CT · State estate & inheritance tax
Connecticut estate tax, inheritance tax & probate costs
Exemptions, rates, and probate costs for Connecticut (CT), current as of IRS SOI state filings 2021-2023 | federal exemption 2026 | Tax Foundation 2024 state survey - in plain language, from IRS Statistics of Income data and Connecticut fee schedules.
Data updated 2026-08-06
- State estate-tax exemption · High exemption vs. federal
- $15M
- Estate-tax top rate · Mid-range top rate
- 12%
- Inheritance tax · Most states have none
- None
- Typical probate timeline · Slower than most states
- 9–18 mo
The verdict
Connecticut taxes estates above $15M at up to 12%, and probate typically takes about 14 months, putting it in the 10th percentile of 51 for estate-friendliness, among the less estate-friendly states.
- 10th
- Estate-friendliness percentile of 51
- 1.6/5
- Estate-friendliness score
- 53/100
- Probate Burden Score (C-)
- 13
- States with a state-level estate tax
Estate-friendliness blends tax presence, probate cost and timeline into one composite score. Connecticut ranks ahead of 5 of the other 50 states on that composite. On maximum probate filing fee alone, Connecticut sits #8 of 51 (lowest fee = #1).
Based on this state's own probate-cost record -- filing fee, timeline, executor fee, and attorney fee -- each benchmarked against every tracked state (50 states + DC). Not a measure of estate-tax or inheritance-tax burden, which are shown separately above.
Estate tax docket plate
Sheet CT · Connecticut $15M · 12%
ESTATE-ONLY · MATCH-FED · FLAT-12 · NO-PORT · FEE-MODEST · LOCAL-CODE
- ESTATE-ONLY Estate tax only
- MATCH-FED Near federal
- FLAT-12 Flat 12%
- NO-PORT No portability
- FEE-MODEST Max $200
- LOCAL-CODE Local probate code
Nearest exemption peer: New York ( -7.7M)
Instrument codes from this state’s levy posture, federal-exemption gap, rate shape, portability, probate filing-fee tier, and UPC adoption, not a planning recommendation.
Connecticut standing among 13 estate-tax states
- Connecticut is one of 13 of 51 surveyed jurisdictions that levy a state estate tax.
- State exemption $15M sits $0 below the permanent federal $15M line, that gap is the Connecticut-only taxable band the IRS SOI tables do not print as a rank.
- Maximum probate filing fee $200 is at or below the corpus lower third (≤ $300) · corpus #8 of 51 (lowest max fee = #1).
- On tax-burden friendliness alone, Connecticut ranks ahead of 1 other states in this extract.
Exemption neighbourhood around Connecticut
Lowest/highest poles plus estate-tax states nearest Connecticut on exemption ($M). Full ladder: /rankings/lowest-exemptions/.
State Estate Tax
CT estate tax exemption matches the federal exemption ($15M for 2026, permanent per OBBBA, indexed annually for inflation). Flat 12% rate on the taxable amount above the exemption (graduated brackets eliminated for deaths on/after Jan 1, 2023). CT does not allow portability of the state exemption between spouses.
Inheritance Tax
Beneficiaries owe no state inheritance tax in Connecticut
Probate Costs
Small estate up to $40,000
Probate Code
Connecticut has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code.
Property System
Connecticut follows common-law (separate property) rules.
Federal estate-tax returns filed - Connecticut
Returns filed by state residents, by IRS filing year
Connecticut probate timeline
Months from filing to distribution, minimum, typical, and maximum
Connecticut's probate timeline vs. every US state
Upper-bound probate duration (18 mo) across all 51 states
18 Longer than most longer than 61% of 51 states
every US state, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainEstate probate-timeline dataset, all 51 states · current
Cost vs. speed, all 51 states
Where Connecticut lands on cost and speed together
Each dot is a state, plotted by its maximum court filing fee (x) against its upper-bound probate timeline (y). States that adopted the Uniform Probate Code average $344 and 13.6 months to probate; states that haven't average $457 and 15 months. Streamlining the legal process correlates with a cheaper court-fee schedule too, not just a faster one.
View all 51 states as a list
- Colorado : $164 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Alaska : $200 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Connecticut (highlighted above) : $200 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Idaho : $200 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Indiana : $200 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Montana : $200 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Nebraska : $200 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- North Dakota : $200 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Maine : $250 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Wisconsin : $250 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Arkansas : $300 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- District of Columbia : $300 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Georgia : $300 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Hawaii : $300 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Kansas : $300 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Kentucky : $300 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Mississippi : $300 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- New Hampshire : $300 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- New Mexico : $300 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- South Dakota : $300 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- West Virginia : $300 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Wyoming : $300 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Utah : $350 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Arizona : $380 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Florida : $400 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Louisiana : $400 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Missouri : $400 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Oklahoma : $400 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Rhode Island : $400 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Texas : $400 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Virginia : $400 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Washington : $400 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- California : $435 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Iowa : $450 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Vermont : $450 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Alabama : $500 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Delaware : $500 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Illinois : $500 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Nevada : $500 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- New Jersey : $500 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Ohio : $500 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Oregon : $500 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- South Carolina : $500 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Tennessee : $500 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Michigan : $600 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Minnesota : $600 max filing fee, 12 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- North Carolina : $600 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Pennsylvania : $700 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (UPC-adopted)
- Maryland : $1,000 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- Massachusetts : $1,000 max filing fee, 18 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
- New York : $1,250 max filing fee, 24 mo probate timeline (non-UPC)
Federal Estate Tax Filings - Connecticut
IRS Statistics of Income data showing estate tax returns filed by Connecticut residents.
