Updated October 7, 2026. Quick answer: Connecticut’s estate tax exemption is $15 million for deaths in 2026, and no 2027 figure is published yet. The statute taxes only the excess over the federal basic exclusion amount, at 12%, so Connecticut’s 2027 exemption will be the federal figure for 2027, which the documents read do not give. The federal exclusion is $15,000,000 for 2026.
Connecticut estate tax exemption: 2026 and 2027 at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Exemption, 2026 deaths | $15 million |
| How it is set | The statute taxes the excess over the federal basic exclusion amount, so the exemption moves with the federal figure |
| 2027 figure | Not published: no 2027 federal figure appears in the documents read |
| Rates | 12% of the excess; no tax up to the exemption |
| Return and deadline | Form CT-706/709, due six months after death |
| Federal basic exclusion amount, 2026 | $15,000,000 |
| Sources | Connecticut Department of Revenue Services; Connecticut General Assembly; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
What changes in 2027
The Department of Revenue Services puts the Connecticut exemption at $15 million for estates of decedents dying during 2026. The statute does not name a Connecticut dollar figure: its tax table says there is no tax up to the federal basic exclusion amount and 12% of the excess above it.
Because the threshold is the federal amount, the 2027 Connecticut exemption will be whatever the federal basic exclusion amount is for 2027. No document read for this page gives that 2027 federal amount, so this page does not state one. Federal background: the federal estate tax exemption for 2027.
How the Connecticut estate tax works
Connecticut taxes only the amount above the exemption, at a single 12% rate, so an estate at or below the exemption owes nothing. The statute also caps the combined Connecticut gift and estate tax at fifteen million dollars, and the Department prints the same $15 million cap. The return, Form CT-706/709, is due six months after the date of death.
Computed example at the 2026 figure: a Connecticut taxable estate of $17,000,000 is $2,000,000 over the $15,000,000 exemption, so the 12% tax is $240,000. This is an illustration, not a figure from the Department.
In the documents’ own words
- Estate and Gift Tax Information (Connecticut Department of Revenue Services): “the Connecticut estate tax exemption amount is $15 million”
- Conn. Gen. Stat. chapter 217, Estate Tax (section 12-391) (Connecticut General Assembly): “12% of the excess over the federal basic exclusion amount”
- Conn. Gen. Stat. chapter 217, Estate Tax (section 12-391) (Connecticut General Assembly): “exceed fifteen million dollars”
- Form CT-706/709 Line Instructions (Rev. 06/26) (Connecticut Department of Revenue Services): “no later than six months after the decedent’s date of death”
Connecticut estate tax rates as the state prints them
Copied from the state’s own document: Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, estate tax table for decedents dying during 2026.
| Connecticut taxable estate | Tax |
|---|---|
| Up to the federal basic exclusion amount ($15,000,000 for 2026) | None |
| Over the federal basic exclusion amount | 12% of the excess over the federal basic exclusion amount |
How this compares with the federal exemption
Federal estate tax is separate. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, section 70106, increased the “basic exclusion amount to $15,000,000 for calendar year 2026”. CMG’s page on the federal exemption for 2027 is the federal estate tax exemption for 2027. The state figure on this page is not the federal one: it is the amount at which Connecticut starts to tax an estate.
What the documents do not say
- The Department’s documents read give no 2027 figure and no date for one.
- Whether Connecticut allows a surviving spouse to carry over an unused exemption is not stated in the documents read, so this page makes no statement about it.
Common mistakes
- Treating the $15 million Connecticut cap on tax as the exemption; the cap limits the combined gift and estate tax payable, while the exemption is the federal basic exclusion amount.
- Assuming the 2026 exemption continues into 2027 without checking the federal amount for that year.
Related: Connecticut estate tax (2026), estate tax by state, the federal estate tax exemption for 2027, Connecticut probate cost, and Connecticut retirement taxes.
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Answer againSources
- Form CT-706/709 Line Instructions (Rev. 06/26): https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/drs/forms/2026/gifttax/ct-706-709-line-instructions_0626.pdf
- Estate and Gift Tax Information: https://portal.ct.gov/drs/individuals/individual-income-tax-portal/estate-and-gift-taxes/tax-information
- Conn. Gen. Stat. chapter 217, Estate Tax (section 12-391): https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_217.htm
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 7, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and an estate attorney, a tax preparer or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.