Connecticut imposes a state "Real Estate Conveyance Tax" (its version of a transfer tax) plus an additional municipal (town-level) conveyance tax — it is NOT a state without transfer tax. State rate is tiered based on sale price, applied at the state level uniformly (i.e., not a local option), stacked with a near-universal municipal add-on. Residential property: 0.75% on the portion of the sale price up to $800,000; 1.25% on the portion from $800,000 up to $2,500,000; 2.25% on the portion above $2,500,000 (this top tier, effective July 2020, is commonly called Connecticut's "mansion tax"; sellers paying it may claim an offsetting CT income tax credit in some years per legislative changes). Non-residential (commercial) property is generally taxed at 1.25% of the full sale price (with some limited exceptions/rates for certain property types). On top of the state tax, towns may impose a municipal conveyance tax of 0.25% of sale price — this is technically optional but virtually all 169 CT municipalities levy it. Some "targeted investment communities" (e.g., Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, Waterbury) have special legislative authority to charge up to 0.50% municipally instead of 0.25%. First-time homebuyers purchasing at $300,000 or less can qualify for a reduced state rate of 0.50% (instead of 0.75%) on that tier; the municipal portion is unaffected. By statute (Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-494), the tax is legally imposed on the grantor/seller, payable upon recording the deed — though contracts (especially new construction or bank-owned/REO sales) can shift the cost to the buyer by agreement.
Multiple current CT-focused closing-cost sources converge on: buyer closing costs typically ~2%-5% of purchase price (excluding down payment); seller closing costs typically ~6%-10% of sale price, but that seller figure is dominated by real estate agent commissions (commonly cited around 5%-6% combined for both agents) — non-commission seller closing costs (conveyance tax, title work, attorney fees, recording fees) are more modest on top of that. Total combined transaction closing costs (buyer + seller, excluding commission) commonly fall in the rough range of 2%-6% of sale price depending on price tier (higher-value sales pushed further up by the 1.25%/2.25% conveyance tax tiers).
Who typically pays: Convention in Connecticut: the SELLER customarily pays the real estate conveyance tax (state + municipal), title search/settlement-related costs, and the real estate commissions for both listing and buyer's agents. The BUYER customarily pays their own mortgage/loan-related fees (origination, appraisal, credit/underwriting fees), lender's title insurance, inspection costs, and prepaid items (property tax/insurance escrows). Attorney involvement is standard in CT residential closings (it is an attorney-closing state), and each side typically pays its own attorney. All of this is negotiable in the purchase contract — e.g., new-construction builders and REO/bank sellers frequently require the buyer to pay the conveyance tax as a contract condition — but the seller-pays-transfer-tax norm described above is the default/typical local convention.
Key nuance many summaries miss: Connecticut's conveyance tax is a genuine three-tier bracket for residential property (0.75% / 1.25% / 2.25%), not a flat rate — the top 2.25% "mansion tax" bracket only applies to the portion of price above $2.5 million and took effect in July 2020. Non-residential property is generally a flat 1.25%. The municipal 0.25% (or up to 0.50% in six "targeted investment communities": Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, Waterbury) is layered on top of the state tax and applies virtually everywhere, so total combined conveyance tax on an average CT home sale is effectively ~1.0% (0.75% state + 0.25% municipal) up to $800k, rising for higher-value homes. A first-time-homebuyer reduced state rate of 0.50% exists for homes priced at $300,000 or less. Sources were cross-checked across multiple independent CT real estate/legal sites and generally agreed; the official portal.ct.gov DRS page confirms filing/seller obligation but did not itself list numeric rates in the fetched excerpt, so rate figures rely on corroborating secondary sources (law firm and real estate industry sites) that were mutually consistent.
Facts on this page reflect research current as of 2026-07-05. Programs, rates, and laws change — confirm current figures with the relevant state agency before relying on them.