Updated July 26, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from Connecticut to New Hampshire in retirement, you stop paying Connecticut income tax on withdrawals and leave a Connecticut death tax behind. Four separate taxes change when you move — state income tax on withdrawals, state estate tax, state inheritance tax, and what probate costs your heirs. Most comparisons only price the first one.
Connecticut vs New Hampshire: every tax that changes
| What changes | Connecticut (leaving) | New Hampshire (arriving) |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax | graduated to 6.99% (6 brackets, 2%-6.99%) | none (Interest & Dividends Tax repealed for taxable periods beginning after 12/31/2024) |
| Social Security | Fully exempt if federal AGI < $75,000 (single/MFS/HOH) / $100,000 (MFJ). Above thresholds, at most 25% of benefits taxable (75% still exempt), limited to the federally taxable amount. | Not taxed. |
| Pension / 401(k) / IRA | Pension/annuity income: 100% deduction below the same $75,000/$100,000 AGI thresholds; | Not taxed. |
| Estate tax | yes – 2026 exemption $15,000,000 (statutorily tied to the federal basic exclusion amount); flat 12% rate on the excess; total tax capped at $15M; CT also levies the only state gift tax (unified with estate) | none |
| Inheritance tax | none | none |
| Probate fee model | reasonable-fee | reasonable-fee |
| Probate filing fee | No flat filing fee model — the value-based estate fee under C.G.S. §45a-107 functions as the court cost (see fee_basis); Connecticut Probate Courts publish an official calculator at ctprobate.gov | Not verified from an official schedule this pass — NH Circuit Court Probate Division fee schedule applies (commonly cited around $150-$300 to open an estate; treat as unverified). |
| Small-estate limit | $40,000 — settlement of small estates without full probate (affidavit in lieu of administration), C.G.S. §45a-273: solely owned personal property only, no solely owned CT real property. | No dollar-based small-estate affidavit. Instead, waiver of full administration under RSA 553:32 (no inventory, bond, or accounting) when e.g. the surviving spouse is sole heir/beneficiary and serves as administrator (statute extends to certain sole-heir situations); completed by affidavit of administration filed 6-12 months after appointment. Verified via gc.nh.gov and courts.nh.gov. |
Every cell is quoted from our statute-cited 51-jurisdiction dataset. Download the full dataset as CSV.
1. What changes on your annual tax bill
Connecticut taxes retirement withdrawals: Pension/annuity income: 100% deduction below the same $75,000/$100,000 AGI thresholds; New Hampshire does not. On a $100,000 annual withdrawal, the Connecticut bill is whatever its graduated to 6.99% (6 brackets, 2%-6.99%) schedule produces; in New Hampshire it is $0. Social Security is treated as follows — Connecticut: Fully exempt if federal AGI < $75,000 (single/MFS/HOH) / $100,000 (MFJ). New Hampshire: Not taxed.
2. What changes at death: state estate tax
This is usually the larger number. Connecticut levies an estate tax — yes – 2026 exemption $15,000,000 (statutorily tied to the federal basic exclusion amount); flat 12% rate on the excess; total tax capped at $15M; CT also levies the only state gift tax (unified with estate) — and New Hampshire levies none (none). Establishing domicile in New Hampshire removes that exposure for assets that are not Connecticut real property.
3. What changes at death: state inheritance tax
Neither state levies an inheritance tax. Connecticut: none New Hampshire: none
4. The one nobody prices: what probate costs your heirs
Connecticut uses a reasonable-fee fee model (Fiduciary and attorney compensation is a ‘reasonable compensation’ standard (case law: Hayward v. Plant factors); no statutory percentage for compensation. BUT Connecticut’s probate COURT fees are statutory and percentage-based on the gross estate (C.G.S. §45a-107) — a distinctive cost driver, e.g., $1,865 + 0.25% of the amount over $500,000; capped at $40,000 (deaths on/after July 1, 2016); ~50% reduction when the spouse is sole beneficiary.); New Hampshire uses a reasonable-fee model (No statutory percentage schedule; executor/administrator and attorney compensation is allowed by the Circuit Court Probate Division as just and reasonable (see RSA ch. 554 et seq. and probate court practice). Exact compensation section not pinned to primary source in this pass.). Filing fees — Connecticut: No flat filing fee model — the value-based estate fee under C.G.S. §45a-107 functions as the court cost (see fee_basis); Connecticut Probate Courts publish an official calculator at ctprobate.gov New Hampshire: Not verified from an official schedule this pass — NH Circuit Court Probate Division fee schedule applies (commonly cited around $150-$300 to open an estate; treat as unverified).
Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.
Does this actually apply to you?
