Clear Money Guide
What this state guide covers
A quick view of the questions, practical details and source notes below.
Comparison tables scroll horizontally on smaller screens.
Updated July 26, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from Connecticut to Tennessee 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 Tennessee: every tax that changes
| What changes | Connecticut (leaving) | Tennessee (arriving) |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax | graduated to 6.99% (7 brackets, 2%-6.99%) | none (Hall tax on interest/dividends fully repealed as of TY2021) |
| Social Security | Fully exempt if federal AGI < $75,000 (single/MFS) / $100,000 (MFJ/HOH). Above thresholds, at most 25% of benefits taxable (75% still exempt), limited to the federally taxable amount. | Not taxed (no state income tax). |
| Pension / 401(k) / IRA | Pension/annuity income: 100% deduction below $75,000 AGI (single/MFS/HOH) or $100,000 (MFJ), phasing out to zero at $100,000 / $150,000. | Not taxed (no state income tax). |
| 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 (the inheritance tax ended for deaths in 2016 or later) |
| 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; Connecticut Probate Courts publish an official calculator at ctprobate.gov | Set per county clerk under Tenn. Code Ann. §8-21-401. Published 2026 schedules list $334.50 in Davidson County, $354.50 in Hickman County and $389.50 in Hamilton and Knox counties; Blount County’s March 2025 schedule lists $300.00. |
| 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. | $50,000 in personal property — petition for limited letters under the Small Estate Probate Act (Tenn. Code Ann. §30-4-102 and §30-4-103), which excludes real property; 45-day wait, which the court may waive for good cause. |
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 $75,000 AGI (single/MFS/HOH) or $100,000 (MFJ), phasing out to zero at $100,000 / $150,000. Tennessee does not. On a $100,000 annual withdrawal, the Connecticut bill is whatever its graduated to 6.99% (7 brackets, 2%-6.99%) schedule produces; in Tennessee it is $0. Social Security is treated as follows — Connecticut: Fully exempt if federal AGI < $75,000 (single/MFS) / $100,000 (MFJ/HOH). Tennessee: Not taxed (no state income tax).
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 Tennessee levies none (none (the inheritance tax ended for deaths in 2016 or later)). Establishing domicile in Tennessee 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 Tennessee: 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 up to $2,000,000, then $5,615 + 0.5% of the amount over $2,000,000; capped at $40,000 once the basis reaches $8,877,000 (deaths on/after July 1, 2016); ~50% reduction when the spouse is sole beneficiary.); Tennessee uses a reasonable-fee model (No statutory percentage; personal representative and attorney compensation is reasonable compensation for services, approved by the probate court (see Tenn. Code Ann. §30-1-407 and related case law). Cite from knowledge, not re-verified 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; Connecticut Probate Courts publish an official calculator at ctprobate.gov Tennessee: Set per county clerk under Tenn. Code Ann. §8-21-401. Published 2026 schedules list $334.50 in Davidson County, $354.50 in Hickman County and $389.50 in Hamilton and Knox counties; Blount County’s March 2025 schedule lists $300.00.
Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.
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. Tennessee uses a “reasonable fee” standard with no schedule, and its small-estate route does not clear a solely owned house. Both states land in the same bucket on that question. Full figures with the governing statute, the court filing fee and the small-estate threshold: Connecticut probate cost and Tennessee probate cost.
Price the move against the rest of your money
A state-to-state comparison shows you which taxes change, not what to do about the accounts, the house and the timing sitting behind them, and an adviser can look at those together before a move is set in motion.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide is paid when you submit the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here. You stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions (age, investable assets, location), then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button. Submitting the form does not guarantee an adviser or a match. This matching form is not tax or legal advice. Submitting the form does not guarantee an adviser or a match. This matching form is not tax or legal advice.
Four taxes, two states, one order of operations
Everything above changes together: what Connecticut stops taking on withdrawals, what Tennessee 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 Tennessee. 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 Tennessee?
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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee retirement taxes. To compare any other pair, start at the retirement tax relocation hub.
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.
Cite or share this comparison
Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “Connecticut to Tennessee Retirement Taxes (2026),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/connecticut-to-tennessee-retirement-taxes/. Free to cite with attribution. Download the full dataset as CSV, or contact contact@clearmoneyguide.com for custom cuts.
Figures verified against the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services 2025 CT-1040 instructions, seniors flyer (DRS-162) and estate and gift tax page, and C.G.S. §§45a-107 and 45a-273 (FindLaw copies), the Tennessee Department of Revenue Hall income tax and inheritance tax pages and a Hawkins County Chancery Court Small Estates Act form (secondary) on September 30, 2026; the 2026 Connecticut rate schedule, the only-state gift tax statement, the Connecticut no-inheritance-tax statement, the Tennessee statute citations (Tenn. Code Ann. §§30-1-407, 30-4-102, 30-4-103 and former 67-2-102), the Tennessee filing-fee range and the Tennessee waiver of the 45-day wait and C.G.S. §12-391 were not re-checked.
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)
- former Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-2-102 (Hall tax, repealed)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-107
- Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-273
- Tenn. Code Ann. §30-1-407
- Tenn. Code Ann. §30-4-102
- Tenn. Code Ann. §30-4-103
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.