This information is not current and is being provided for reference purposes only
IP 2004(23)
Connecticut Tax Tips for Senior Citizens
This publication has been superseded by IP 2005(24)
Income Tax Return: For calendar year filers, the Connecticut income tax return is due on or before April 15 of the next calendar year. You may be required to file an income tax return even if you do not owe any tax. Information on filing requirements is included in all Connecticut income tax instruction booklets. Residents must file Form CT-1040, Connecticut Resident Income Tax Return, Form CT-1040EZ, Connecticut Resident EZ Income Tax Return, or Connecticut Telefile Tax Return. Nonresidents and part-year residents must file Form CT-1040NR/PY, Connecticut Nonresident or Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return.
Tax Rate: The tax rate is 3% on the first:
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$10,000 of Connecticut taxable income for single filers and married taxpayers filing separately;
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$16,000 of Connecticut taxable income for head of household filers; and
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$20,000 of Connecticut taxable income for married taxpayers filing jointly.
The remaining income is taxed at 5%.
To compute your Connecticut taxable income, subtract your personal exemption from your Connecticut adjusted gross income. If your Connecticut adjusted gross income is less than or equal to the maximum personal exemption amount for your filing status, you do not owe any Connecticut income tax.
Maximum personal exemption amounts are:
$12,000 |
married filing separately |
$12,625 |
single filers ($12,750 for 2005)
For every $1,000 (or part of $1,000) of Connecticut adjusted gross income over $25,250, the personal exemption amount is reduced by $1,000.
|
$19,000 |
head of household
For every $1,000 (or part of $1,000) of Connecticut adjusted gross income over $38,000, the personal exemption amount is reduced by $1,000.
|
$24,000 |
married filing jointly |
Credits: You may be eligible for a personal tax credit of between 1% and 75%, depending on your income level. The credit is incorporated into the income tax tables. (See Table C in the Connecticut income tax instruction booklets if you are using the tax calculation schedule to compute your income tax liability.)
Resident individuals may take a property tax credit against their Connecticut income tax liability for property taxes paid to a Connecticut political subdivision on a primary residence or on a privately owned or leased motor vehicle, or both.Generally, this credit is allowed for property tax bills due and paid during 2004.
This includes any installment payments you make during 2004 that were due in 2004 and any installments you prepaid during 2004 that are due in 2005.Supplemental property tax bills due during 2004 or 2005 also qualify if paid during 2004.However, the late payment of any property tax bills or the payment of any interest, fees, or charges related to the property tax bill do not qualify for this credit.
The maximum property tax credit allowed for the 2004 taxable year is $350 per return.Depending on the amount of property taxes you paid to a Connecticut municipality and your Connecticut adjusted gross income, the property tax credit may be reduced or you may not be entitled to a credit. See Informational Publication 2004(16), Q & A on Income Tax Credit for Property Taxes Paid to Connecticut Political Subdivisions, for more information.
CT adjusted gross income $ 45,000
Personal exemption -24,000
CT taxable income $21,000
Calculation of Tax
Income taxable at 3% $20,000
Tax rate x .03
Tax at 3% $600
Income taxable at 5% $1,000
Tax rate x .05
Tax at 5% $50
Total tax $650
Personal tax credit
(Total tax of $645 X 15% from Table C) -98
Tax due (before subtracting any
property tax credit) $552
Social Security recipients whose filing status is: Single or Married Filing Separately and whose federal adjusted gross income is less than $50,000, or Married Filing Jointly or Head of Household and whose federal adjusted gross income is less than $60,000, are not subject to Connecticut income tax on federally taxable Social Security benefits.
If you are a nonresident and receive a pension, your pension is not subject to Connecticut income tax, even if a former employer pays you a pension for services performed while you were employed in Connecticut.
