CT Gen Stat § 12-170d (2020)
2020 Connecticut General Statutes|Title 12 - Taxation|Chapter 204a - Property Tax Relief for Elderly Homeowners and Renters and Persons with Permanent Total Disability|Section 12-170d - Partial state refund of rent and utility bills paid by certain renters age sixty-five or over or renters under age sixty-five with permanent total disability. Eligibility limitations.

 (a) Beginning with the calendar year 1973 and for each calendar year thereafter any renter of real property, or of a mobile manufactured home, as defined in section 12-63a, which such renter occupies as his or her home, who meets the qualifications set forth in this section, shall be entitled to receive in the following year in the form of direct payment from the state, a grant in refund of utility and rent bills actually paid by or for such renter on such real property or mobile manufactured home to the extent set forth in section 12-170e. Such grant by the state shall be made upon receipt by the state of a certificate of grant with a copy of the application therefor attached, as provided in section 12-170f, provided such application shall be made within one year from the close of the calendar year for which the grant is requested. If the rental quarters are occupied by more than one person, it shall be assumed for the purposes of this section and sections 12-170e and 12-170f that each of such persons pays his or her proportionate share of the rental and utility expenses levied thereon and grants shall be calculated on that portion of utility and rent bills paid that are applicable to the person making application for grant under said sections. For purposes of this section and sections 12-170e and 12-170f, a married couple shall constitute one tenant, and a resident of cooperative housing shall be a renter. To qualify for such payment by the state, the renter shall meet qualification requirements in accordance with each of the following subdivisions: (1) (A) At the close of the calendar year for which a grant is claimed be sixty-five years of age or over, or his or her spouse who is residing with such renter shall be sixty-five years of age or over, at the close of such year, or be fifty years of age or over and the surviving spouse of a renter who at the time of his or her death had qualified and was entitled to tax relief under this chapter, provided such spouse was domiciled with such renter at the time of his or her death, or (B) at the close of the calendar year for which a grant is claimed be under age sixty-five and eligible in accordance with applicable federal regulations, to receive permanent total disability benefits under Social Security, or if such renter has not been engaged in employment covered by Social Security and accordingly has not qualified for Social Security benefits but has become 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, determined by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management to contain requirements in respect to qualification for such permanent total disability benefits which are comparable to such requirements under Social Security; (2) shall reside within this state and shall have resided within this state for at least one year or such renter's spouse who is domiciled with such renter shall have resided within this state for at least one year and shall reside within this state at the time of filing the claim and shall have resided within this state for the period for which claim is made; (3) shall have taxable and nontaxable income, the total of which shall hereinafter be called “qualifying income”, during the calendar year preceding the filing of such renter's claim in an amount of not more than twenty thousand dollars, jointly with spouse, if married, and not more than sixteen thousand two hundred dollars if unmarried, provided such maximum amounts of qualifying income shall be subject to adjustment in accordance with subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 12-170e, and provided the amount of any Medicaid payments made on behalf of the renter or the spouse of the renter shall not constitute income; and (4) shall not have received financial aid or subsidy from federal, state, county or municipal funds, excluding Social Security receipts, emergency energy assistance under any state program, emergency energy assistance under any federal program, emergency energy assistance under any local program, payments received under the federal Supplemental Security Income Program, payments derived from previous employment, veterans and veterans disability benefits and subsidized housing accommodations, during the calendar year for which a grant is claimed, for payment, directly or indirectly, of rent, electricity, gas, water and fuel applicable to the rented residence. