The Connecticut state sales tax is 6.35% on most purchases, and that single rate applies everywhere in the state. No city or town adds its own sales tax on top. The rate changes, though, for a handful of specific categories: meals cost more, boats cost less, and luxury goods carry a higher rate on the full price. A meaningful share of what you buy in a typical week — groceries, prescription drugs, clothing under $75 — is not taxed at all.
Rates by What You’re Buying
The 6.35% general rate covers most taxable goods and services. Several categories have their own rates set by statute.1Justia. Connecticut Code 12-408 – The Sales Tax
- Meals and certain beverages: 7.35%. This covers food from restaurants, caterers, and the prepared-food section of grocery stores, plus alcoholic drinks and soft drinks served at bars and soda fountains. The rate is the base 6.35% plus a 1% surcharge.
- Short-term car rentals of 30 days or less: 9.35%.
- Luxury goods: 7.75%. This hits motor vehicles priced above $50,000, jewelry over $5,000, and clothing, footwear, handbags, luggage, or watches above $1,000. The luxury rate applies to the entire price, not just the amount over the threshold. A $55,000 car is taxed at 7.75% on the full $55,000.
- Boats, boat motors, and boat trailers: 2.99%.
- Computer and data processing services: 1%.
Services are broadly taxable in Connecticut, more so than in many states. The Department of Revenue Services publishes the full list, which includes advertising and public relations work, business consulting, dry cleaning, landscaping, janitorial services, and motor vehicle repair.2Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Services Subject to Sales and Use Taxes If you’re hiring a service provider, assume the work is taxable unless you can confirm an exemption.
Digital goods are taxed at the standard 6.35% rate. That covers downloaded or streamed music, ebooks, audiobooks, movies, video programming, and digital art. Canned software accessed electronically for personal use is also 6.35%, while software purchased for business use falls under the 1% data processing rate.3Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Sales and Use Taxes on Digital Goods and Canned or Prewritten Computer Software Digital newspapers, magazine subscriptions, and college textbooks are exempt even in digital form.
What’s Exempt
Section 12-412 of the Connecticut General Statutes lists over a hundred exemption categories. These are the ones most households run into:
Groceries. Food bought for home consumption is exempt — meat, dairy, produce, eggs, bread, cereals, coffee, and similar staples. The exemption does not extend to soft drinks, candy, alcoholic beverages, or meals from restaurants and caterers. Connecticut defines a “meal” broadly as any food sold in a form ready for immediate consumption, which pulls in take-out food that’s already packaged or wrapped.4Justia. Connecticut Code 12-412 – Exemptions
Prescription medicine. Prescription drugs, syringes, and needles sold by prescription are fully exempt. Many common over-the-counter medications, including allergy medicines, cough remedies, and laxatives, are also exempt.4Justia. Connecticut Code 12-412 – Exemptions
Clothing and footwear under $75. Regular clothing and shoes priced below $75 per item are exempt year-round. At $75 or more, the full price is taxed at 6.35%. Once a single item exceeds $1,000, the 7.75% luxury rate applies.5Legal Information Institute. Connecticut Agencies Regulations 12-426-30 – Clothing and Footwear
College textbooks. Exempt in both print and digital formats.
Other exemptions cover sales to government agencies, sales to qualifying nonprofits, machinery used directly in manufacturing, and certain agricultural products.
Buying a Car
Vehicle sales tax works differently. You don’t pay it at the dealership counter. The DMV collects it when you register the vehicle. The rate is 6.35% for cars priced at $50,000 or less, and 7.75% on the entire purchase price for vehicles above $50,000.6Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Learn About Sales Tax on First Time Vehicle Registrations
Two rules catch buyers off guard. Trade-ins at a licensed dealer give you a full credit against the taxable price: buy a $40,000 car and trade in one worth $15,000, and you pay tax on $25,000. On private-party sales, the tax is calculated on either the bill of sale price or the NADA average trade-in value, whichever is higher, so writing a low number on the bill of sale won’t reduce what you owe.6Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Learn About Sales Tax on First Time Vehicle Registrations
If you bought the vehicle in another state and paid sales tax there, Connecticut credits the amount you already paid. You owe the difference if the other state’s rate was lower. A car purchased in a foreign country triggers use tax when you register it here.
Sales Tax Free Week in August
Connecticut suspends sales tax on clothing and footwear priced under $100 per item during one week each August. By statute, the week runs from the third Sunday in August through the following Saturday. In 2026, that’s August 16 through August 22.7Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Connecticut Sales Tax Free Week
The threshold during the holiday is higher than the year-round $75 cutoff. A $90 pair of sneakers is normally taxable but comes out tax-free during the holiday week. Items priced at $100 or more are fully taxable even during the holiday. The exemption covers shirts, jeans, dresses, shoes, boots, sleepwear, undergarments, outerwear, hats, gloves, and similar everyday clothing.8Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Examples of Clothing and Footwear That Are Exempt During Sales Tax Free Week
Online and Out-of-State Purchases
Connecticut’s use tax applies when you buy something for use in the state and either no sales tax was collected or the amount collected was less than Connecticut’s rate.9Justia. Connecticut Code 12-411 – The Use Tax The rate matches whatever sales tax rate would have applied to an in-state purchase of the same item. Order a $6,000 piece of jewelry from an out-of-state retailer that doesn’t collect Connecticut tax, and you owe 7.75% in use tax because the luxury jewelry rate kicks in.10Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Individual Use Tax Information
Most large online retailers now collect Connecticut tax automatically. When they don’t, the obligation shifts to you. Individuals report use tax on their Connecticut income tax return. If you paid some sales tax to another state at a lower rate, you owe only the difference.
If You Sell in Connecticut
Any business selling taxable goods or services in Connecticut must register for a Sales and Use Tax Permit through the state’s myconneCT portal before making its first sale.11Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Registering Your Business with DRS Registration takes your federal employer identification number (or Social Security number for sole proprietors), your business address, and the Social Security numbers of responsible owners or officers. Some registrations carry a fee payable during the online process.
Filing frequency depends on how much tax you collect. Businesses collecting more than $4,000 per year file monthly. Those collecting between $1,000 and $4,000 file quarterly. Below $1,000, you file annually. Returns are due the last day of the month after the reporting period closes.
Missing a deadline is expensive. The business penalty is 15% of the unpaid tax or $50, whichever is greater, plus interest at 1% per month from the due date until payment. If you don’t file at all, the Department of Revenue Services can estimate what you owe and apply the same 15% penalty to its estimate.12Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut Code Chapter 219 – Sales and Use Taxes Individuals who owe use tax on personal purchases face a lighter 10% penalty plus the same 1% monthly interest. On a $1,000 unpaid bill, a year of noncompliance adds $150 in penalties for a business and $120 in interest on top.