CT Gen Stat § 12-71 (2020)
2020 Connecticut General Statutes|Title 12 - Taxation|Chapter 203 - Property Tax Assessment|Section 12-71 - Personal property subject to tax. Computer software not subject to tax. Determination of situs of motor vehicles and snowmobiles for tax purposes.

 (a) All goods, chattels and effects or any interest therein, including any interest in a leasehold improvement classified as other than real property, belonging to any person who is a resident in this state, shall be listed for purposes of property tax in the town where such person resides, subject to the provisions of sections 12-41, 12-43 and 12-59. Any such property belonging to any nonresident shall be listed for purposes of property tax as provided in section 12-43. Motor vehicles and snowmobiles shall be listed for purposes of the property tax in accordance with subsection (f) of this section.(b) Except as otherwise provided by the general statutes, property subject to this section shall be valued at the same percentage of its then actual valuation as the assessors have determined with respect to the listing of real estate for the same year, except that any antique, rare or special interest motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1, shall be assessed at a value of not more than five hundred dollars. The owner of such antique, rare or special interest motor vehicle may be required by the assessors to provide reasonable documentation that such motor vehicle is an antique, rare or special interest motor vehicle, provided any motor vehicle for which special number plates have been issued pursuant to section 14-20 shall not be required to provide any such documentation. The provisions of this section shall not include money or property actually invested in merchandise or manufacturing carried on out of this state or machinery or equipment which would be eligible for exemption under subdivision (72) of section 12-81 once installed and which cannot begin or which has not begun manufacturing, processing or fabricating; or which is being used for research and development, including experimental or laboratory research and development, design or engineering directly related to manufacturing or being used for the significant servicing, overhauling or rebuilding of machinery and equipment for industrial use or the significant overhauling or rebuilding of other products on a factory basis or being used for measuring or testing or metal finishing or in the production of motion pictures, video and sound recordings.(c) Upon payment of the property tax assessed with respect to any property referred to in this section, owned by a resident or nonresident of this state, which is currently used or intended for use in relation to construction, building, grading, paving or similar projects, including, but not limited to, motor vehicles, bulldozers, tractors and any trailer-type vehicle, excluding any such equipment weighing less than five hundred pounds, and excluding any motor vehicle subject to registration pursuant to chapter 246 or exempt from such registration by section 14-34, the town in which such equipment is taxed shall issue, at the time of such payment, for display on a conspicuous surface of each such item of equipment for which such tax has been paid, a validation decal or sticker, identifiable as to the year of issue, which will be presumptive evidence that such tax has been paid in the appropriate town of the state.(d) (1) Personal property subject to taxation under this chapter shall not include computer software, except when the cost thereof is included, without being separately stated, in the cost of computer hardware. “Computer software” shall include any program or routine used to cause a computer to perform a specific task or set of tasks, including without limitation, operational and applicational programs and all documentation related thereto.(2) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be applicable (A) to the assessment year commencing October 1, 1988, and each assessment year thereafter, and (B) to any assessment of computer software made after September 30, 1988, for any assessment year commencing before October 1, 1988.(3) Nothing contained in this subsection shall create any implication related to liability for property tax with respect to computer software prior to July 1, 1989.(4) A certificate of correction in accordance with section 12-57 shall not be issued with respect to any property described in subdivision (1) of this subsection for any assessment year commencing prior to October 1, 1989.(e) For assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 1992, each municipality shall exempt aircraft, as defined in section 15-34, from the provisions of this chapter.(f) (1) Property subject to taxation under this chapter shall include each registered and unregistered motor vehicle and snowmobile that, in the normal course of operation, most frequently leaves from and returns to or remains in a town in this state, and any other motor vehicle or snowmobile located in a town in this state, which motor vehicle or snowmobile is not used or is not capable of being used.