What changed: reported federal estate-tax returns increased by 13 from 143 in 2022 to 156 in 2023. This compares adjacent IRS filing-year releases; it does not describe a change in state tax law.
| Filing Year | Returns Filed | Gross Estate | Net Tax Paid | State Death Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 156 | $12.0B | $1.0B | $199,291K |
| 2022 | 143 | $5.0B | $0.3B | $153,081K |
| 2021 | 117 | $2.7B | $0.1B | $91,216K |
Source: IRS Statistics of Income - Estate Tax Returns Filed (Table 2, by State of Residence). Dollar amounts in thousands. State rate / exemption tables compiled from Tax Foundation 2024 Estate & Inheritance Tax Survey.
Connecticut estate-tax shape: ESTATE-ONLY·LOW-FEE·SOI-MID
Connecticut adds a state estate-tax layer - for many households the state exemption binds before the permanent federal line. IRS SOI prints 156 federal returns here in the latest year, a mid-band SOI footprint. Exemption $15,000,000 with a flat 12%; no spousal portability.
IRS Statistics of Income data show 156 federal estate tax returns filed by Connecticut residents in filing year 2023, reporting $12.01 billion in combined gross estate value. Net federal estate tax paid totaled $0.95 billion that year. Multi-year SOI average: roughly 139 taxable filings/year. Effective federal rate on reported gross estates ≈ 7.2%.
Probate clock 9–18 mo · max filing $200 · corpus #8 of 51 · statutory attorney ≈ 3% · non-UPC · common law · small-estate track under $40,000.
States with similar estate-tax and probate profiles to Connecticut
Similar exemption threshold
Nearest estate-tax states by exemption ($15M here).
Similar top marginal rate
Nearest estate-tax states by top rate (12% here).
Similar probate filing fee
Nearest states by maximum probate filing fee ($200 here).
Connecticut Estate Tax FAQs
Does Connecticut have an estate tax?
Yes. Connecticut has a state estate tax with a $15,000,000 exemption, with a flat 12%. This is in addition to the federal estate tax.
Does Connecticut have an inheritance tax?
No. Connecticut does not impose a state inheritance tax on beneficiaries. Unlike an estate tax (paid by the estate), an inheritance tax is paid by the person receiving the assets. Only six states currently levy this tax. Connecticut has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, so probate practice can vary by county.
How long does probate take in Connecticut?
Probate in Connecticut typically takes 9 to 18 months. Estates under $40,000 may qualify for a simplified small estate procedure, which is significantly faster.
How much does probate cost in Connecticut?
Court filing fees in Connecticut range from $25 to $200. Attorney fees are typically 3% of the estate value (statutory).
Where does Connecticut sit among states on probate filing fees?
According to PlainEstate's compiled state court fee schedules, Connecticut ranks #8 of 51 surveyed states by maximum probate filing fee (lowest max fee = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/lowest-probate-costs listing. See /methodology/#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.
Is Connecticut's probate timeline shorter or longer than most states?
Connecticut's upper-bound probate estimate of 18 months is shorter than 2% of the 51 states PlainEstate tracks (31 states have a shorter estimate, 1 have a longer one). A shorter upper bound means less exposure to worst-case delays, not a guarantee every estate closes that fast.
Can you avoid probate in Connecticut?
Yes. Common probate avoidance strategies in Connecticut include revocable living trusts, transfer-on-death (TOD) deeds for real estate, payable-on-death (POD) accounts for bank and investment accounts, and joint ownership with right of survivorship. Connecticut also offers a simplified process for small estates under $40,000.
What happened to the 2026 federal estate tax sunset, and how does it affect Connecticut residents?
The TCJA provisions were scheduled to sunset after December 31, 2025, which would have cut the federal exemption from $13,990,000 to roughly $7,000,000 per person. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Pub. L. 119-21), signed July 4, 2025, repealed that sunset and set a permanent $15,000,000 per-individual exemption effective January 1, 2026, indexed for inflation. Connecticut residents still face state estate tax in addition to federal estate tax, so the state-level rules remain the main planning consideration for most Connecticut estates.
How Connecticut’s probate clock interacts with its estate-tax layer: probate process guide. Compare thresholds on the state rankings or the estate tax calculator.
Notice a figure that looks out of date, such as a state changing its exemption or rate? Report it via the contact page and we'll verify it against the source and correct it, per our editorial policy.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Consult a qualified estate-planning attorney or tax professional before making decisions based on this data.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
What to do with Connecticut's numbers
Every state page here answers one question: what does the tax layer look like. These are the next steps.
- Connecticut is one of 13 states with a state-level estate tax; see how its exemption and top rate compare across the full set before assuming this is a typical rule. All 50 states
- A documented plan (will, trust, beneficiary designations) determines who actually inherits, regardless of which state or federal tax layer applies. Estate planning basics
- Full corpus context: see the current gift-tax exclusion and lifetime exemption that interact with any state-level threshold. Gift tax explained
Figures are compiled from IRS Statistics of Income and state statutes; verify current thresholds with a qualified attorney before acting.