Below $1,000,000 no US state estate tax applies anywhere — Oregon has the lowest threshold in the country and that is where it starts. So for most estates the whole “escape the death tax” framing is irrelevant, and the only thing that changes when you move is your annual income tax. Here is exactly where the line falls for this pair:
| Estate value | Connecticut | New Hampshire |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500,000 | Under $15,000,000 | No estate tax |
| $3,000,000 | Under $15,000,000 | No estate tax |
| $6,000,000 | Under $15,000,000 | No estate tax |
| $10,000,000 | Under $15,000,000 | No estate tax |
Thresholds are the 2026 figures in our verified dataset and apply to the taxable estate. Federal estate tax is separate and far higher. Test your own number with the comparison tool.
Probate cost in each state, specifically
Connecticut uses a “reasonable fee” standard with no schedule, and its small-estate route does not clear a solely owned house. New Hampshire uses a “reasonable fee” standard with no schedule, and its statute does not say whether that route reaches real property. The two states differ on that question, which is exactly the kind of thing a move changes. Full figures with the governing statute, the court filing fee and the small-estate threshold: Connecticut probate cost and New Hampshire probate cost.
Four taxes, two states, one order of operations
Everything above changes together: what Connecticut stops taking on withdrawals, what New Hampshire does not take at death, and what probate costs in each. The order you do things in — when you establish domicile, when you convert, when you retitle property — changes the total, and some of it cannot be undone afterwards. If a move is genuinely on the table, here is what to look for in an advisor who knows both Connecticut and New Hampshire. If you would rather price it yourself first, the two-state comparison tool is free and asks for no email.
Will Connecticut still tax me after I move to New Hampshire?
Not on your retirement withdrawals, once you genuinely change domicile — but that is a harder test than a change of address, and what you leave behind stays in reach.
- Domicile is a test, not a mailing address. A departing state can and does audit residency. Days present, voter registration, driver’s licence, where your doctors and advisers are, and where you keep what you value all count.
- Real property left behind stays taxable. Keeping a home in Connecticut can keep part of the estate within reach of Connecticut rules even after you become a New Hampshire resident.
- A Roth conversion is taxed where you live in the year you convert. Sequencing a conversion after establishing the new domicile is often worth more than the annual saving — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.
If you keep a home in Connecticut, what happens at death?
Changing domicile moves you. It does not move the house. Connecticut levies an estate tax, and it reaches a nonresident decedent’s real property situated there — so a home kept behind after the move stays within Connecticut’s reach even once New Hampshire is your legal home for every other purpose. A nonresident estate is one whose decedent was not domiciled in Connecticut but owned real or tangible personal property in Connecticut. Connecticut taxes transfers of Connecticut-situs real and tangible property.
If tax is due, file CT-706/709 with DRS. If no tax is due but clearance is needed, file CT-706 NT with the Probate Court for the district where the property sits. The practical consequence is the part most summaries skip: a filing can be required for clearance even when no Connecticut tax is due. Authority: Form CT-706/709 and CT-706 NT instructions.
This is the exposure that survives a move, and it is the one worth pricing before the move rather than after. The house also stays within that state’s probate jurisdiction, so the estate faces a separate ancillary proceeding there on top of the probate where you live — the ancillary probate calculator prices that second proceeding. Confirm the current figures with the state revenue department or a licensed professional before acting — thresholds move, and the arithmetic depends on the whole estate, not just the house.
Full state detail
Every figure above is summarized. The complete statute-cited breakdown for each state: Connecticut retirement taxes and New Hampshire retirement taxes. To compare any other pair, start at the retirement tax relocation hub.
Widen the comparison
This page prices one corridor. To see every destination Connecticut retirees consider and every origin state moving to New Hampshire, start there instead. For any pair not covered, the retirement tax comparison tool runs all 51 jurisdictions, and the probate cost calculator works out what settling the estate costs in each.
Talking this through
Relocation timing, Roth conversion sequencing and estate exposure interact, and the order you do them in changes the total. If you want a second opinion, understand what it should cost first — see our advisor cost guide.
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Cite or share this comparison
Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “Connecticut to New Hampshire Retirement Taxes (2026),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/connecticut-to-new-hampshire-retirement-taxes/. Free to cite with attribution. Download the full dataset as CSV, or contact contact@clearmoneyguide.com for custom cuts.
Primary sources
- CGS § 12-701(a)(20)
- CT DRS 2024 CT-1040 instructions
- CGA OLR Report 2024-R-0130
- Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 12-391(g)
- NH DRA Technical Information Release 2025-001 (I&D repeal)
- former RSA 77 (repealed)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-107
- Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-273
- N.H. RSA 553:32
- N.H. RSA ch. 554
Methodology: every figure is quoted from Clear Money Guide’s statute-cited 51-jurisdiction datasets, compiled from state statutes, session laws and revenue-department publications and adversarially verified in July 2026. Nothing here is personalized tax or legal advice. Confirm your own facts with a qualified adviser before you move.