Conn. Gen. Stat. » Title 12 — TAXATION · Chapter 203 — Property Tax Assessment
Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-41 (2026)

Filing of declaration

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a) Definitions. “Municipality”, whenever used in this section, includes each town, consolidated town and city, and consolidated town and borough.

(b) Motor Vehicles. No person required by law to file an annual declaration of personal property shall include in such declaration motor vehicles that are registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles. With respect to any vehicle subject to taxation in a town other than the town in which such vehicle is registered, pursuant to section 12-71, information concerning such vehicle may be included in a declaration filed pursuant to this section or section 12-43, or on a report filed pursuant to section 12-57a.

(c) Property included. Confidentiality of commercial and financial information. The annual declaration of the tangible personal property owned by such person on the assessment date, shall include, but is not limited to, the following property: Machinery used in mills and factories, cables, wires, poles, underground mains, conduits, pipes and other fixtures of water, gas, electric and heating companies, leasehold improvements classified as other than real property and furniture and fixtures of stores, offices, hotels, restaurants, taverns, halls, factories and manufacturers. Tangible personal property does not include a sign placed on a property indicating that the property is for sale or lease. On and after October 1, 2024, tangible personal property shall include nonpermanent modifications and attachments to commercial motor vehicles. Commercial or financial information in any declaration filed under this section shall not be open for public inspection but may be disclosed to municipal officers for tax collection purposes.

(d) Form. For assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2024, the Office of Policy and Management shall, in consultation with the Connecticut Association of Assessing Officers, prescribe a form for the annual declaration of personal property.

(e) Electronic filing. Any person required by law to file an annual declaration of personal property may sign and file such declaration electronically, provided the municipality in which such declaration is to be filed (1) has the technological ability to accept electronic signatures, and (2) agrees to accept electronic signatures for annual declarations of personal property.

(f) Penalty. (1) Any person who fails to file a declaration of personal property on or before the first day of November, or on or before the extended filing date as granted by the assessor pursuant to section 12-42 shall be subject to a penalty equal to twenty-five per cent of the assessment of such property; (2) any person who files a declaration of personal property in a timely manner, but has omitted property, as defined in section 12-53, shall be subject to a penalty equal to twenty-five per cent of the assessment of such omitted property. The penalty shall be added to the grand list by the assessor of the town in which such property is taxable; and (3) any declaration received by the municipality to which it is due that is in an envelope bearing a postmark, as defined in section 1-2a, showing a date within the allowed filing period shall not be deemed to be delinquent.

(1949 Rev., S. 1719; 1951, S. 1037d; 1957, P.A. 13, S. 68; 1961, P.A. 517, S. 127; February, 1965, P.A. 461, S. 2; P.A. 77-614, S. 139, 610; P.A. 79-610, S. 3, 47; P.A. 83-485, S. 11, 13; P.A. 87-245, S. 1, 10; P.A. 99-189, S. 2, 20; P.A. 04-228, S. 1; P.A. 08-130, S. 2; P.A. 11-69, S. 1; P.A. 13-276, S. 3; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3, S. 203; P.A. 22-118, S. 501; P.A. 23-204, S. 213; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 24-1, S. 4.)