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (4) of this subsection, a renter who receives cash assistance from the Department of Social Services in the calendar year prior to that in which such renter files an application for a grant may be entitled to receive such grant provided the amount of the cash assistance received shall be deducted from the amount of such grant and the difference between the amount of the cash assistance and the amount of the grant is equal to or greater than ten dollars. Funds attributable to such reductions shall be transferred annually from the appropriation to the Office of Policy and Management, for tax relief for elderly renters, to the Department of Social Services, to the appropriate accounts, following the issuance of such grants. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of section 12-170aa, the owner of a mobile manufactured home may elect to receive benefits under section 12-170e in lieu of benefits under said section 12-170aa.(b) For purposes of determining qualifying income under subsection (a) of this section with respect to a married renter who submits an application for a grant in accordance with sections 12-170d to 12-170g, inclusive, the Social Security income of the spouse of such renter shall not be included in the qualifying income of such renter, for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits under said sections, if such spouse is a resident of a health care or nursing home facility in this state receiving payment related to such spouse under the Title XIX Medicaid program. An applicant who is legally separated pursuant to the provisions of section 46b-40, as of the thirty-first day of December preceding the date on which such person files an application for a grant in accordance with sections 12-170d to 12-170g, inclusive, may apply as an unmarried person and shall be regarded as such for purposes of determining qualifying income under subsection (a) of this section.(P.A. 74-55, S. 8, 14; 74-237, S. 1, 2; P.A. 78-274, S. 2, 4; P.A. 79-498, S. 3, 4; 79-514, S. 3, 4; Oct. Sp. Sess. P.A. 79-7, S. 3–5; P.A. 80-463, S. 2, 6; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-3, S. 1; P.A. 84-515, S. 3, 7; P.A. 85-561, S. 5, 8; P.A. 86-409, S. 2, 4; June 11, Sp. Sess. P.A. 86-1, S. 3, 8; P.A. 87-267, S. 1; 87-586, S. 1, 10, 12; P.A. 88-321, S. 5, 10; P.A. 91-400, S. 2; P.A. 93-129, S. 1, 7; P.A. 95-307, S. 7, 14; P.A. 98-262, S. 16, 22; P.A. 99-134, S. 1, 2; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-6, S. 56, 85; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9, S. 100, 131; P.A. 13-234, S. 38; P.A. 14-217, S. 49; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2, S. 563; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-4, S. 23.)History: P.A. 74-237 added provisions re mobile homes; P.A. 78-274 excluded payments under federal supplemental security income program from consideration as financial aid or subsidy in Subdiv. (4); P.A. 79-498 changed eligibility age for surviving spouse from 60 to 50, deleted reference to Secs. 12-129b to 12-129d and required spouse to be domiciled with renter at time of death in Subdiv. (1), effective July 1, 1979, and applicable to grants payable on or after that date; P.A. 79-514 changed residency requirement in Subdiv. (2) from 5 years to 1 year; October, 1979, P.A. 79-7 excluded state, federal or local emergency energy assistance from consideration as financial aid or subsidy under Subdiv. (4), effective November 29, 1979, and, after December 31, 1979, applicable to grants payable on or after July 1, 1980; P.A. 80-463 included income other than adjusted gross income in “qualifying income” and increased maximum amounts of income re eligibility in Subdiv. (1), effective June 6, 1980, and applicable to renters re grants allowed in calendar year commencing January 1, 1981, and each calendar year thereafter; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-3 changed the term “mobile home” to “mobile manufactured home”; P.A. 84-515 increased the maximum amounts of qualifying income for renters to amounts reflecting the adjustments actually made in such amounts because of inflation for calendar years commencing January 1, 1982, and January 1, 1983, as required under Sec. 12-170e(a)(3), effective June 13, 1984, and applicable to the calendar year 1985 and each calendar year thereafter; P.A. 85-561 added the provision that applicants for benefits under the program for elderly renters must reside in the state at the time of filing claim for benefits and shall have resided in the state for the period for which claim is made, effective July 5, 1985, and applicable to grants for renters paid in the calendar year 1986 and each calendar year thereafter; P.A. 86-409 added provisions to include in the program, in addition to renters age 65 or over, renters under age 65 with permanent total disability, effective June 10, 1986, and applicable to payments to renters in calendar years commencing on or after January 1, 1987; June 11, Sp. Sess. P.A. 86-1 changed the “qualifying income” amounts so as to be in conformity with the correct