(2) Any motor vehicle or snowmobile registered in this state subject to taxation in accordance with the provisions of this subsection shall be set in the list of the town where such vehicle in the normal course of operation most frequently leaves from and returns to or in which it remains. It shall be presumed that any such motor vehicle or snowmobile most frequently leaves from and returns to or remains in the town in which the owner of such vehicle resides, unless a provision of this subsection otherwise expressly provides. As used in this subsection, “the town in which the owner of such vehicle resides” means the town in this state where (A) the owner, if an individual, has established a legal residence consisting of a true, fixed and permanent home to which such individual intends to return after any absence, or (B) the owner, if a company, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, firm or any other type of public or private organization, association or society, has an established site for conducting the purposes for which it was created. In the event such an entity resides in more than one town in this state, it shall be subject to taxation by each such town with respect to any registered or unregistered motor vehicle or snowmobile that most frequently leaves from and returns to or remains in such town.(3) Any motor vehicle owned by a nonresident of this state shall be set in the list of the town where such vehicle in the normal course of operation most frequently leaves from and returns to or in which it remains. If such vehicle in the normal course of operation most frequently leaves from and returns to or remains in more than one town, it shall be set in the list of the town in which such vehicle is located for the three or more months preceding the assessment day in any year, except that, if such vehicle is located in more than one town for three or more months preceding the assessment day in any year, it shall be set in the list of the town where it is located for the three months or more in such year nearest to such assessment day. In the event a motor vehicle owned by a nonresident is not located in any town for three or more of the months preceding the assessment day in any year, such vehicle shall be set in the list of the town where such vehicle is located on such assessment day.(4) Notwithstanding any provision of subdivision (2) of this subsection: (A) Any registered motor vehicle that is assigned to an employee of the owner of such vehicle for the exclusive use of such employee and which, in the normal course of operation most frequently leaves from and returns to or remains in such employee's town of residence, shall be set in the list of the town where such employee resides; (B) any registered motor vehicle that is being operated, pursuant to a lease, by a person other than the owner of such vehicle, or such owner's employee, shall be set in the list of the town where the person who is operating such vehicle pursuant to said lease resides; (C) any registered motor vehicle designed or used for recreational purposes, including, but not limited to, a camp trailer, camper or motor home, shall be set in the list of the town such vehicle, in the normal course of its operation for camping, travel or recreational purposes in this state, most frequently leaves from and returns to or the town in which it remains. If such a vehicle is not used in this state in its normal course of operation for camping, travel or recreational purposes, such vehicle shall be set in the list of the town in this state in which the owner of such vehicle resides; and (D) any registered motor vehicle that is used or intended for use for the purposes of construction, building, grading, paving or similar projects, or to facilitate any such project, shall be set in the list of the town in which such project is situated if such vehicle is located in said town for the three or more months preceding the assessment day in any year, provided (i) if such vehicle is located in more than one town in this state for three or more months preceding the assessment day in any year, such vehicle shall be set in the list of the town where it is located for the three months or more in such year nearest to such assessment day, and (ii) if such vehicle is not located in any town for three or more of the months preceding the assessment day in any year, such vehicle shall be set in the list of the town where such vehicle is located on such assessment day.(5) The owner of a motor vehicle subject to taxation in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (4) of this subsection in a town other than the town in which such owner resides may register such vehicle in the town in which such vehicle is subject to taxation.(6) Information concerning any vehicle subject to taxation in a town other than the town in which it is registered may be included on any declaration or report filed pursuant to section 12-41, 12-43 or 12-57a. If a motor vehicle or snowmobile is registered in a town in which it is not subject to taxation, pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (4) of this section, the assessor of the town in which such vehicle is subject to taxation shall notify the assessor of the town in which such vehicle is registered of the name and address of the owner of such motor vehicle or snowmobile, the vehicle identification number and the town in which such vehicle is subject to taxation. The assessor of the town in which said vehicle is registered and the assessor of the town in which said vehicle is subject to taxation shall cooperate in administering the provisions of this section concerning the listing of such vehicle for property tax purposes.