Connecticut Property Tax Rates: Mill Rates, Appeals, and Relief

Connecticut property tax rates are set town by town, not by the state, and they produce one of the heaviest property tax burdens in the country: an effective rate of roughly 1.54% of home value, third-highest nationally. Each of the 169 municipalities sets its own mill rate, assesses property at 70% of market value, and sends its own bill. For fiscal year 2025–26, mill rates run from 10.85 in Washington to 68.95 in Hartford, so what you actually pay depends almost entirely on which town you live in and what your home is worth.¹²

How the Mill Rate Works

A mill is one dollar of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. Multiply your assessed value by the mill rate, divide by 1,000, and that is your annual tax. An assessed value of $200,000 in a town with a 30 mill rate produces a $6,000 bill.¹

Towns set the rate during their annual budget process. The town totals projected spending, subtracts state aid and other non-tax revenue, and divides what’s left by the total taxable value on the Grand List. The result is the mill rate. A town with a large tax base and modest spending needs a low rate; a town with a small base and heavier spending needs a high one.

Assessed Value Is 70% of Market Value

Your bill isn’t based on what your house would sell for. Connecticut law requires every municipality to assess property at exactly 70% of its present true and actual value, so a home with a $400,000 market value carries an assessed value of $280,000, and the mill rate applies to that figure.³

State law requires each town to revalue all real property at least once every five years, so the assessed value tracks the market over time rather than freezing at the price you paid.⁴ If your town’s values rose sharply at the last revaluation, your assessment likely rose with them even if the mill rate held steady or dropped.

What Towns Actually Charge in 2025–26

The Office of Policy and Management publishes current mill rates for every municipality.⁵ For FY 2025–26 the spread is wide. Washington sits at 10.85, the lowest in the state. Salisbury is 11.00, Sharon 11.15, and Greenwich 12.041. At the other end, Hartford’s rate is 68.95. Most Connecticut towns fall somewhere in the mid-20s to mid-30s.

Mill rates alone don’t tell you what any one homeowner pays. The useful comparison is the effective tax rate, which is actual taxes paid as a share of market value. Statewide that figure is about 1.54%, placing Connecticut third among all states.²

Why Rates Vary So Much Across Towns

Four factors drive most of the gap between a 12-mill town and a 60-mill town:

Grand List size relative to the budget. A town with $5 billion in taxable property funding a $50 million budget needs a 10 mill rate; a town with $1.5 billion funding the same budget needs more than 33.
Education costs, which usually make up the biggest share of a Connecticut municipal budget.
State aid. Towns that receive more state funding can hold the local levy down; when aid drops, the mill rate usually absorbs it.
Commercial and industrial base. Towns with substantial commercial property spread the burden; towns that are mostly residential concentrate it on homeowners.

A high-mill-rate town with modest home values and a low-mill-rate town with expensive homes can produce similar annual bills. Compare effective rates or actual dollar bills on comparable homes, not raw mill rates.

Motor Vehicles Get Their Own Rate

Connecticut taxes cars, trucks, and motorcycles as personal property, and they show up on the same Grand List as real estate. The motor vehicle mill rate is capped by state law at 32.46, no matter how high the town’s real estate rate goes. If your town is at 40 for real estate, your vehicles are still taxed at 32.46. Towns with real estate rates below the cap can set the vehicle rate at or below their real estate rate.⁶

Starting with the October 1, 2024 Grand List, municipalities value vehicles using a depreciated percentage of MSRP rather than J.D. Power trade-in values.⁷ The assessment is still 70% of that value.³

Due Dates and the Cost of Paying Late

Each town decides whether taxes are due in one payment, two installments, or four. Most use two installments, typically July 1 and January 1, but the exact dates are local. By statute the last installment must fall no later than 45 days before the end of the fiscal year in which the first installment was due.⁸

Late payments carry interest of 18% per year (1.5% per month), running from the original due date, with a $2.00 minimum. That’s steeper than most credit cards. Prolonged nonpayment can lead to a tax lien and eventually a tax sale.

Challenging an Assessment You Think Is Too High

If your assessed value looks wrong, the first stop is the local Board of Assessment Appeals. The filing deadline is February 20 following the assessment date, in writing or by email on the form the board prescribes. The board must notify you of your hearing by March 1, with at least seven days’ notice.⁹

Successful appeals present concrete evidence that the assessed value itself is wrong: recent sale prices of comparable homes, a professional appraisal showing a lower value, photos documenting conditions that reduce value, or errors in the property record card such as wrong square footage or a bathroom that doesn’t exist. Arguing that your taxes feel too high, without showing the value is off, rarely works. If you remain dissatisfied with the board’s decision, you can appeal to Superior Court, though the time and cost generally make that worthwhile only for larger disputes.

Programs That Can Lower Your Bill

Elderly and Disabled Circuit Breaker

Homeowners who are 65 or older, or totally disabled, and whose income falls below the state threshold can receive a direct credit against their property tax bill. The maximum is $1,250 for married homeowners and $1,000 for single homeowners, with the amount scaled by income. The qualifying income ceiling is $28,900 for married homeowners and $23,600 for unmarried homeowners. File with your local assessor between February 1 and May 15.¹⁰

Veteran Exemptions

Veterans with a VA disability rating of at least 10% qualify for an exemption that reduces assessed value. A veteran rated 100% with income at or below $18,000 ($21,000 if married) receives an exemption of at least $10,500; above those income limits, at least $5,250. Additional amounts apply for severe injuries such as loss of use of a limb. Veterans rated 100% permanent and total receive a full exemption from property tax on the home they own and occupy as a primary residence, or, if they don’t own a home, on one Connecticut-registered vehicle.¹¹

State Income Tax Credit

Connecticut residents who pay property tax to a Connecticut municipality may claim a credit of up to $300 on the state income tax return. It isn’t refundable and can’t be carried forward, so it only helps if you owe state income tax, and the credit amount phases down at higher incomes.¹²

Federal SALT Deduction

If you itemize on your federal return, Connecticut property taxes count toward the state and local tax deduction. For the 2026 tax year, the SALT deduction is capped at $40,400 for most filers ($20,200 for married filing separately), and that cap covers state income tax, local property tax, and other deductible state and local taxes combined.¹³ Between Connecticut’s property tax burden and the state income tax, many homeowners hit the cap. Itemizing only pays off when your total itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction.

1
Connecticut Data. Mill Rates for FY 2014-2026
2
Tax Foundation. Property Taxes by State and County, 2026
3
Justia. Connecticut Code 12-62a – Uniform Assessment Date and Rate
4
Justia. Connecticut Code 12-62 – Revaluation of Real Property
5
State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management. Mill Rates
6
Justia. Connecticut Code 12-71e – Motor Vehicle Mill Rate
7
City of New Haven. Motor Vehicle Assessment Information
8
Justia. Connecticut Code 12-142 – Installments; Due Dates
9
Justia. Connecticut Code 12-111 – Appeals to Board of Assessment Appeals
10
State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management. Homeowners Elderly/Disabled Circuit Breaker Tax Relief Program
11
Connecticut General Assembly. Property Tax Exemption for Veterans With a 100% P&T Disability
12
Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. IP 2011(20), Q and A: Income Tax Credit for Property Taxes Paid to a Connecticut Political Subdivision
13
Internal Revenue Service. New and Enhanced Deductions for Individuals