Connecticut has one statewide sales tax with no city or county add-ons, but it has more than one rate. A pair of shoes, a restaurant meal, a new car and a hotel night can all be taxed differently.
This guide sets out the rates from the Department of Revenue Services (DRS) and the legislature's Office of Legislative Research, what is exempt, how the dollar thresholds behave, and the 2026 changes for school supplies and the August Sales Tax-Free Week. Sources were read in November 2026.
The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) states that the 6.35% rate applies to the retail sale, lease or rental of most goods, including digital goods, and taxable services. The Office of Legislative Research (OLR) says the 6.35% rate has been in effect since 2011.
DRS also states: "There are no additional sales taxes imposed by local jurisdictions in Connecticut." Every Connecticut address therefore uses the same rates, so there is no city or county lookup for the general sales tax. OLR adds that Connecticut law does not allow municipalities to impose a broad-based local sales tax, though it notes a separate 3% municipal sales tax on cannabis sales, charged in addition to the state taxes.
DRS lists other rates that apply to specific sales. Where a rate has a threshold, DRS describes it by sales price.
| Rate | What it applies to |
|---|---|
| 6.35% | Most goods, digital goods and taxable services (DRS) |
| 7.35% | Sales of meals and certain beverages (DRS) |
| 7.75% | Most motor vehicles with a sales price of more than $50,000; jewelry (real or imitation) over $5,000; clothing, footwear, handbags, luggage, umbrellas, wallets and watches over $1,000 (DRS) |
| 9.35% | Rental or leasing of a passenger motor vehicle for 30 consecutive calendar days or less (DRS) |
| 4.5% | Motor vehicle sold to a nonresident member of the US armed forces stationed on full-time active duty in Connecticut (DRS) |
| 2.99% | Vessels, motors for vessels and trailers used to transport a vessel (DRS) |
| 1% | Computer and data processing services (OLR) |
| 15% / 11% | Room occupancy tax: 15% for hotels and lodging houses, 11% for bed and breakfast establishments (OLR) |
Meals moved from 6.35% to 7.35% on October 1, 2019, according to DRS Announcement 2019(10). Short hotel stays are charged the room occupancy tax shown above, not the 7.35% meals rate. OLR notes that the 7.75% rate for motor vehicles has "certain exceptions"; DRS points to Special Notice 2011(10) for vehicle dealers, so check it before assuming a particular vehicle falls in the 7.75% band.
OLR's history says the original luxury tax applied to the full sales price of an item above the threshold, not only to the part above it, and that the 2015 change raised the rate to 7.75%. We read no source saying the full-price method changed, so the examples below apply the rate to the whole price. This is our arithmetic, not an official DRS calculation, and it ignores vehicle exceptions, trade-ins and any other adjustments.
| Purchase | Price | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clothing item at exactly $1,000 | $1,000 | 6.35% | $63.50 |
| Clothing item at $1,001 | $1,001 | 7.75% | $77.58 |
| Car at exactly $50,000 | $50,000 | 6.35% | $3,175.00 |
| Car at $60,000 | $60,000 | 7.75% | $4,650.00 |
| Restaurant meal at $100 | $100 | 7.35% | $7.35 |
| Hotel room at $200 (room occupancy tax) | $200 | 15% | $30.00 |
The threshold effect: a $1,001 clothing item owes $77.58 while a $1,000 item owes $63.50, a difference of $14.08 for one extra dollar of price. DRS describes the rate as applying to a sales price of more than $1,000, so an item at exactly $1,000 stays at 6.35%.
OLR's list of major exemptions includes:
Groceries are therefore exempt, but a restaurant meal is taxed at 7.35%. The OLR list shows the largest exemptions, not every exemption; DRS publishes a Statutory Exemptions page.
Two sales tax reductions took effect this year, according to the Governor's office and DRS:
We found no 2026 change to the 6.35% general rate, the 7.35% meals rate or the dollar thresholds for the 7.75% rate in the sources above. Bills proposing a higher vehicle threshold were introduced in 2026, but OLR's summary of 2026 acts affecting taxes lists no change to it, so this page keeps the $50,000 figure that DRS currently publishes.
If a retailer does not collect Connecticut tax on a taxable purchase, the buyer owes the equivalent use tax directly to DRS. OLR says that if the tax correctly paid to another state is less than Connecticut's use tax, you pay the difference, and if it is equal or more you owe no Connecticut use tax; but there is no credit for tax paid to another state when that state's rate is higher than Connecticut's or the tax was incorrectly paid. Individuals generally pay use tax with their income tax payments or, for a vehicle bought in another state, when they register the car in Connecticut. They may also report it on Form OP-186.
Sellers must register with DRS before selling goods, selling a taxable service or operating a hotel, motel, lodging house or bed and breakfast. DRS states a $100 fee for registering to collect sales and use tax. The Sales and Use Tax Return (Form OS-114) is filed and paid electronically through myconneCT, and is due on or before the last day of the month following the end of the filing period.
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