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

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-53a (2026)

Assessment and taxation of new real estate construction

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a)(1) Completed new construction of real estate completed after any assessment date shall be liable for the payment of municipal taxes based on the assessed value of such completed new construction from the date the certificate of occupancy is issued or the date on which such new construction is first used for the purpose for which same was constructed, whichever is the earlier, prorated for the assessment year in which the new construction is completed. Said prorated tax shall be computed on the basis of the rate of tax applicable with respect to such property, including the applicable rate of tax in any tax district in which such property is subject to tax following completion of such new construction, on the date such property becomes liable for such prorated tax in accordance with this section.

(2) Partially completed new construction of real estate shall be liable for the payment of municipal taxes based on the assessed value of such partially completed new construction as of October first of the assessment year.

(b) The building inspector issuing the certificate shall, within ten days after issuing the same, notify, in writing, the assessor of the town in which the property is situated.

(c) Not later than ninety days after receipt by the assessor of such notice from the building inspector or from a determination by the assessor that such new construction is being used for the purpose for which same was constructed, the assessor shall determine the increment by which assessment for the completed construction exceeds the assessment on the taxable grand list for the immediately preceding assessment date. He shall prorate such amount from the date of issuance of the certificate of occupancy or the date on which such new construction was first used for the purpose for which same was constructed, as the case may be, to the assessment date immediately following and shall add said increment as so prorated to the taxable grand list for the immediately preceding assessment date and shall within five days notify the record owner as appearing on such grand list and the tax collector of the municipality of such additional assessment. Such notice shall include information describing the manner in which an appeal may be filed with the board of assessment appeals. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, for new construction completed after October first but before February first in any assessment year, the assessor shall, not later than ninety days after completion of the duties of the board of assessment appeals, determine the increment in accordance with this subsection.

(d) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by the action of the assessor hereunder may appeal the doings of the assessor to the board of assessment appeals and the Superior Court as otherwise provided in this chapter; provided such appeal shall be extended in time to the next succeeding board of assessment appeals, if the statutory period for the meeting of such board has passed. Any person, intending to so appeal, may indicate that taxes paid by him upon the prorated increment herein specified during the pendency of such appeal are paid “Under Protest” and thereupon he shall not be liable for any interest on the taxes based upon such prorated increment, provided he shall have paid not less than seventy-five per cent of the amount of such taxes within the time specified.

(e) Upon receipt of such notice from the assessor, the tax collector of the town shall, if such notice is received after the normal billing date, within thirty days thereafter mail or hand a bill to the owner based upon an amount prorated by the assessor. Such tax shall be due and payable and collectible as other municipal taxes and subject to the same liens and processes of collection; provided such tax shall be due and payable in an initial or single installment due and payable not sooner than thirty days after the date such bill is mailed or handed to the owner, and in any remaining, regular installments, as the same are due and payable, and the several installments of a tax so due and payable shall be equal.

(f) Nothing herein shall be deemed to authorize the collection of taxes twice in respect of the land upon which the new construction is located.

(1971, P.A. 788; P.A. 75-467, S. 1, 2; P.A. 76-436, S. 299, 681; P.A. 82-226, S. 1, 2; P.A. 95-283, S. 34, 68; P.A. 96-171, S. 3, 16; 96-224, S. 4; P.A. 12-157, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 75-467 amended Subsec. (a) to detail the calculation of the prorated tax; P.A. 76-436 substituted superior court for court of common pleas in Subsec. (d), effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 82-226 amended Subsec. (c) to increase from 15 days to 90 days the time allowed the assessor from commencement of use of new construction to the date of determination of the increased assessed value, which increase is added to the previous assessment list for purposes of imposing the pro rata tax applicable for the remaining portion of the assessment year after commencement of use; P.A. 95-283 amended Subsec. (d) to replace board of tax review with board of assessment appeals, effective July 6, 1995; P.A. 96-171 amended Subsec. (c) to add provision requiring the notice to include information describing the manner in which an appeal may be filed with the board of assessment appeals, effective May 31, 1996; P.A. 96-224 amended Subsec. (c) by adding provision re new construction completed after October first but before February first and amended Subsec. (e) to extend the time for the tax collector to mail a bill from 10 to 30 days (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (c) the references to “October 1” and “February 1” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “October first” and “February first”, respectively, for consistency with customary statutory usage); P.A. 12-157 amended Subsec. (a) by designating existing provision as Subdiv. (1) and adding “based on the assessed value of such completed new construction” therein, and adding Subdiv. (2) re partially completed new construction, effective October 1, 2012, and applicable to assessment years commencing on or after that date.

