For What It May Be Worth

Building on our earlier Return to Sender article, “When Not Updating Your Address Becomes a Legal Headache,” which examined the Connecticut Appellate Court’s decision in Greenwich Retail, LLC v. Town of Greenwich, this article looks at the Connecticut Supreme Court’s decision and its implications.

A recent Connecticut Supreme Court decision makes clear that missed mail is no excuse for a missed filing deadline.

In Greenwich Retail, LLC v. Town of Greenwich, 355 Conn. 367 (2026), the Supreme Court affirmed the Appellate Court’s decision from 2025 holding that the Greenwich assessor properly imposed a 10% penalty on a commercial property owner’s assessment when the required income and expense information was not submitted, even though the owner never received the assessor's required form. The decision sends a strong message: it is the property owner's responsibility, not the assessor's, to ensure accurate contact information is on file.

What Happened

Greenwich Retail, LLC owned commercial rental property in Greenwich that was managed by a third party. In April 2020, the Greenwich assessor mailed income and expense forms to hundreds of property owners in Town, pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes § 12-63c(a). The form for Greenwich Retail was sent to the property manager’s former business address as a request was not made to update the assessor's records.

By the time the property manager learned of the filing obligation through a later reminder notice, the filing deadline had passed and then assessor imposed the statutory 10% penalty.

The Legal Question

The case turned on the meaning of a single word: "provided." Section 12-63c(a) requires property owners to submit income and expense data "on a form provided by the assessor." Greenwich Retail argued that "provided" meant the owner must actually receive the form before any penalty can apply. The Town countered that mailing the form to the owner's last known address was sufficient.

What the Court Decided

The Supreme Court sided with the Town, holding that "provided" means made available by reasonable means, not delivered into the owner's hands. The Court noted that elsewhere in Connecticut's property tax statutes, the legislature explicitly requires "receipt" or "delivery" when it intends those standards. The absence of such language in § 12-63c(a) was telling. The Court also examined the statute's legislative history and found nothing suggesting the legislature intended "provided" to carry an actual-receipt requirement.

Practical Takeaways

• Keep your address current. For property owners, particularly owners of rental (or income-producing) property, make sure the assessor's office has your current mailing address. Do not assume a change-of-address notice to other departments in the same municipality will reach the assessor.
• Do not wait for the annual income/expense form. The assessor's obligation is to make the form available, not to guarantee you receive it. If you know your property may be subject to the income and expense filing obligation under § 12-63c, proactively check with the assessor's office or the municipality’s website in advance of the annual statewide June 1 filing deadline.
• Penalties are real. A 10% increase in assessed value can translate to thousands of dollars in additional taxes for the particular year, so failing to proactively obtain the form and timely filing it with the assessor can lead to unexpected, unbudgeted and unnecessary additional property taxes.