(a) Any resident of this state, as defined in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 12-701, subject to the tax under this chapter for any taxable year shall be entitled to a credit in determining the amount of tax liability under this chapter, for all or a portion, as permitted by this section, of the amount of property tax, as defined in this section, first becoming due and actually paid during such taxable year by such person on such person's primary residence or motor vehicle in accordance with the provisions of this section, provided in the case of a person who files a return under the federal income tax for such taxable year as an unmarried individual, a married individual filing separately or a head of household, one motor vehicle shall be eligible for such credit and in the case of a husband and wife who file a return under federal income tax for such taxable year as married individuals filing jointly, no more than two motor vehicles shall be eligible for a credit under the provisions of this section.
(b) (1) The credit allowed under this section shall not exceed (A) for taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2011, but prior to January 1, 2016, three hundred dollars; and (B) for taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2016, two hundred dollars. In the case of any husband and wife who file a return under the federal income tax for such taxable year as married individuals filing a joint return, the credit allowed, in the aggregate, shall not exceed such amount for each such taxable year.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, for the taxable years commencing January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2020, inclusive, the credit under this section shall be allowed only for a resident of this state (A) who has attained age sixty-five before the close of the applicable taxable year, or (B) who files a return under the federal income tax for the applicable taxable year validly claiming one or more dependents.
(c) (1) (A) For taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2011, but prior to January 1, 2013, in the case of any such taxpayer who files under the federal income tax for such taxable year as an unmarried individual whose Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds fifty-six thousand five hundred dollars, the amount of the credit shall be reduced by fifteen per cent for each ten thousand dollars, or fraction thereof, by which the taxpayer's Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds said amount.
(B) For taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2013, but prior to January 1, 2014, in the case of any such taxpayer who files under the federal income tax for such taxable year as an unmarried individual whose Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds sixty thousand five hundred dollars, the amount of the credit shall be reduced by fifteen per cent for each ten thousand dollars, or fraction thereof, by which the taxpayer's Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds said amount.
(C) For taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2014, but prior to January 1, 2016, in the case of any such taxpayer who files under the federal income tax for such taxable year as an unmarried individual whose Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds forty-seven thousand five hundred dollars, the amount of the credit shall be reduced by fifteen per cent for each ten thousand dollars, or fraction thereof, by which the taxpayer's Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds said amount.
(D) For taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2016, in the case of any such taxpayer who files under the federal income tax for such taxable year as an unmarried individual whose Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds forty-nine thousand five hundred dollars, the amount of the credit shall be reduced by fifteen per cent for each ten thousand dollars, or fraction thereof, by which the taxpayer's Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds said amount.
(2) In the case of any such taxpayer who files under the federal income tax for such taxable year as a married individual filing separately whose Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds thirty-five thousand two hundred fifty dollars, the amount of the credit shall be reduced by fifteen per cent for each five thousand dollars, or fraction thereof, by which the taxpayer's Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds said amount.
(3) In the case of a taxpayer who files under the federal income tax for such taxable year as a head of household whose Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds fifty-four thousand five hundred dollars, the amount of the credit shall be reduced by fifteen per cent for each ten thousand dollars or fraction thereof, by which the taxpayer's Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds said amount.
(4) In the case of a taxpayer who files under federal income tax for such taxable year as married individuals filing jointly whose Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds seventy thousand five hundred dollars, the amount of the credit shall be reduced by fifteen per cent for each ten thousand dollars, or fraction thereof, by which the taxpayer's Connecticut adjusted gross income exceeds said amount.
(d) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section, for taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2021, for any taxpayer who paid the conveyance tax on real property at the rate prescribed by subparagraph (C)(ii) of subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 12-494, the credit allowed under this section shall not exceed thirty-three and one-third per cent of the amount of the conveyance tax paid at such rate, in each of the three taxable years next succeeding the second taxable year after the taxable year in which such conveyance tax was paid. For any taxable year such taxpayer claims the credit or portion thereof under this subsection, such credit shall be in lieu of any credit such taxpayer may be eligible to claim under subsection (b) or (c) of this section.
(2) If any credit allowed under this subsection or portion thereof is not used because the amount of the credit exceeds the tax due and owing by the taxpayer or the amount of property tax paid by the taxpayer, the unused amount may be carried forward to each of the successive taxable years until such amount is fully taken, except that in no event may any amount of the credit be carried forward for a period of more than six taxable years.
(e) The credit allowed under this section shall be available for any person leasing a motor vehicle pursuant to a written agreement for a term of more than one year. Such lessee shall be entitled to the credit in accordance with the provisions of this section for the taxes actually paid by the lessor or lessee on such leased vehicle, provided the lessee was lawfully in possession of the motor vehicle at such time when the taxes first became due. The lessor shall provide the lessee with documentation establishing, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Revenue Services, the amount of property tax paid during the time period in which the lessee was lawfully in possession of the motor vehicle. The lessor of the motor vehicle shall not be entitled to a credit under the provisions of this section.
(f) The credit may only be used to reduce a qualifying taxpayer's tax liability for the year for which such credit is applicable and shall not be used to reduce such tax liability to less than zero.
(g) The amount of tax due pursuant to sections 12-705 and 12-722 shall be calculated without regard to this credit.