(1949 Rev., S. 1745; 1953, S. 1047d; 1957, P.A. 673, S. 7; 1959, P.A. 239, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 668, S. 1; P.A. 73-490; 73-531, S. 1, 2; P.A. 77-432, S. 1, 2; P.A. 79-550, S. 1, 2; P.A. 81-20, S. 1, 2; 81-423, S. 1, 25; P.A. 83-485, S. 1, 13; P.A. 89-251, S. 193, 203; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-17, S. 49, 59; P.A. 93-433, S. 8, 26; P.A. 99-189, S. 12, 20; 99-272, S. 3, 7; P.A. 00-230, S. 3; P.A. 04-228, S. 2; P.A. 08-150, S. 56; P.A. 09-187, S. 29.)History: 1959 act provided for listing of property of nonresident; 1971 act added provisions allowing taxation of vessels either in town of owner's residence or in town where vessel usually operated; P.A. 73-490 divided previous provisions into Subsecs. (a) to (c) and added Subsec. (d) re validation stickers on construction equipment; P.A. 73-531 provided that antique automobiles not be assessed at value of more than $500, effective June 11, 1973, and applicable to the first assessment date thereafter; P.A. 77-432 specifically included trailer-type vehicles in Subsec. (d); P.A. 79-550 removed goods, chattels and effects from exception in Subsec. (a) and added exception for farm machinery in Subsec. (b); effective June 21, 1979, and applicable to town assessment lists for 1979 and any list thereafter; P.A. 81-20 deleted special procedure for valuation of farm machinery, effective April 7, 1981, and applicable in any municipality to assessment year commencing October 1, 1981, and each assessment year thereafter; P.A. 81-423 eliminated vessels from personal property subject to property tax, effective July 1, 1981, and applicable to the assessment year commencing October 1, 1981, and thereafter; P.A. 83-485 amended Subsec. (a) for purposes of clarification with respect to provisions applicable to listing of personal property in the town where the owner resides and the listing of such property of a nonresident, effective June 30, 1983, and applicable in any town to the assessment year commencing October 1, 1983, and each assessment year thereafter; P.A. 89-251 added Subsec. (e) providing that for the assessment year commencing October 1, 1988, and thereafter computer software shall not be subject to tax as personal property, and including a definition of computer software; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-17 amended Subsec. (b) to set an assessment cap of $500 for aircraft manufactured prior to January 1, 1946, effective June 19, 1992, and applicable to assessment years of municipalities commencing on or after October 1, 1992; P.A. 93-433 added Subsec. (f) exempting aircraft from the property tax, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 99-189 added leasehold improvements classified as other than real property, deleted former Subsec. (c) re taxation of personal property in a town having two or more taxing districts, redesignated former Subsecs. (d), (e) and (f) as Subsecs. (c), (d) and (e) and made technical changes, effective June 23, 1999, and applicable to assessment years of municipalities commencing on or after October 1, 1999; P.A. 99-272 amended Subsec. (b) to exclude construction in progress property which is eligible for exemption under Sec. 12-81(72), effective June 15, 1999, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 1999; P.A. 00-230 made technical changes in Subsec. (b); P.A. 04-228 made conforming and technical changes in Subsecs. (a) and (b) and added Subsec. (f) re criteria for determining the situs of motor vehicles and snowmobiles for property tax purposes, effective June 8, 2004, and applicable to any assessment year; P.A. 08-150 amended Subsec. (b) to replace “motor vehicle for which number plates have been issued under section 14-20” with “antique, rare or special interest motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1”; P.A. 09-187 amended Subsec. (b) to provide that owner of antique, rare or special interest motor vehicle may be required to provide documentation that vehicle is antique, rare or special interest unless special number plates have been issued pursuant to Sec. 14-20.Railroad bonds taxable. 33 C. 187. Mortgage note without interest added by board of relief to creditor's list. 39 C. 176. Damages for land taken, assessed before the first day of October but not paid till after that day, not assessable. 41 C. 206. Bonds secured by mortgage on real estate in another state taxable; 42 C. 426; though this may result in larger tax than if mortgaged land lay in this state. 100 U.S. 491. Nonresident's personal property not taxable as a general rule; otherwise if given in by him. 47 C. 477. Lease of real estate not within section. 75 C. 592. As to mortgage debt, see 76 C. 672. Burden on owner to show bonds not taxable under section. 83 C. 497. New York bank deposits owned by local corporation and used here for its corporate purposes in connection with its local business are taxable. 92 C. 319. Bond owned by person in Connecticut, executed by resident of New York, and secured by mortgage upon real estate in New York, is not exempt under section. 106 C. 530. Cited. 135 C. 89. Legislature intended to include all types of tangible and intangible personal property. 137 C. 267. Cited. 141 C. 483; 169 C. 663; 171 C. 74. Amendment to Sec. 12-75 by 1967 P.A. 439 supersede earlier enacted provisions of this section. 174 C. 556. Cited. 210 C. 233. Computer software as intangible personal property not subject to provisions of statute. 212 C. 639. Cited. 240 C. 192.Cited. 2 CA 303; 13 CA 393; 35 CA 269.“Then actual valuation” synonymous with fair market value. 6 CS 505. Cited. 15 CS 237; 16 CS 261.Cited. 5 Conn. Cir. Ct. 195.Subsec. (a):Town of a corporation's principal place of business is the statutory equivalent of town of an individual's residence and therefore a corporation must file its declaration with tax assessor of the town of its principal place of business; corporation's motor vehicles properly are assessed, for purposes of personal property taxation, in town in which the corporation maintains its principal place of business, irrespective of where its motor vehicles are actually located. 266 C. 706.Subsec. (b):Towns permitted to assess personal property on basis of annual valuation. 210 C. 233.Nothing in language requiring interim revaluation of all classes of property if one class is revalued. 13 CA 393.