amounts as stated in Sec. 12-170aa and substituted reference to Sec. 12-170aa for Sec. 12-170a, repealed January 1, 1986, in description of the election available to owners of mobile homes, effective July 8, 1986, pursuant to Art. 4, Sec. 15 of the Constitution of Conn. and Sec. 2-30 of the general statutes, and applicable to grants for renters in calendar years commencing on or after January 1, 1987, with respect to renters eligible for permanent total disability benefits; P.A. 87-267 amended Subdiv. (3) by adding provision on Medicaid payments; P.A. 87-586 amended the maximum qualifying income requirements in the program for renters by increasing the maximum allowable annual income for married renters from $15,000 to $16,000 and for unmarried renters from $12,500 to $13,300, subject to adjustment to reflect increases in social security income, effective July 6, 1987, and applicable to grants for renters in calendar years commencing on or after January 1, 1987, and further provided that the “provisions of said public act 86-1 (of the June 11, 1986, special session) having been codified in the general statutes, revised to January 1, 1987, are deemed adopted and made effective July 8, 1986, the effective date of said public act 86-1”; P.A. 88-321 increased the maximum amounts of qualifying income to $20,000, jointly with spouse, if married, and $16,200 if unmarried, effective May 10, 1988, and applicable to grants for renters in the calendar year 1988 and thereafter; P.A. 91-400 added Subsec. (b) concerning exclusion of social security income of Title XIX aid recipients from the calculation of the spouse's income, effective October 1, 1991, and applicable to assessment years of municipalities commencing on or after that date; P.A. 93-129 amended Subsec. (a) by clarifying the time by which renters must be 65 years of age to qualify for the grant and made technical changes, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 95-307 amended Subsec. (a) to define “qualifying income” as taxable and nontaxable income, eliminating provisions re total adjusted gross income, effective July 6, 1995; P.A. 98-262 amended Subsec. (b) to allow a person who is legally separated to apply as an unmarried person for purposes of determining qualifying income, effective June 8, 1998; P.A. 99-134 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that, notwithstanding Subdiv. (4), a renter who receives cash assistance from the Department of Social Services in the previous calendar year may receive the grant if the amount of cash assistance is deducted from the amount of such grant and the difference is at least $10, and to provide for the transfer of funds attributable to such reductions, effective January 1, 2000; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-6 amended Subsec. (b) to delete references to Sec. 12-170g, that section having been repealed in Sec. 84 of the same act, effective July 1, 2001; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9 repealed Sec. 84 of June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-6 and restored requirement in Subsec. (b) that grant application be in accordance with Sec. 12-170g, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 13-234 amended Subsec. (a) by substituting “Department of Housing” for “Office of Policy and Management” and added Subsec. (c) re eligibility limitations, effective July 1, 2013, and applicable to applications received on and after April 1, 2013; P.A. 14-217 amended Subsec. (a) to replace “husband and wife” with “married couple” re constituting one tenant, replace “Department of Housing” with “Office of Policy and Management” re annual transfer of funds and make technical changes and deleted former Subsec. (c) re eligibility of individuals who did and did not receive grants for calendar year 2011, effective June 13, 2014, and applicable to applications made on or after April 1, 2014; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “state” with “municipality in which such real property or mobile manufactured home is located” re direct payment of grant, deleted provision re funds attributable to reductions to be transferred annually from Office of Policy and Management to Department of Social Services following issuance of grants, and made technical and conforming changes, effective October 31, 2017; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-4 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “municipality in which such real property or mobile manufactured home is located” with “state” re direct payment of grant, added provision re funds attributable to reductions to be transferred annually from Office of Policy and Management to Department of Social Services following issuance of grants, and made technical and conforming changes, effective November 21, 2017.See Sec. 12-120b re uniform administrative procedure for appeals related to state-reimbursed property tax exemptions, credits and rebates.Cited. 206 C. 711.