History: 1961 act stated that real estate need not be included in lists in Subsec. (d) and rearranged subsections; 1965 act amended Subsec. (e) to combine elements of two separate provisions re goods on hand of merchants and traders and re goods on hand re manufacturers into one provision for both and to include reference to mechanical business; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of revenue services for tax commissioner, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 79-610 substituted secretary of the office of policy and management for commissioner of revenue services, effective July 1, 1980; P.A. 83-485 amended Subsec. (d) by providing that any assessor's office utilizing data processing or computer equipment for such real estate records or information shall be deemed to be in compliance with requirements in Subsec. (d), subject to provisions concerning duplicate records and capability of transfer to printed form, effective June 30, 1983, and applicable in any town to the assessment year commencing October 1, 1983, and each assessment year thereafter; P.A. 87-245 amended Subsec. (f) to increase penalty from 10% to 25%, effective June 1, 1987, and applicable to assessment years of municipalities commencing on or after October 1, 1987; (Revisor's note: In 1997 the term “state Motor Vehicle Commissioner” in Subsec. (b) was replaced editorially by the Revisors with “Commissioner of Motor Vehicles” for consistency with customary statutory usage); P.A. 99-189 replaced list with declaration, deleted obsolete provisions, added leasehold improvements classified as other than real property, added new Subsec. (d) re 25% penalty and deleted provision requiring Office of Policy and Management approval, effective June 23, 1999, and applicable to assessment years of municipalities commencing on or after October 1, 1999; P.A. 04-228 amended Subsec. (b) to add provision re vehicle subject to taxation in town other than the one in which it is registered, effective June 8, 2004; P.A. 08-130 amended Subsec. (d) by adding Subdiv. (3) re declaration postmarked within allowed filing period not deemed delinquent, effective June 5, 2008, and applicable to annual declarations due on or after November 1, 2008; P.A. 11-69 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), added new Subsec. (d) re filing annual declaration electronically and redesignated existing Subsec. (d) as Subsec. (e), effective October 1, 2011, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after that date; P.A. 13-276 amended Subsec. (c) by adding provision re disclosure of commercial or financial information in a declaration to municipal officers for tax collection purposes; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3 amended Subsec. (c) by adding “Tangible personal property does not include a sign placed on a property indicating that the property is for sale or lease”, effective July 1, 2016; P.A. 22-41 amended Subsec. (b) by designating existing provisions re annual declaration of personal property as Subdiv. (1), specifying that Subdiv. (1) is applicable to assessment years commencing prior to October 1, 2023, and adding Subdiv. (2) re requirements re annual declaration of tangible personal property applicable for assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2023, amended Subsec. (c) by specifying that on and after October 1, 2023, tangible personal property includes motor vehicles listed on the schedule of motor vehicle plate classes, and adding exception for commercial or financial information concerning motor vehicles to prohibition on public inspection of commercial or financial information in filed declarations, added new Subsec. (d) re form for annual declaration of personal property and redesignated existing Subsecs. (d) and (e) as Subsecs. (e) and (f), amended new Subsec. (e) by removing requirement that assessor of municipality provide form for annual declaration of personal property, adding “in which such declaration is to be filed”, and making a technical change, effective July 1, 2022, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2023; P.A. 23-204 amended Subsecs. (b) and (d) by substituting “October 1, 2024” for “October 1, 2023” re applicable assessment years and Subsec. (c) by substituting “October 1, 2024” for “October 1, 2023” re inclusion of motor vehicles as tangible personal property, effective July 1, 2023, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2024; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 24-1 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting Subdiv. (1) designator and reference to assessment years commencing prior to October 1, 2024, and deleting former Subdiv. (2) re assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2024, amended Subsec. (c) by adding “nonpermanent modifications and attachments to commercial”, deleting “listed on the schedule of motor vehicle plate classes recommended pursuant to section 12-71d” and deleting exception re commercial or financial information which concerns motor vehicles, and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 1, 2024, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2024.

See Sec. 12-169 re payment date for local taxes due on Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.

See Sec. 14-163 re duty of Motor Vehicles Commissioner to furnish lists of motor vehicle and snowmobile owners to town assessors.

Corporation's motor vehicles properly are assessed, for purposes of personal property taxation, in the town in which corporation maintains its principal place of business, irrespective of where its motor vehicles are actually located; motor vehicles registered in Connecticut are exempt from declaration of taxable personal property required under the general statutory scheme for taxation of personal property. 266 C. 706.

Subsec. (c):

Although wind turbines are not fixtures of an electric company subject to tangible personal property taxation, the equipment associated with wind turbines can be. 344 C. 150.