(h) For the purposes of this section: (1) “Property tax” means the amount of property tax exclusive of any interest, fees or charges thereon for which a taxpayer is liable, or in the case of any husband and wife who file a return under the federal income tax for such taxable year as married individuals filing a joint return, for which the husband or wife or both are liable, to a Connecticut political subdivision on the taxpayer's primary residence or motor vehicles; (2) “motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1, that is privately owned or leased; and (3) property tax first becomes due, if due and payable in a single installment, on the date designated by the legislative body of the municipality as the date on which such installment shall be due and payable and, if due and payable in two or more installments, on the date designated by the legislative body of the municipality as the date on which such installment shall be due and payable or, at the election of the taxpayer, on the date designated by the legislative body of the municipality as the date on which any earlier installment of such tax shall be due and payable.
(P.A. 97-309, S. 7, 23; 97-322, S. 4, 7, 9; P.A. 98-110, S. 1, 27; 98-262, S. 15, 22; P.A. 99-173, S. 2, 7, 65; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1, S. 80; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-1, S. 101; P.A. 04-216, S. 52; P.A. 05-251, S. 76, 77; P.A. 06-186, S. 79; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 124; P.A. 11-6, S. 111; P.A. 15-244, S. 70; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2, S. 644; P.A. 19-117, S. 335.)
History: P.A. 97-309 effective July 1, 1997, and applicable to income years commencing on or after January 1, 1997; P.A. 97-322 amended Subsec. (b) to increase amount of credit for taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 1998, from $275 to $285, effective July 1, 1997, and changed effective date of P.A. 97-309 but without affecting this section; P.A. 98-110 amended Subsec. (b) to increase amount of credit from $285 to $350, effective May 19, 1998, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 1998; P.A. 98-262 allowed credit for installment in January 1998, and amended definition of property tax to clarify that interest, fees and charges are excluded, effective June 8, 1998, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 1998; P.A. 99-173 amended Subsec. (b) to increase credit from $350 to $425 for tax years commencing on or after January 1, 1999, and from $425 to $500 for tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2000, effective June 23, 1999, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 1999, and divided Subsec. (c) into Subdivs., adding new Subparas. (B) to (I) inclusive, re income limits for unmarried single filers in Subdiv. (1), effective June 23, 1999, and applicable to tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2000; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1 amended Subsec. (c)(1) to defer by two years the increase in the credit for single filers, effective July 1, 2002, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2002; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-1 amended Subsec. (b) to lower the maximum credit to $350 and amended Subsec. (c) to eliminate minimum credit of $100, to add new Subdiv. (2)(D) re credit amount for unmarried filers for taxable year 2004, to redesignate existing Subparas. (D) to (I) as Subparas. (E) to (J) in Subdiv. (2) and to amend said Subparas. to delay change in credit amounts for unmarried filers by one year, effective August 16, 2003, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2003; P.A. 04-216 amended Subsec. (b) to increase the maximum credit to $500 for taxable years commencing January 1, 2005, effective July 1, 2005, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2005; P.A. 05-251 amended Subsec. (b) to decrease the maximum credit amount to $350 prior to January 1, 2006, and $400 thereafter, effective July 1, 2005, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2005, and amended Subsec. (c)(1)(D) to (J) to delay for two years the change in credit amounts for single filers, effective June 30, 2005, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2005; P.A. 06-186 amended Subsec. (b) to increase credit from $400 to $500, effective July 1, 2006, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2006; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (c)(1)(F) to (J) to delay change in credit amounts for single filers for 3 years, effective September 9, 2009, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2009; P.A. 11-6 amended Subsec. (b) to reduce maximum property tax credit from $500 to $300, amended Subsec. (c) to reduce income threshold in Subdiv. (1)(G) from $58,500 to $56,500, and to increase the reduction in amount of the credit in Subdiv. (1)(G) to (J) and Subdivs. (2) to (4) from 10% to 15% and made technical changes, effective May 4, 2011, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2011; P.A. 15-244 amended Subsec. (a) to make a technical change, amended Subsec. (b) to decrease maximum credit amount to $200 for taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2016, amended Subsec. (c)(1)(I) to delay for one year the change in credit amount for any taxpayer who files as an unmarried individual and reduce the income threshold from $62,500 to $47,500, amended Subsec. (c)(1)(J) to delay for one year the change in credit amount for any taxpayer who files as an unmarried individual and reduce the income threshold from $64,500 to $49,500, and amended Subsec. (c)(2) to (4) to reduce the income thresholds, effective July 1, 2015, and applicable to income years commencing on or after January 1, 2015; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2 amended Subsec. (b) to designate existing provisions as Subdiv. (1), amend same to delete credit amounts for taxable years prior to January 1, 2006 and add Subpara. designators, and add Subdiv. (2) re limits on credit eligibility for taxable years commencing January 1, 2017, and January 1, 2018, effective October 31, 2017, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2017; P.A. 19-117 amended Subsec. (b) to delete Subpara. (A) re credit for taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2006, but prior to January 1, 2011, redesignate existing Subparas. (B) and (C) as new Subparas. (A) and (B) and make a technical change in Subdiv. (1), and replace “and January 1, 2018” with “to January 1, 2020, inclusive” in Subdiv. (2), amended Subsec. (c)(1) to delete former Subparas. (A) to (F) re credit reductions for taxable years commencing prior to January 1, 2011, and redesignate existing Subparas. (G) to (J) as new Subparas. (A) to (D), added new Subsec. (d) re property tax credit for taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2021, redesignated existing Subsecs. (e) to (g) as Subsecs. (f) to (h) and made a technical change in redesignated Subsecs. (f) and (h), effective June 26, 2019.