June 22, 2004 |
2004-R-0514 | |
RENTERS’ TAX RELIEF PROGRAM | ||
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By: Judith Lohman, Chief Analyst | ||
You asked (1) who is considered a “renter” under the state’s tax relief program for elderly and totally disabled renters and (2) whether the program application deadline can be extended beyond September 15th.
SUMMARY
The renters’ tax relief program provides state grants to low-income elderly and totally disabled people to reimburse them for a portion of their rent and utilities. The amount of the grant varies according to income.
The law and informational materials published by the administering agency, the Office of Policy and Management (OPM), describe a renter as anyone who makes periodic payments in return for occupying another’s property as his principal residence. The grants cover people living in apartments, cooperative and congregate housing, boarding houses, and mobile homes, among other places.
The law allows program applicants to apply directly to the OPM secretary for an extension of the September 15th grant application deadline. The secretary can grant extensions in cases of documented illness or incapacity or for another good cause.
ELDERLY AND DISABLED RENTERS’ TAX RELIEF PROGRAM
The state elderly and disabled renters’ tax relief program reimburses rent and utility costs for low-income recipients. Annual grants range from $ 150 to $ 900 for married couples and from $ 50 to $ 700 for singles, depending on income. The grants reimburse for rent and utilities actually paid during the preceding calendar year.
To qualify for the program, a renter or his spouse must (1) have lived in Connecticut for at least one year before applying; (2) be at least age 65 or, if under age 65, be eligible to receive Social Security or equivalent permanent total disability benefits; and (3) for 2004 applications, have a qualifying income below $ 32,300 for a married couple and $ 26,500 for a single person. These income limits are adjusted annually by the annual percentage increase in Social Security benefits (CGS §§ 12-170d and 12-170e).
RENTER DEFINITION
The statute governing the program does not define the term “renter,” but it does state explicitly that the program covers those who rent mobile homes or reside in cooperative housing (CGS §12-170d(a)).
According OPM’s information booklet, a “renter” is any adult who pays a fixed amount, generally at specified intervals, in return for the right to occupy another’s property. Under the program, a rental unit is any property the recipient does not own but occupies as his or her principal residence by virtue of a written or oral lease. OPM lists the following examples of eligible rental property: apartments, cooperatives, land leased for mobile homes, condominiums, hotel/motel rooms, boarding houses, nursing homes (private pay patients only), convalescent hospitals, and congregate housing (Question and Answer Booklet for the Elderly and Totally Disabled Renters’ Tax Relief Program, Office of Policy and Management, April 2002, copy enclosed).
GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINE
Renters who think they are entitled to a tax relief grant must apply to their local municipal tax assessor between May 15 and September 15 of the year after the year for which they are eligible. They must apply on a form OPM provides to assessors. If they miss the September 15th
deadline for applying to the assessor, they may apply directly to the OPM secretary before December 15th for an extension of the application period. The law allows the secretary to grant an extension (1) in cases of incapacity or illness as shown by a physician’s certificate or (2) if he determines there is good cause (CGS § 12-170f).
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