Connecticut income tax rates and brackets for 2025 and 2026

A 2023 law cut the two lowest rates, 3% to 2% and 5% to 4.5%, starting with tax year 2024. The brackets below are the same for 2025 and 2026 and are not indexed for inflation (Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-700). The 2026 figures come from the Department of Revenue Services’ 2026 estimated-tax form; the final 2026 return is not out yet.

The return starts from federal adjusted gross income, adjusted on Schedule 1 to get Connecticut AGI. Connecticut has no standard deduction. Instead, it subtracts a personal exemption of $15,000 (single), $24,000 (joint), $12,000 (married filing separately) or $19,000 (head of household), which falls by $1,000 for each $1,000 of AGI above $30,000, $48,000, $24,000 or $38,000 and is gone at $44,000, $71,000, $35,000 or $56,000.

After the bracket tax, two add-backs apply at higher incomes, both based on Connecticut AGI: the 2% bracket is gradually taxed at 4.5% instead (starting above $56,500 single or $100,500 joint, up to $250 or $500), and a benefit recapture of up to $3,400 single or $6,800 joint starts above $105,000 or $210,000. Lower-income filers then reduce the tax with a personal tax credit, a percentage of the tax that starts at 75% and shrinks as income rises, ending at $64,500 of AGI for single filers and $100,500 for joint filers.

For example, a single filer with $120,000 of Connecticut AGI gets no exemption or personal tax credit. The bracket tax on $120,000 is $5,950, plus the full $250 add-back and $75 of recapture, about $6,275 in total.

Connecticut starts from line 11a of federal Form 1040, adjusted gross income. The July 2025 federal deductions for tips, overtime, car loan interest and people 65 or older are taken after that line, and Connecticut has added no subtraction for them, so as we read the forms they do not reduce Connecticut tax for 2025. That could change for 2026 if the 2027 legislature acts.

Social Security is fully exempt if federal AGI is under $75,000 (single or married filing separately) or $100,000 (joint, qualifying surviving spouse or head of household). Above those limits, at most 25% of benefits is taxable in Connecticut, compared with up to 85% federally. A 2026 proposal to exempt Social Security for everyone was not enacted.

Pension and annuity income, including 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) payouts, is fully exempt below $75,000 of federal AGI (single, married filing separately or head of household) or $100,000 (joint), with the exemption shrinking in steps to zero at $100,000 or $150,000. Traditional IRA withdrawals get 75% of that treatment for 2025 and the full exemption from 2026. Military retirement is fully exempt at any income, Teachers’ Retirement System pensions are 50% exempt (or the pension percentage if higher), and from 2026 Public Health Service Commissioned Corps retirement pay is exempt.

Connecticut has no child tax credit for 2025 or 2026; the closest is the extra $250 in the earned income credit.

A resident files if Connecticut tax was withheld, they made estimated payments, they claim the earned income credit, they had federal alternative minimum tax, or gross income is over $15,000 (single), $24,000 (joint), $12,000 (married filing separately) or $19,000 (head of household). Gross income means gross receipts, so a sole proprietor counts sales, not profit. Residents file Form CT-1040; nonresidents and part-year residents file Form CT-1040NR/PY. Residents can file free through myconneCT.

Returns are due April 15, so 2026 returns are due April 15, 2027. Form CT-1040 EXT extends the time to file to October 15 but not to pay; you do not need it if you have a federal extension and expect no Connecticut balance.

Check a Connecticut refund with “Where’s my Refund?” on myconneCT. It asks for your Social Security number (and your spouse’s on a joint return), the tax year and the exact refund amount you requested. DRS asks paper filers to allow 10 to 12 weeks before checking, and it does not publish a time for e-filed returns. Refunds can be delayed for identity checks, and first-time Connecticut filers cannot get direct deposit.

DRS phone numbers are 800-382-9463 (within Connecticut, outside Greater Hartford) and 860-297-5962 (from anywhere).

You are a Connecticut resident if Connecticut is your domicile, or if you keep a permanent home in the state all year and spend more than 183 days there. Nonresident employees who work in Connecticut 15 days or fewer in a year do not have Connecticut-source wages. We found no reciprocal agreement in Connecticut’s guidance.

Connecticut residents who work for a New York employer file a New York nonresident return, and Connecticut gives a credit on Schedule 2 for New York tax, including tax New York charges on days worked from a Connecticut home office under its convenience-of-the-employer rule. Connecticut applies its own version of that rule only to residents of states that use one.

Connecticut requires paid tax preparers who are not CPAs, attorneys or IRS enrolled agents to hold a DRS tax preparer permit, which requires the IRS Annual Filing Season Program each year. DRS applies the rule to preparers anywhere who prepare more than 10 Connecticut returns, or federal returns for Connecticut clients, and keeps a public registry of permit holders. A permitted preparer must give you a written disclosure with their contact details, an estimated fee and a commitment to keep your information secure before starting work.