Part II. Sales and Use Taxes
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All newspapers; magazines by subscription (effective July 1, 2004);
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Internet access services;
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Clothing and footwear items costing under $50 each;
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Current United States and Connecticut flags;
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Diabetic supplies (test strips and tablets, lancets and glucose monitoring equipment, and repair and replacement parts for such equipment);
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Doctor, dentist, medical laboratory, lawyer, and travel agent fees;
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Eyeglasses, dentures, hearing aids, and hearing aid batteries;
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Instruction classes, such as knitting, sewing, dog obedience, music, ballroom dancing, etc.;
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Most non-prescription (over-the-counter) drugs for humans or animals used internally or externally. This includes: vitamins or mineral concentrates; dietary supplements; natural or herbal medicines; eye, ear, or nose medications; antacids; cough, cold, asthma, and allergy products; antihistamines; analgesics; antibiotic, antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal medicines; laxatives; antidiarrheal medicines; antiseptics; astringents; anesthetics; steroidal medicines; anthelmintics; and emetics or antiemetics (Cosmetics, dentifrices, mouthwash, shaving and hair care products, soaps, and deodorants are subject to the tax.);
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Support hose specially designed to aid in the circulation of blood, purchased by persons with a medical need for such hose;
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Adult diapers and disposable pads for incontinence;
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Oxygen and oxygen equipment, customized trusses and braces, crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, and inclined stairway chairlifts, and repair and replacement part services for the equipment;
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Canes;
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Prescription drugs, syringes, and needles;
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Repair services and repair and replacement parts for artificial limbs, artificial eyes, hearing aids, and other equipment used to support vital life functions;
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Telephone equipment designed exclusively for deaf or blind people;
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Closed circuit television equipment used as reading aids by visually impaired persons;
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Equipment for people with physical disabilities installed in motor vehicles and repair and replacement parts for the equipment;
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Electricity and gas for residential use;
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Fuel for residential heating or cooking such as oil, propane, kerosene, wood, coal, and charcoal;
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Fabric, thread, buttons, zippers, trim, and similar materials for noncommercial sewing used to make clothing;
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Yarn for noncommercial use;
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Shoe repair services;
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Food purchased in supermarkets (Beer, wine, and all alcoholic beverages are taxable. Candy, gum, soda, and all other carbonated beverages are also taxable.);
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Food products sold through coin-operated vending machines;
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Meals delivered to homes of elderly persons and provided by special programs, such as “Meals on Wheels”;
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Sales of food, meals, candy, confectionery, and beverages to persons in health care facilities. Health care facilities include assisted living facilities, senior centers, day care centers, hospitals, residential care homes, convalescent homes, nursing homes, and rest homes;
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Labor for many home repairs and services including plumbing, electrical, refuse removal, septic cleaning services, painting, staining, paving, roofing, wallpapering, siding, and exterior sheet metal work;
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Landscaping and horticulture services, window cleaning, and maintenance services when rendered at the residence of a person eligible to receive, and currently receiving, total disability benefits under the Social Security Act;
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Repair and maintenance services to vessels and fabrication labor to existing vessels;
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Other nontaxable services, including animal grooming and boarding services, laundry, hair styling, towing, real estate, and jewelry appraisal;
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Vegetable seeds;
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Bicycle helmets;
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Firearm safety devices;
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Personal property used in a burial or cremation with a value of up to $2,500;
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Caskets used for burial or cremation.
Coupons: A coupon entitles a purchaser to an immediate reduction in the sales price of an item when the coupon is presented to a retailer. No additional action is required of the purchaser.
Sales and use taxes are calculated on the sales price after reducing the price by the value of any coupons presented. Any additional value assigned by the retailer, such as to double or triple the coupon, is also excluded from the sales price.
For example, if the original price of an item is $3.00 and you present a coupon for 50 cents off the item, the taxable price is $2.50. The total price of the item, including the sales tax, is $2.65.
In contrast, rebates do not reduce the taxable sales price of an item being purchased. See Policy Statement 98(1.1), Sales Tax Treatment of Coupons, Scan Cards, Cash Equivalents, Promotional Items and Rebates, for more information.
You must pay the use tax for purchases you made during the prior calendar year on or before April 15 on either your Connecticut income tax return or on Form OP-186, Connecticut Individual Use Tax Return.
