Closing Costs in Connecticut 2026: Buyer & Seller Guide

In Connecticut the seller owes the conveyance tax: 0.75% to the state plus 0.25% to the town (up to 0.5% in a few towns that have adopted a local add-on) on a single-family home or condo under $800,000. On those homes the state rate rises to 1.25% on the part above $800,000 and 2.25% above $2.5 million. Town clerks record deeds and mortgages under a statewide fee schedule.

The conveyance tax: a state share and a town share

Chapter 223 of the General Statutes taxes every deed that conveys real property for consideration of $2,000 or more, unless an exemption applies. The tax has two parts, and both are paid to the town clerk in the town where the property sits when the deed is recorded (§ 12-495). The clerk sends the state share on to the Department of Revenue Services.

For a single-family home, condominium unit or co-op unit (what DRS calls a “residential dwelling”), the state share comes from § 12-494(a)(1) and (b)(2). Below $800,000 it is a flat 0.75% of the consideration. At $800,000 or more it is tiered, and the tiers in force since July 1, 2020 are:

Other residential property, such as a duplex (two-family house) or an apartment building, pays a flat 0.75% state share at any price (Form OP-236, line 17).

The town share is 0.25% of the whole consideration, at every price (§ 12-494(a)(2)). On top of that, a targeted investment community under § 32-222, or a town that has property designated as a manufacturing plant under § 32-75c, may add up to another 0.25% (§ 12-494(c)). Ask the town clerk whether your town has adopted it.

If the property is used for anything other than residential use at the time of the sale, the state share is 1.25% instead, unless it is unimproved land (§ 12-494(b)(1)). For the $800,000 test, a residential estate (the primary dwelling plus any auxiliary housing or structures) counts as one sale, however many deeds are used (§ 12-494(b)(2)).

Three worked examples for a single-family home at the base town rate:

• $400,000 single-family house: $3,000 to the state and $1,000 to the town, $4,000 in total.
• $1,000,000 single-family house: $6,000 on the first $800,000, plus $2,500 on the next $200,000, plus $2,500 to the town, $11,000 in total.
• $3,000,000 single-family house: $6,000, plus $21,250 on the $800,000 to $2,500,000 slice, plus $11,250 on the last $500,000, plus $7,500 to the town, $46,000 in total.

A Connecticut resident who paid the 2.25% rate can recover part of it later through the state income tax property tax credit. Under § 12-704c(d), the credit can be up to one-third of the conveyance tax paid above 1.25% on the part of the price over $800,000, in each of the three taxable years starting with the third taxable year after the sale. In a year the seller claims it, it replaces the ordinary property tax credit.

Section 12-495 puts it on the seller

Section 12-495 makes the tax “payable by the person conveying the property,” which is the seller. The seller, the seller’s attorney or the seller’s authorized agent files Form OP-236 with the town clerk. The clerk will not record the deed until the return is filed and the tax reported as due is paid (§ 12-497). The clerk may not refuse, though, just because the return lacks a Social Security number, or because an exemption is claimed and the amount due is disputed.

Exemptions sellers ask about

Section 12-498(a) lists 22 exempt transfers. The ones that come up in ordinary home sales:

• Deeds between spouses.
• A sale of the seller’s principal residence where the gross price is not enough to pay the mortgages plus any property taxes and municipal utility or other lienable charges that have priority over those mortgages.
• A deed in lieu of foreclosure on the seller’s principal residence.
• The first sale of a principal residence after a licensed professional engineer finds, in writing, that its foundation was made with defective concrete and has deteriorated from pyrrhotite. It does not apply if the seller received repair money from the Crumbling Foundations Assistance Fund.
• A transfer that only changes the form of ownership, with no change in beneficial ownership.

Section 12-498(b) has exemptions that remove only the state share, so the town’s share is still due. Two matter to homeowners. One covers a principal residence sold by an owner approved for property tax relief under § 12-129b or § 12-170aa for the current assessment year, or within 15 months after the end of a year in which the owner qualified. The other covers property in a designated enterprise zone (§ 12-498(b)).

The mortgage deed and the town clerk’s fees

The conveyance tax does not apply to the buyer’s mortgage. Section 12-498(a)(2) exempts “deeds that secure a debt or other obligation.” What the mortgage does cost is recording fees. Section 7-34a sets those fees for every town clerk in the state:

The $10 and $50 fees do not apply to a document recorded by a state or municipal employee as part of official duties.

So a three-page warranty deed with the buyer’s address on it costs $20 in page fees plus the $60 in two surcharges, $80 before any $2 data fee. A mortgage that names a nominee of the lender works differently. That means a nominee acting for a loan registered on a national database that tracks servicing and ownership of mortgage loans. For that mortgage the town clerk collects $116 from the nominee for the first page instead of $10, and $5 for each added page (§ 7-34a(a)(2)(A)).

