Does Connecticut Have an Inheritance Tax or Estate Tax?

Connecticut does not have an inheritance tax, so if you inherit money or property from someone who lived in Connecticut, you owe the state nothing on what you receive. The state taxes the estate itself, not the people who inherit from it, and only when the estate is worth more than $15 million in 2026. Above that threshold, a flat 12 percent rate applies to the excess.

No Inheritance Tax on Beneficiaries

An inheritance tax is paid by the person who receives assets, with the rate usually depending on how closely the beneficiary was related to the deceased. Connecticut used to collect one, called the succession tax, but repealed it entirely for anyone who died on or after January 1, 2005.¹ Before that date, beneficiaries owed tax based on the value of what they personally inherited.²

With the succession tax gone, anyone who inherits cash, real estate, retirement account proceeds, or other property from a Connecticut resident pays no state-level tax on the inheritance itself. Only five states still collect this kind of tax: Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, with rates reaching as high as 16 percent in some cases. If the person you inherited from lived in Connecticut, none of those regimes apply to you.

The Estate Tax That Does Apply

Instead of taxing beneficiaries, Connecticut taxes the total value of the deceased person’s estate above a set exemption. Since 2023, that exemption has tracked the federal estate tax exemption, which for 2026 is $15 million.³ An estate worth $15 million or less owes no Connecticut estate tax at all.⁴

For estates above the exemption, Connecticut applies a flat 12 percent rate to the amount over the threshold.⁵ Say a Connecticut resident dies in 2026 leaving an estate valued at $17 million. The tax applies only to the $2 million above the $15 million exemption, so the estate owes $240,000. The executor pays that from estate assets before distributing anything to the beneficiaries, meaning the tax reduces the size of the pool you inherit from but is never billed to you directly.

This flat rate replaced an older graduated system with six brackets running roughly 10 to 12 percent and a lower exemption. The current structure is simpler: one rate, one threshold.⁵

An estate large enough to owe Connecticut’s estate tax will also owe federal estate tax, since both use the same $15 million threshold in 2026. The federal rate is steeper, reaching up to 40 percent on the highest-value estates.³

One quirk worth knowing: Connecticut does not allow spouses to share or transfer unused exemption amounts. Federal law lets a surviving spouse claim a deceased spouse’s unused federal exemption through a portability election, but there is no equivalent at the state level. Each spouse gets their own $15 million Connecticut exemption and nothing more.

Connecticut’s Gift Tax

Connecticut is the only state in the country with its own gift tax on lifetime transfers.⁵ It exists so that someone with a very large estate cannot simply give away assets before death to escape the estate tax.

The gift tax and estate tax share a single unified $15 million exemption. Every taxable gift made during a person’s lifetime chips away at the amount available to shelter the estate later. Give $3 million in taxable gifts during your lifetime and only $12 million of the 2026 exemption remains for your estate.⁴

Not every gift counts. For 2026, the annual federal gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient.³ You can give up to that amount to as many people as you want in a year without triggering any gift tax or using up any lifetime exemption. Married couples can each use the exclusion separately, so together they can give up to $38,000 per recipient per year.

Gifts above the annual exclusion require a Connecticut gift tax return (Form CT-706/709) for the calendar year, even if you are nowhere near your lifetime exemption and owe no tax. The rate, when tax is actually due, matches the estate tax: a flat 12 percent on amounts over the lifetime exemption.⁴

Filing Requirements for the Estate

Even estates well below the $15 million threshold have a filing obligation in Connecticut. The size of the estate decides which form the executor files. Estates at or below the exemption file the shorter Form CT-706 NT (for nontaxable estates) with the local probate court. Estates above the exemption file the full Form CT-706/709 with the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services and send a copy to the probate court.⁶

The return and any tax owed are due within nine months of the date of death. An executor who needs more time can file Form CT-706/709 EXT to request an extension of time to file or to pay, though an extension to pay the estate tax does not extend the deadline for the gift tax portion of the return.⁶ Missing the deadline exposes the estate to interest and penalties at both the state and federal level.

Probate Court Fees

Separate from any estate tax, nearly every Connecticut estate pays a probate court fee. The fee is calculated on a sliding scale based on the greater of the probate inventory, the Connecticut taxable estate, or the federal gross estate.⁷

Up to $500: $25
$501 to $1,000: $50
$1,001 to $10,000: $50 plus 1 percent of the amount over $1,000
$10,001 to $500,000: $150 plus 0.35 percent of the amount over $10,000
$500,001 to $2 million: $1,865 plus 0.25 percent of the amount over $500,000
Over $2 million: $5,615 plus 0.5 percent of the amount over $2 million

Assets passing to a surviving spouse get a break: the basis used to calculate the fee is reduced by 50 percent for that portion.⁷ The probate court must be paid in full before it will issue the final decree allowing assets to be distributed to beneficiaries. For a beneficiary, the practical takeaway is the same as with the estate tax: these fees come out of the estate before you receive your share, not out of your pocket afterward.

1
Justia. Connecticut General Statutes 12-340 – Tax on Transfers of Property, Sunset of Chapter
2
CT.gov. TSSN-32, Connecticut Inheritance Tax
3
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
4
Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Estate and Gift Tax Information
5
Connecticut General Assembly Office of Legislative Research. Estate, Inheritance, and Gift Taxes in CT and Other States
6
Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. Form CT-706/709 Connecticut Estate and Gift Tax Return Line Instructions
7
Justia. Connecticut General Statutes 45a-107 – Fees and Expenses for Settlement of Decedents Estate