Danbury, Connecticut veterans rated 100% totally and permanently disabled have to refile by Dec. 31, with an updated letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs, to keep a property tax exemption on their primary dwelling, according to the Danbury Assessor’s Office. Applications must be received no later than Dec. 31 each year. The office says the form and a current VA letter have to go in annually because of a change in the statute.
Anyone who qualified last year cannot count on the exemption carrying over. A veteran with a 100% permanent and total rating who has never applied can file for the first time on the same terms. Either way, the working deadline is the day the paperwork lands at the assessor’s office, not the day it is mailed.
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What does the 100% exemption cover?
Gov. Ned Lamont signed the law creating it on May 23, 2024, Public Act 24-46, which took effect Oct. 1, 2024. It covers former members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force or Space Force who hold a service-connected permanent and total disability rating from the VA, live in Connecticut and file with the town assessor. “We want to ensure that they are properly cared for in their lives after leaving service,” Lamont said.
What is exempted is the home the veteran owns and uses as a primary residence. A veteran who does not own a home can have one motor vehicle exempted instead. State Rep. Anthony Nolan, a New London Democrat who co-chairs the Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs, said the bill “acknowledges and appreciates the sacrifices these veterans have made for their country.”
Danbury’s page labels the 100% exemption new for 2025 and says veterans do not need 90 days of wartime service, which the older exemption in state law section 12-81(19) requires. Applicants submit the VA disability rating letter and the Totally and Permanently Disabled Application. A June 2024 House Democrats summary of the law says the same on the primary home, and says veterans must follow section 12-95 and give the assessor proof of the rating.
What does a town summary say about the fine print?
Willington’s town page on the 100% permanently and totally disabled veterans exemption describes the exemption as a full one for the dwelling, while the building lot, excess land and outbuildings stay taxed. Part of a dwelling used commercially or for rental income is not covered. If the veteran owns no qualifying property alone, the exemption can apply to a dwelling or vehicle in a spouse’s name, as long as the spouse lives with the veteran.
The same page says the current version of the law applies to assessment years starting on or after Oct. 1, 2025, and cites Public Acts 24-46, 25-2 and 25-168. Relief can be granted back to the assessment date after the disability determination, for no more than three years. A change in rating has to be reported with the new VA letter, and a veteran whose rating drops below 100% waives the exemption.
Towns run their own filing processes, so Danbury’s rule is the one that governs Danbury filers. Veterans with questions about what the office needs can call the Assessor’s Office at 203-797-4556 or visit 155 Deer Hill Avenue.
Where does the $10,500 figure fit?
The $10,500 figure belongs to a different exemption for veterans with a disability rating, not to the 100% primary-dwelling exemption. Danbury lists amounts off the assessment by rating under section 12-81(20): up to $3,000 for 10% to 25%, up to $7,500 for 26% to 50%, up to $9,000 for 51% to 75% and up to $10,500 for 76% to 100%. A veteran 65 or older with a rating of at least 10% also gets up to $10,500.
The disability does not have to be service-connected for that exemption, Danbury says. The town’s page also points to an Additional Veteran’s Exemption that is income-based. A veteran rated 100% permanent and total should ask the assessor which of the exemptions applies to the home before filing.
Is your Danbury exemption paperwork in before Dec. 31?
Danbury’s rule is that the application and a current VA letter must be received by the assessor by Dec. 31 each year. The date counts when the office has the paper in hand, and a veteran who treats last year’s filing as permanent is the one who can lose the exemption on the primary home.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit lays out the 5 kinds of property-tax relief and includes an application log and renewal calendar, so a yearly date like Dec. 31 is written down once. It is a 64-page guide for homeowners, and its Part 7, The Yearly Routine, is built around the filings that come back around each year.
Get the property-tax relief kit with the renewal calendar for yearly exemptions →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
