All owners of tangible personal property are required to file declarations of such property with the assessor of the town where the property is located on the October 1st assessment date. The declaration will be mailed out in September and is due back in the Assessor’s Office on or before November first. Declarations shall include but are not limited to the following types of property: all commercial furniture, fixtures, EDP equipment, machinery and supplies owned by any manufacturer, wholesaler and/or retailer. Personal Property located in factories, stores, offices, hotels restaurants, recreation halls, taverns, utility companies, etc. must be included on the declaration filed by the owner.
We mail all declarations out to business personal property owners as a courtesy in the fall of each year. However, it is the property owner's responsibility to make sure a declaration is submitted to the Assessors Office by the November 1st due date.
If the declaration is not received on or before the statutory November 1st return date, a 25% penalty will be assessed. In the event a person fails to file a declaration, the assessor shall: 1) fill out a declaration of all property which the assessor has reason to believe is owned by the taxpayer; 2) determine an assessed value from the best information that can be obtained; and 3) add a 25% penalty to the assessment.
Personal Property declarations filed with this office are subject to audit, as authorized by Sec.12-53 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
Personal Property Tax
The grand list of all personal property is compiled annually from a varied list of sources. These sources include a listing from the State Department of Revenue Services, trade names filed, advertisements in local media, telephone directory listings, Police Department and Health Department listings, staff inspections and last year's Grand List. From time to time, businesses move out of town or cease operations before the assessment date. The following procedures have been established to determine if a business should not be or should not have been included on the Grand List.
1. BEFORE THE GRAND LIST IS FINALIZED: If a owner or business files a personal property declaration that has the "Affidavit of Business Closing Or Move Of Business Or Sale Of Business" properly and completely filled out and is accompanied by sufficient documentation, then the Assessor will remove the account.
2. AFTER THE GRAND LIST IS FINALIZED: If a business or owner fails to notify the Assessor before the Grand List is finalized that the business has moved or ceased operations, then the owner or business must request a Declaration Form and file the appropriate documentation. Upon review, the Assessor will either accept or deny the claim that there was no taxable personal property on the Grand List date.
3. A NON-RESIDENT BUSINESS: If the owner claims that the equipment was removed prior to the assessment date, then that owner must provide a copy of the original lease and letters from both the lessee and lessor stating all pertinent facts including the date when the equipment was removed from Thomaston.
If an owner or business is aggrieved by the actions of the Assessor, the owner or business has the right to appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals. An application, available in the Assessor's Office, must be filed in the Assessor's Office no later than February 20th.