For information and tax tables for estates of decedents dying after 1996, see Special Notice 2003(13), 2003 Legislative Changes Affecting the Succession Tax.
For estates of decedents dying on or after July 1, 2004, and before January 1, 2005: The estates of decedents dying on or after July 1, 2004, and before January 1, 2005, are subject to a special Connecticut estate tax, rather than to the regular Connecticut estate tax under Chapter 217 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
The special Connecticut estate tax is computed by using the applicable exclusion amount (and the applicable credit amount) under I.R.C. §2010(c):
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As if a decedent dying on or after July 1, 2004, and before January 1, 2005, had died during calendar year 2002; and
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Applying I.R.C. §2010(c) as it was in effect for the estate of a decedent dying during calendar year 2002.
See Special Notice 2004(1.1), Special Estate Tax on Estates of Decedents Dying On or After July 1, 2004, and Before January 1, 2005, for more information.
For estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2005: The Connecticut estate tax does not apply to estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2005.
Part V. Gift Tax
Residents are taxed on all gifts of intangible property and on gifts of real property and tangible personal property located in Connecticut. Nonresidents are taxed on gifts of real and tangible personal property located in Connecticut.
Gifts of a present interest to any particular donee during the calendar year are not subject to the Connecticut gift tax unless the value of all the gifts to the donee during that calendar year exceeds $11,000. Transfers of future interests are not covered by this annual exclusion.
If both spouses are citizens or residents of the United States at the time of the gift, and both spouses consent and make an election to gift split for federal gift tax purposes, all gifts made to third parties during the calendar year, whether made by one spouse alone or made partly by each spouse, are considered as made one-half by each spouse. Thus, the first $22,000 of gifts of a present interest in property to any donee by consenting spouses during the calendar year is not subject to tax.
To split the gift, the spouses must be legally married to each other at the time of the gift. If they are divorced during the year, they still may split the gift as long as neither marries anyone else during the year. In addition, both must be citizens or residents of the United States on the date of the gift.
The special valuation rules under I.R.C. §§2701 to 2704 (dealing with transfers to or for the benefit of family members) apply for Connecticut gift tax purposes. For example, if a donor delivers a deed transferring title to his home to his children but reserving a life use, the value of the gift equals the sum of the value of the life estate and the value of the remainder interest (that is, the full fair market value of the home). Because this is a transfer of a future interest, no annual exclusion is allowed.
Part VI. Real Estate Conveyance Tax
A state and municipal real estate conveyance tax is imposed on deeds conveying an interest in realty where the consideration for the interest in property equals or exceeds $2,000. A deed for no consideration or for less than $2,000 in consideration is exempt from this tax, but may be subject to the gift tax. A deed of the principal residence of a person receiving property tax benefits for the elderly is exempt from the state tax but subject to the municipal tax.
Veteran Exemption: A variable, annual property tax exemption on the assessed value of an owner-occupied dwelling or on a motor vehicle is available to any qualified veteran or surviving spouse. Contact the assessor in your town or city for details and forms for any of the above.
Effect on Other Documents: Informational Publication 2004(23) modifies and supersedes Informational Publication 2003(32), Connecticut Tax Tips for Senior Citizens.
Effect of This Document: An Informational Publication addresses frequently asked questions about a current position, policy, or practice, usually in a less technical question and answer format.
For Further Information: Call DRS during business hours, Monday through Friday:
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1-800-382-9463 (in-state), or
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860-297-5962 (from anywhere)
TTY, TDD, and Text Telephone users only may transmit anytime by calling 860-297-4911.
Forms and Publications: Forms and publications are available anytime by:
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Internet: Preview and download forms and publications from the DRS Web site.
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Telephone: Call 860-297-4753 (from anywhere), or 1-800-382-9463 (in-state) and select Option 2 from a touch-tone phone.
IP 2004(23)
Miscellaneous
Connecticut Tax Tips for Senior Citizens
Issued 09/13/04