Title policies: rates the Insurance Commissioner approves

Connecticut title premiums need prior approval. Under § 38a-419, each title insurer files its premium schedules with the Insurance Commissioner. The Commissioner has 30 days to approve a filing, and a filing that is neither approved nor disapproved in that time is deemed approved. The Commissioner can extend the review by another 30 days after notifying the insurer. No insurer or agent may charge a premium outside its approved schedule. Every insurer and agent must also keep a dated schedule of its premiums and charges available to the public in each Connecticut office (§ 38a-420).

If you finance a residential purchase and no owner’s policy has been ordered, § 38a-423 requires the insurer or agent to tell you in writing, before the loan money goes out, that the lender’s policy does not protect you and that you can buy an owner’s policy.

Where Connecticut’s lawyer rule comes from

It comes from a statute and from the courts’ definition of the practice of law. Since October 1, 2019, General Statutes § 51-88a (P.A. 19-88) has opened “Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes” and barred anyone not admitted as a Connecticut attorney from conducting a real estate closing. Its definition reaches a sale for consideration and a mortgage loan closing, except home equity lines of credit and loans with no lender’s title insurance policy. Practice Book § 2-44A(a)(5) includes advising or representing someone in a transaction that transfers an interest in property when that involves preparing, evaluating or interpreting the transaction documents. The rule’s own list of those documents includes deeds, mortgages, notes and releases. Under General Statutes § 51-88, a person not admitted as an attorney may not practice law unless a statute or court rule allows it.

The court rule has exceptions, but they do not lift § 51-88a for the closing itself. You may represent yourself (§ 2-44A(b)(12)). A licensed Connecticut real estate broker or agent may perform the services the broker statutes authorize (§ 2-44A(b)(9)). Activities preempted by federal law are also allowed (§ 2-44A(b)(8)). Title work leads back to lawyers as well. Under § 38a-402(13), a title agent must be a commissioner of the Superior Court in good standing, unless the agent held a title insurance license on or before June 12, 1984. Under § 51-85, every attorney admitted in the state is a commissioner while in good standing.

CHFA money for down payment and closing costs

Both programs below require a CHFA first mortgage from a CHFA-participating lender. The figures come from chfa.org as read on September 24, 2026.

• Time To Own: a forgivable loan of $3,000 to $25,000 at 0% with no monthly payment. It can cover up to 20% down payment and up to 5% closing costs. CHFA forgives 10% of the principal on each anniversary until it is gone at year ten. Borrowers must be Connecticut residents for the most recent three years, must be first-time buyers unless they buy in a targeted area, and may not own other property at closing. CHFA offers it “for a limited time” and posts area income limits. The page shows $18,010,031 available for reservations as of September 21, 2026.
• Down Payment Assistance Program (DAP): a second-mortgage loan of up to $15,000 for down payment and closing costs. The rate is the first-mortgage rate or 5.00%, whichever is lower. The loan equals 4.00% of the lower of the sales price or the appraised value, with a $3,000 minimum, and cannot exceed the minimum down payment your loan requires. You must show you can repay both the first mortgage and the DAP loan, and you must attend a homebuyer education class before closing.

Related pages: closing costs by state, the Connecticut guide, homeowners insurance in Connecticut, mortgage pre-approval, the down payment calculator, the affordability tool, the mortgage calculator and the refinance guide. Neighboring states: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey.

Connecticut closing questions

Does the buyer pay any of Connecticut’s conveyance tax?

Not in an ordinary home sale: § 12-495 makes the tax payable by the person conveying the property, and the seller’s side files Form OP-236. The buyer’s mortgage deed is exempt from the conveyance tax under § 12-498(a)(2).

Our house has a crumbling foundation. Do we owe conveyance tax when we sell?

Not on the first sale of your principal residence after the engineer’s written evaluation, under the pyrrhotite exemption described above (§ 12-498(a)(21)). Taking repair money from the Crumbling Foundations Assistance Fund rules it out.

Can I close in Connecticut without a lawyer?

Not for the closing itself. Under § 51-88a, a real estate closing for a sale or a title-insured mortgage loan may be conducted only by an admitted Connecticut attorney, and the statute has no self-representation exception. Outside the closing, you can represent yourself (§ 2-44A(b)(12)). Anyone else who drafts the deed, mortgage or note for you, or advises you on them, is practicing law under § 2-44A(a)(3) and (a)(5), which § 51-88 limits to admitted attorneys. The rule’s exceptions still apply, such as a licensed broker performing statutory broker services.

Why is every document at the town clerk $60 more than the page fee?

Two statutory surcharges apply to each recorded document, except one a state or municipal employee records on official duty: $10 for historic document preservation (§ 7-34a(d)) and $50 for the community investment account (§ 7-34a(e)). The second rose from $40 on July 1, 2025.