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 15 cases (10 in the last 5 years), 2002–2025 · leading case: Wind Colebrook South, LLC v. Colebrook, 344 Conn. 150 (Conn. 2022).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Wind Colebrook South, LLC v. Colebrook, 344 Conn. 150 (Conn. 2022). · cites it 29× “The principal issue in this appeal is whether wind turbines used for the generation of electricity, and their associated equipment, are properly classified for purposes of taxation as real property pur- suant to General Statutes § 12-64 (a)1 or, instead, as personal property…”
Paul Dinto Elec. Contractors, Inc. v. City of Waterbury, 835 A.2d 33 (Conn. 2003). · cites it 16× “Furthermore, because the parties have stipulated to the relevant facts and there are no material facts in dispute, the dispositive issue centers around the proper construction of the applicable statutes, namely, General Statutes §§ 12-41 (b), 4 12-43, 5 *714 12-59, 6 12-71 (a),…”
Seramonte Assocs., LLC v. Hamden, 345 Conn. 76 (Conn. 2022). · cites it 2× “, General Statutes § 12-41 (e) (3) (‘‘any declaration [of personal property] received by the municipality to which it is due that is in an envelope bearing a postmark .”
Seramonte Assocs., LLC v. Hamden, 202 Conn. App. 467 (Conn. App. Ct. 2021). · cites it 4× “Additionally, the court noted that, ‘‘in interpreting another tax statute, General Statutes § 12-41 (e) (1), [the] Superior Court [has] held that ‘file’ [by November 1] as used in that statute, meant that the tax information had to be received by the town by November 1.”
Comm'r of Pub. Saf. v. Freedom of Info. Comm'n, 21 A.3d 737 (Conn. 2011). · cites it 4× “Each such grand list shall contain the assessed values of all property in the town, reflecting the statutory exemption or exemptions to which each property or property owner is entitled, and including, where applicable, any assessment penalty added in accordance with section…”
Davis v. Freedom of Info. Comm'n, 787 A.2d 530 (Conn. 2002). “When the review of such declarations has been completed, the assessor or board of assessors shall determine the assessed valuations resulting therefrom, including, where applicable, the twenty-five per cent assessment penalty added in accordance with section 12-41. The assessor…”
Greenwich Retail, LLC v. Greenwich, 233 Conn. App. 78 (Conn. App. Ct. 2025). “For example, General Stat- utes § 12-41 (f) allows for the imposition of a penalty if a taxpayer fails to file a declaration of personal prop- erty but provides that any declaration of personal prop- erty ‘‘received by the municipality to which it is due Page 16 CONNECTICUT LAW…”
Torrington Tax Collector, LLC v. Riley, 226 Conn. App. 211 (Conn. App. Ct. 2024). · cites it 5× “’’ Every person required by law to file personal property taxes must file an annual declaration of their tangible personal property pursuant to General Statutes § 12-41 on or before the first day of November each year.”
Wind Colebrook South, LLC v. Colebrook (Concurrence) (Conn. 2022). · cites it 15× “I The plaintiff’s wind turbines2 are taxable either as real property pursuant to § 12-64 (a) or as personal property pursuant to § 12-41 (c). It is one or the other; no claim of exemption has been raised by the taxpayer.”
J.C. Penney Corp. v. Town of Manchester, 970 A.2d 704 (Conn. 2009). · cites it 3× “General Statutes § 12-41 (d). Prior to November 1, 2005, the plaintiffs senior property tax manager, Richard Wright, sent an e-mail to the town’s assessor asserting that the plaintiff was having difficulty preparing its 2005 declaration and requesting a thirty day extension.”
Wilton Campus 1691, LLC. v. Wilton, 339 Conn. 157 (Conn. 2021). · cites it 3× “…The town also argues that, because § 12-55 (a)9 specif- ically lists penalties imposed under different statutes (General Statutes §§ 12-41 and 12-57a) and does not list § 12-63c (d) penalties, the legislature also must not have intended that § 12-55 (b) include § 12-63c…”
FuelCell Energy, Inc. v. Groton, 350 Conn. 1 (Conn. 2024). · cites it 2× “’’ Next, § 12-41 (c) lists the types of ‘‘tangible personal property’’ that should be included in a taxpayer’s annual declaration.”
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