CT Residents - is your car assessed at $500?

[r-mm]

CT residents - wondering what your experience is with property tax assessments. When I lived in New Haven my 87 911 was always assessed at the state's $500 cap on older/special interest vehicles (see link below) I moved to Guilford and they are giving me a hard time claiming the car does not have "historical interest". Wondering what your experience is in your town.

I did not want the special classic plates because they seemed showy but now I'm wondering if having them would have given me more to base my claim on:

To qualify, a vehicle must meet the statutory criteria required for an antique, rare, or special interest vehicle license plate issued by the DMV. Those criteria are that the vehicle (1) be at least 20 years old, (2) be preserved because of historical interest, and (3) not be modified from the original manufacturer's specifications (CGS § 14-1(2)).



https://www.cga.ct.gov/2011/rpt/2011-R-0410.htm

[VFR750]

I'm not sure what you are asking. CT values my 911 as less than my steel open trailer. Property taxes are very low. This is good, right?

I have not bothered to change from normal to vintage plates. I want no restrictions, real or perceived, on driving the car. And, I just don't want to waste my time at the dmv.

[r-mm]

I was like you until I moved to a town where the assessor is the sole determinant of whether or not a vehicle has "historic interest". Age alone apparently does not qualify. My 911 was deemed "no historic interest" and now assessed at fair market value not $500. If I read the law correctly, the plates are an iron clad protection against this happening. I'm asking the community what experience they have with this and or fighting assessors who decide which cars have historic value.

[Tremelune]

My '84 911 is an "antique classic" in CT. My insurance is hundreds per year, and my property taxes are very, very low. I don't believe this varies from town to town.

20+ years is exempt from emissions. 25+ is antique classic. My XJ was an antique classic. My Rabbit was an antique classic. My 300TD was an antique classic. My 740 was an antique classic last year. These cars of historic interest to no one. Since when is the most recognizable car of all-time not of interest?

If they're adding stipulations because 80s cars last longer than 60s cars, it's news to me...If I were you, I would go to a rural, inland DMV.

[r-mm]

Guys what I'm trying to tell you is that if you read the DMV's website it is the local read local assessor who will determine what is and is not of historic
interest. I believe but I'm not yet positive that opting for the DMV issued classic plates which I never do is an ironclad way around your local assessors whims. Until this point for many years this was never an issue but I do not believe I'm the only one who has run up against an assessor who takes a hard line on what defines historic interest.


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[OsoMoore]

In Wisconsin, I had to send pictures and answer a general questionaire. Then the state approved my collector plate. Here it has a major advantage over normal plates - it costs $125 a year to renew registration in Milwaukee county. But collector plates have no renewal requirements. The only restriction is I can't drive on the roads in January.

[Tremelune]

I mean...You should get the plates anyway. They have a cleaner look than the standard ones.

Maybe it'll help.

[r-mm]

The plate are a matter of taste and the car is sold. This is a retroactive tax bill. Its also meant as an fyi.


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[911SauCy]

I'm in CT and I pay $9/year property tax as the car is value at $500, registered as "early american" aka historic.

Agreed value policy costs less than $200/yr and stipulates car is worth $40k.

I have lived in 3 different towns during the ownership and have not been posed with situation at hand. Can't help.

[matt911]

Mine's been assed at $500 in two different towns in CT and I do not have a vintage or antique plate.

Only requirement for an antique plate is 25+ years old.

From the CT DMV.

According to state law, any antique, rare or special interest motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1, shall be assessed at a value of not more than 500 dollars.
DMV: Classic Vehicle Plate


Sec. 14-1. Definitions. (a) Terms used in this chapter shall be construed as follows,
unless another construction is clearly apparent from the language or context in which the
term is used or unless the construction is inconsistent with the manifest intention of the
General Assembly:

(2) “Antique, rare or special interest motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle twenty five
years old or older which is being preserved because of historic interest and which is
not altered or modified from the original manufacturer’s specifications;

http://www.ct.gov/dot/LIB/dot/documents/dbikes/14-1.pdf


The different use of commas is interesting.

The first links description uses commas that I'd interpret as "OR" statements, but the actual description it defers to combines all the requirements.

You should probably also find out how your assesor is determining if a vehicle meets the historical interest requirement.

What value did they assign to your car?

[tista]

I live in Ridgefield and run Classic Car plates - they look the nicest of the three choices, IMO. My town assesses my 78 SC at $500. I'm cool with that!

[Starless]

Just got my taxes and yes, in the town of Simsbury it's $500. Taxes are $15.50 and 0.50 for Fire Dept.

[gordner]

Are cars always assessed a property tax all over the US? No such thing in Canada, property tax is for your house alone.

[Tremelune]

It's a fun thing for a subset of states, but not all.

Connecticut is usually pretty lax about rules and values for old cars, because they disintegrate unless kept off the roads during the winter for decades on end.

It sounds like the problem r-mm faces isn't so much the letter of the law, but someone taking great enjoyment in their tiny slice of power...