Wilton senior residents are invited to meet the assessor for the town of Wilton, David Lisowski, to learn about three income-based tax relief programs available to Wilton seniors. The info session will be held at the Senior Center lounge in Comstock Community Center (180 School Rd.) on Tuesday, April 4, at 2 p.m..

The three programs are:

  • Wilton Tax Relief Program for Elderly or Disabled Homeowners
  • Connecticut Elderly & Totally Disabled Tax Relief Program for Homeowners
  • Connecticut Elderly & Totally Disabled Tax Relief (Rebate) Program for Renters

The assessor’s office reports that during the current fiscal year, 289 Wilton households benefit from a real estate tax credit while 23 households are deferring some or all real estate taxes under the Wilton program. Under the Connecticut programs 107 Wilton households benefit from a real estate tax credit while 78 households are receiving a partial rebate of rent.

Under the Wilton program seniors who qualify may receive a reduction in their July 2017/January 2018 real estate tax and/or they may be able to postpone up to 100% of their tax bill if they:

  • were at least 65 years of age or over as of Dec. 31, 2016, or a spouse was; or they were at least 60 years of age as of Dec. 31, 2016 and are the surviving spouse of a taxpayer who qualified for tax relief at the time of his or her death; or they are under 65 years of age and permanently totally disabled under Social Security disability;
  • and have been a Wilton taxpayer for at least one year;
  • and have occupied their Wilton property as the principal residence for more than 183 days during the past twelve months;
  • and their qualifying income for 2016 is $81,500 or less.

Lisowski, who has served as Wilton’s assessor since 1994, will explain eligibility rules for all three programs and answer questions such as:

  • What constitutes “qualifying income?”
  • What types of income are specifically exempt?
  • How do the levels of qualifying income differ under the three programs?
  • Is interest charged on deferred taxes under the Wilton program?

He will also take attendees through the application processes and emphasize that the application filing period for both the Connecticut and Wilton homeowner programs ends on Monday, May 15, 2017, while the filing period for the Connecticut renter program ends on Friday, Sept. 29, 2017.

Applications are available at the Town Hall assessor’s office and will also be available at the Senior Center during Tuesday’s session.