Cited. 207 C. 250; 226 C. 92. Under 2007 revision, section mandates assessment of “completed” new construction within 90 days, while Sec. 12-55, revised to 2007, permits, but does not require, an interim assessment to equalize the grand list. 309 C. 85.

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1988–2025 · leading case: 84 Century Ltd. P'ship v. Bd. of Tax Review, 541 A.2d 478 (Conn. 1988).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
84 Century Ltd. P'ship v. Bd. of Tax Review, 541 A.2d 478 (Conn. 1988). · cites it 9× “Board of Tax Review, supra, 435-46, is also reflected in two statutory exceptions, General Statutes § 12-53a, permitting a reassessment where new construction is completed on property between revaluations, and General Statutes § 12-64a, authorizing a reduction in the assessed…”
Newbury Commons Ltd. P'ship v. City of Stamford, 626 A.2d 1292 (Conn. 1993). · cites it 6× “Pursuant to the provisions of General Statutes § 12-53a, 4 the defendant’s assessor established a fair market value for the property of $23,463,610, which resulted in an assessment of $16,424,530 for the 1987 list.”
DeSena v. City of Waterbury, 731 A.2d 733 (Conn. 1999). · cites it 8× “General Statutes § 12-53a. 15 We have expressly rejected the argument that changes in property value resulting from market conditions constitute a sufficient basis upon which a taxpayer *76 may compel an interim revaluation of property.”
Torres v. City of Waterbury, 733 A.2d 817 (Conn. 1999). · cites it 2× “to 1997) § 12-53a (c), 10 *121 the value of property constructed between general revaluations should relate back to the last preceding revaluation, that is, it should be assessed as if the property had been in existence at that time.”
Waterbury Hotel Equity, LLC v. City of Waterbury, 858 A.2d 259 (Conn. App. Ct. 2004). · cites it 2× “General Statutes § 12-53a. “[Our Supreme Court has] expressly rejected the argument that changes in property value resulting from market conditions constitute a sufficient basis upon which a taxpayer may compel an interim revaluation of property.”
Greenwich Retail, LLC v. Greenwich, 233 Conn. App. 78 (Conn. App. Ct. 2025). · cites it 2× “, General Statutes § 12-53a (e) (upon receipt of notice from assessor, tax collector of town shall, if such notice is received after normal billing date, within thirty days thereafter ‘‘mail or hand a bill to the owner’’ (emphasis added)); General Statutes § 12-233 (a) (2)…”
ZML 301 Tresser Ltd. P'ship v. City of Stamford, 789 A.2d 538 (Conn. App. Ct. 2002). · cites it 11× “One of the statutory exceptions to § 12-62 (a) (1) is found in General Statutes § 12-53a, 2 which authorizes an interim reassessment if a taxpayer has made physical *700 improvements to the property.”
Digit. 60 & 80 Merritt, LLC v. Bd. of Assessment Appeals, 211 Conn. App. 559 (Conn. App. Ct. 2022). · cites it 6× “7 Pursuant to General Statutes § 12-53a, however, the town was permitted to conduct an interim reassessment and change its 2011 assessment to take into account the new construction on the property—the electrical remediation and the construction of the expansion— which occurred…”
FuelCell Energy, Inc. v. Groton (Conn. 2024). · cites it 3× “Groton 2016, and, if it was not, whether the property was tax- able as a CIP pursuant to General Statutes § 12-53a (a). Two years later, the trial court resolved the remaining factual issues after a full trial, ultimately finding that the property was not completely manufactured…”
FuelCell Energy, Inc. v. Groton, 350 Conn. 1 (Conn. 2024). · cites it 3× “The trial court denied both the plaintiff and the defendant summary judgment on whether the property was taxable for the 2016 tax year because factual questions remained as to whether the property was completely manufactured by October 1, 2016, and, if it was not, whether the…”
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