Collection Enforcements

Torrington Tax Collector’s Collection Enforcements & Liens

Real Estate/Sewer Usage:

  1. Mail delinquent statements in October and March, or any other month deemed necessary.
  2. Lien real estate & sewer annually. Mail notices of Intent to Lien (§ 12-175) at the beginning of April; notices must be mailed at least 15 days prior to continuing the liens. At the beginning of May, place continuing liens on all delinquent accounts at that time (§ 12-173).
  3. Mail Demand letters (§ 12-155) in April; a joint letter with the Intent to Lien letters. The Demand states that if taxpayers do not pay in full by the end of the demand period the tax office will proceed with any and/or all enforcements allowed in the state statutes - e.g. utilizing a collection agency (§ 36a-805), tax warrants (§ 12-132), alias tax warrants/bank executions (§ 12-162), collection by suit (§ 12-161), lien assignments (§ 12-195h), revocation of license or permit (§12-146a), and tax sales (§ 12-157) to name a few. NOTE: The demand verbiage is included on all delinquent statements/notices that leave this office.
  4. Utilize Jeopardy Collection (§ 12-163) as needed for all enforced collections.
  5. Have a Tax Sale (§ 12-157) yearly in the spring or any other time deemed necessary.
  6. Partial payments are encouraged but payment plans are not allowed. Please call the tax office for further information.

Personal property:

  1. Mail delinquent statements in August and February, or any other month deemed necessary.
  2. Mail Demand letters (§12-155) in September with Jeopardy enforcement (§ 12-163) for the second installment for all delinquent accounts as of this mailing date.
  3. Lien personal property annually. Mail notices of Intent to Lien (§ 12-195a-g) in March. These liens are a UCC-1 Financing Statement filed with the Secretary of the State’s office. These liens are filed as soon as the deadline passes. (§ 12-195a-g)
  4. Mail Demand letters (§ 12-155) in April. Mail demand letter with collection methods: e.g. utilizing a collection agency (§ 36a-805), tax warrants (§ 12-132), alias tax warrants/bank executions (§ 12-162), jeopardy collection (§ 12-163), collection by suit (§ 12-161), lien assignment (§ 12-195h), revocation of license or permit (§ 12-146a), and tax sale (§ 12-157) to name a few. NOTE: The demand verbiage is included on all delinquent statements/notices that leave this office.
  5. Utilize Jeopardy Collection (§ 12-163) as needed for all enforced collections.
  6. Partial payments are encouraged but payment plans are not allowed. Please call the tax office for further information.

Motor vehicles:

  1. Mail delinquent statements in August and February, or any other month deemed necessary.
  2. Mail Demand notices (§ 12-155) in September for Regular MV bills and March for Supplemental MV bills. Once demanded, any and/or all enforcements allowed in the state statutes will be utilized. Once the deadline passes, all account will go to our collection agency. Call the office for any partial payments accepted.  NOTE: The demand verbiage is included on all delinquent statements/notices that leave this office.
  3. Report delinquent taxpayer names to the Department of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”) (§ 14-33) in the first week of August or February depending on when the tax was due. This will stop a taxpayer from registering any vehicle in his/her name until all taxes are paid.
  4. If a clearance is needed immediately for the Department of Motor Vehicle for a taxpayer to register a vehicle in his/her name, ALL delinquent taxes must be paid with CASH in our office or an ONLINE PAYMENT THROUGH OUR ONLINE PORTAL using a Credit and/or Debit card before we release a taxpayer (**please note there are additional convenience fees to use the online payment system). The Tax Collector will accept a check for delinquent taxes, but must wait until the check clears before giving clearance.
  5. Releases are not to be given “for one vehicle only”. Each taxpayer must pay all delinquent taxes on ALL vehicles in his/her or joint names to get a release (§ 14-33a).
  6. As mentioned above, the tax office will accept partial payments on motor vehicle bills, but no clearance for the Department of Motor Vehicles shall be given until all motor vehicle taxes are paid for a specific name (§ 14-33a).
  7. The Torrington tax office primarily uses § 12-162 (bank inquires/levies/executions) for motor vehicle delinquent collections. Please follow this link to read detailed information about this process.

The above timeline of collection enforcements and/or lien filings are subject to change at the Tax Collector’s discretion at any time for any reason.