Connecticut taxes residents through a graduated personal income tax ranging from 2% to 6.99%, a 6.35% statewide sales tax, locally administered property taxes, and additional levies on estates, gifts, corporations, and motor fuels. Individual income tax returns for 2025 are due April 15, 2026. The details below cover what each tax applies to, the current rates, and the deadlines that matter.
Personal Income Tax
Connecticut’s income tax uses seven brackets. For the 2025 tax year, single filers and those married filing separately pay:
- 2% on taxable income up to $10,000
- 4.5% from $10,001 to $50,000
- 5.5% from $50,001 to $100,000
- 6% from $100,001 to $200,000
- 6.5% from $200,001 to $250,000
- 6.9% from $250,001 to $500,000
- 6.99% on income over $500,000
Joint filers get wider brackets at each level. The bottom two rates were lowered from 3% and 5% in 2024.1Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut Income Tax Rates and Brackets Since 1991
Connecticut does not use a standard deduction. Instead, a personal tax credit reduces the tax you’ve calculated, with the percentage shrinking as your income rises. A single filer with AGI between $15,000 and $25,000 can offset up to 75% of the computed tax; the credit disappears entirely once a single filer’s AGI reaches $64,500, or $100,500 for joint filers.2Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Personal Exemptions for 2025 Taxable Year Tax Calculation Schedule Lower-income households end up paying far less than the bracket rates suggest.
If you paid property tax on a primary Connecticut residence or a registered vehicle, you may claim a property tax credit of up to $300 on your state return. Eligibility depends on AGI falling within a range that varies by filing status, and you claim it on Schedule 3 of Form CT-1040.
Sales and Use Tax
The state sales tax is 6.35% on most retail purchases and many services.3Justia Law. Connecticut Code 12-408 – The Sales Tax Connecticut towns don’t add local sales tax, so the rate is the same statewide. Buy something taxable from an out-of-state seller that doesn’t collect Connecticut tax and you owe the same rate as use tax.4Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Sales and Use Tax Information
Groceries for home consumption and prescription drugs are exempt. Prepared meals — restaurant food, deli items, catering — are taxed at 7.35%.5Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. PS 2019(5) – Sales and Use Taxes on Meals
A luxury rate of 7.75% applies to motor vehicles priced above $50,000, jewelry priced above $5,000, and handbags, luggage, umbrellas, wallets, and watches priced above $1,000. The higher rate applies to the full price, not just the amount above the threshold.6Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Individual Use Tax Information
Many digital products are taxable at the 6.35% rate, including downloaded or streamed music, audiobooks, and games. Subscription digital newspapers, magazines, and college textbooks are exempt. Software for business use is taxed at 1%; the same software bought for personal use is taxed at 6.35%.7Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Services Subject to Sales and Use Taxes
Property Tax
Property tax is the biggest tax bill most homeowners face, and it is set entirely at the local level. Each of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities adopts its own annual mill rate. A mill equals $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value, so a property assessed at $200,000 in a town with a 30-mill rate owes $6,000 in property tax that year.8State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management. Mill Rates
State law requires assessment at 70% of fair market value. A home with a $400,000 market value has a $280,000 assessed value, and the mill rate is applied to that figure. Towns revalue property periodically, with the timing varying.
The tax covers both real estate and motor vehicles.9Connecticut Official State Website. Property Tax Vehicle taxes use the same mill rate as real property, applied to the vehicle’s value from the prior October grand list. Because mill rates vary widely from town to town, two identical homes a few miles apart can generate very different bills. For specifics on your bill, contact your town’s assessor or tax collector.
Estate and Gift Tax
Connecticut is one of the few states that imposes both an estate tax and a gift tax, and the two are unified: lifetime gifts count against the same exemption as your estate at death.
For 2025 deaths, estates valued at $13.99 million or less owe no Connecticut estate tax. Estates above the threshold are taxed at a flat 12% on the amount exceeding the federal basic exclusion.10Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Estate and Gift Tax Information
Timing matters. The $13.99 million figure mirrors the federal exemption set under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which is scheduled to revert to roughly $5 million (likely around $7 million with inflation) starting in 2026.11Connecticut General Assembly. Estate, Inheritance, and Gift Taxes in CT and Other States Because Connecticut’s exemption tracks the federal figure, the sunset could substantially expand the number of estates subject to tax. Congress may act to extend the higher exemption; as of early 2026, no extension has been confirmed. Estates in the $5 million to $14 million range should watch this closely.
On the gift side, Connecticut requires a gift tax return for any taxable gifts during the year, even if no tax is owed. Gifts under the annual federal exclusion ($19,000 per recipient in 2026) don’t count. Gifts above that eat into your lifetime exemption, and once cumulative taxable gifts exceed the lifetime threshold, Connecticut taxes the excess at 12%. Lifetime gifts are also added back to your estate at death for calculating the estate tax.10Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Estate and Gift Tax Information
Corporation Business Tax
Corporations doing business in Connecticut pay 7.5% on net income.12Justia Law. Connecticut Code 12-214 – Imposition of Tax Every corporation owes at least a $250 minimum tax, regardless of whether it earned income.13Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Corporation Business Tax Information
There is also a capital base tax calculated on total capital instead of income. Corporations pay whichever is higher — net income tax or capital base tax — subject to the $250 floor. The capital base rate dropped to 0.21% for income year 2025 under a continuing phaseout. Large corporations with at least $100 million in annual revenue and more than $250 in tax liability may owe an additional surcharge.13Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Corporation Business Tax Information
Motor Fuel Taxes
Gasoline is taxed at a flat 25 cents per gallon, a rate unchanged since 2000. Diesel is taxed at $0.489 per gallon from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026; the diesel rate is recalculated each year.14Connecticut General Assembly. Motor Fuel Taxes
On top of the per-gallon tax, Connecticut imposes the Petroleum Products Gross Earnings Tax at 8.1% on wholesalers’ gross earnings. That cost is passed to drivers at the pump without appearing as a separate line, which is why the effective tax on gasoline runs well above the 25-cent headline rate.
Filing Deadline and Late Penalties
The Connecticut individual income tax return for 2025 is due April 15, 2026, matching the federal deadline.15Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. Start of 2026 Tax Season Connecticut treats a mailed return’s postmark date as the delivery date, but USPS now postmarks letters when they are first processed, not when they are dropped off. If you’re mailing close to the deadline, ask for a hand-stamped postmark at a retail counter.
Late payment triggers interest at 1% per month (or any fraction of a month) from the original due date until the balance is paid. The late payment penalty is generally 10% of the amount owed. Fraudulent returns carry criminal penalties including fines and imprisonment.