FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

SEN. OSTEN WELCOMES PROPERTY TAX CUT FOR TOTALLY DISABLED VETERANS

Longtime military veterans’ advocate State Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) today welcomed the Senate passage of a bill that she has been working on for years: fully exempting local property taxes on the primary residence and any motor vehicle belonging to a former member of the armed services who has a permanent and total 100% disability rating.

House Bill 5491, “An Act Establishing A Property Tax Exemption For Veterans Who Have A Service-Connected Permanent And Total Disability Rating,” passed the Senate late Tuesday night on a unanimous and bipartisan basis and now heads to the governor for his signature into law.

It’s estimated that there are 1,209 veterans in Connecticut with a permanent and total disability, and that the tax breaks allowed under the new bill will save them $4.9 million a year.

“The concept of sacrifice for one’s country needs to be remembered and honored. One of the many ways we can do this for our veterans is to remove the burden of property taxes from veterans who are totally disabled,” said Sen. Osten, who is a U.S. Army veteran and American Legion Post commander. “Historically, over a century ago, Connecticut did much more for its veterans when it came to property taxes. Since then, we haven’t really come close to keeping up with those levels of tax breaks. This bill makes some headway for permanently disabled veterans. It’s a good first step, but the work honoring our veterans will continue.”

Under existing state law, former service members who have disability ratings of at least 10% are eligible for a partial property tax exemption. Those who have a 100% disability rating

(regardless of whether it’s permanent) are eligible for a property tax exemption of at least $3,500.

Connecticut first directed municipalities to exempt a portion of property tax for certain veterans in 1875. A few years later, in1890, state law exempted $1,000 of a home’s assessed valuation from taxation. At the time, an average home was worth about $3,000, so essentially veterans were saving 33% on their property taxes. As of March 2024, the median sales price of a home in Connecticut was $389,000.

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