CT Conveyance Tax Calculator: Rates, Exemptions, and Filing

A Connecticut conveyance tax calculator has to combine two numbers: the state’s share, which runs from 0.75% up to 2.25% on residential sales depending on price, and the town’s share, which is either 0.25% or 0.50% of the full sale price. The seller pays both at closing whenever the property changes hands for $2,000 or more. To get your total, you need the sale price, the property type (residential, non-residential, or unimproved), and the town where the property sits.

State Rates by Property Type

Residential sales under $800,000 are taxed at a flat 0.75% by the state. Above that, three tiers apply, and each tier only taxes the portion of the price that falls inside it:

First $800,000: 0.75%
$800,001 to $2,500,000: 1.25%
Above $2,500,000: 2.25%

That top tier is the one sellers of high-value homes often miss. On a $3 million sale, the 2.25% rate hits only the $500,000 above the $2.5 million threshold, but it still adds $11,250 that a lower sale price would never generate.¹

Non-residential property, including commercial buildings and retail space, is taxed at a flat 1.25% of the entire sale price with no tiered breaks.¹

Unimproved land, including property designated as farm, forest, or open space, is carved out of the non-residential category and taxed at the base 0.75% rate.²

Municipal Rates and Which Towns Charge More

Every Connecticut town adds its own conveyance tax on top of the state portion. The standard rate is 0.25% of the full sale price.¹

Municipalities classified as targeted investment communities, or towns containing designated manufacturing plants, may impose an additional 0.25%, bringing their municipal rate to 0.50%.² The towns currently charging the higher rate are Bloomfield, Bridgeport, Bristol, East Hartford, Hamden, Hartford, Meriden, Middletown, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Southington, Waterbury, West Haven, and Windham. If your property is in one of those, your total bill will be noticeably higher.

How to Calculate Your Total

Add the state portion to the municipal portion. Three worked examples cover the situations most sellers land in.

$400,000 Residential Sale, Standard Town

The sale price sits under $800,000, so a flat 0.75% state rate applies.

State: $400,000 × 0.75% = $3,000
Municipal (0.25%): $400,000 × 0.25% = $1,000
Total: $4,000

$1,000,000 Residential Sale, Standard Town

The price crosses the $800,000 threshold, so the second state tier kicks in on the amount above it.¹

State on first $800,000: $6,000
State on remaining $200,000 at 1.25%: $2,500
Municipal (0.25%): $2,500
Total: $11,000

In a 0.50% town, the municipal portion doubles to $5,000, pushing the total to $13,500.

$3,000,000 Residential Sale, Standard Town

All three state tiers apply.

State on first $800,000 at 0.75%: $6,000
State on $800,001 to $2,500,000 at 1.25%: $21,250
State on the $500,000 above $2,500,000 at 2.25%: $11,250
Municipal (0.25%): $7,500
Total: $46,000

State tax alone comes to $38,500 at $3 million, compared to $8,500 on a $1 million sale.¹

When the Tax Doesn’t Apply

Some transfers are exempt under CGS § 12-498. The common ones:

Any deed where total consideration is less than $2,000
Transfers between spouses
Deeds made under a Superior Court decree dividing marital property in a divorce
Deeds involving the state, its political subdivisions, or their agencies
Deeds that secure a debt or release security for a debt
Deeds executed as part of a corporate merger
Deeds resulting from a court-ordered foreclosure by market sale

The seller still files Form OP-236 with the deed and identifies the specific exemption; the filing requirement doesn’t disappear, only the payment does.³ Genuine gifts of real property fall under the less-than-$2,000 exemption because the consideration is zero.

Controlling Interest Transfers

Connecticut also taxes the sale of a controlling interest in an entity that owns Connecticut real property, at 1.11% of the property’s actual value when that value is $2,000 or more. The person selling the controlling interest pays.⁴ Structuring a deal as an entity sale rather than a direct property sale doesn’t avoid the tax; it triggers this separate one instead.

Filing and Payment

The seller files Form OP-236 with the town clerk in the municipality where the property sits, at the same time the deed is recorded. The clerk will not record the deed without the return and full payment.⁵ Payment goes as two separate checks: one to the Commissioner of Revenue Services for the state portion, one to the municipality for the local portion. Form OP-236 is available from the Department of Revenue Services.⁶

Because the deed cannot record without payment, late filing rarely comes up in a standard closing. The real risk is underpayment. If the Department of Revenue Services later issues a deficiency assessment, the unpaid balance accrues interest at 1% per month from the original due date. A negligence penalty adds 10% of the deficiency or $50, whichever is greater, and deliberate fraud carries a 25% penalty.²

1
Justia. Connecticut Code 12-494 – Imposition of Tax on Conveyances of Real Property for Consideration
2
Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut Code Chapter 223 – Real Estate Conveyance Tax
3
Justia. Connecticut Code 12-498 – Exempt Transactions
4
Justia. Connecticut Code 12-638b – Tax on Transfer of Controlling Interest
5
Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. Instructions for OP-236 Connecticut Real Estate Conveyance Tax Return
6
Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Real Estate Conveyance Tax Forms