the central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with correcting lenses, or, if visual acuity is greater than 20/200, it is accompanied by a limitation in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than twenty degrees."
(II) Be either the record owner of, hold life use in, or be the beneficiary of a trust estate with respect to the property on which the exemption will be applied.
(III) Have provided proof to the assessor that he is blind in accordance with the definition contained in §12-92. An attorney or agent may submit such proof on the person's behalf.
While §12-81(17) does not define the type of proof required, assessors generally require a certificate from a qualified medical practitioner. Such proof need be filed only once. Once satisfactory proof has been provided, the person becomes permanently eligible for this exemption. However, §12-94 grants assessors the authority to require additional evidence of blindness subsequent to the granting of this exemption.
A veteran who is blind is entitled to the proper tax exemption for which he qualifies due to his status as a veteran and the exemption under §12-81(17) for which he is eligible based upon his condition of impairment.
(i) In the case of a married couple, either the husband or wife may own, hold life use in, or be the beneficiary of a trust with respect to the property for which an exemption is claimed. They must, however, be domiciled together.

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