Connecticut sales tax, and who sets it
Tax year 2026
Set by the state
6.35%
Set locally
0%
statewide average
Combined
6.35%
Local share
0%
of what you pay
Work out the tax on a purchase in Connecticut
Add the tax on
6.35% effectiveThe general rate applies here: 6.35%, state and local combined. “Statewide average” is a comparison estimate. Named locations use the stored local rate; city and special-district coverage varies, so an address may differ. Rate source · as of 2026-07-01.
How Connecticut's sales tax is put together
- Every county in Connecticut charges the same rate, about 6.35%. Local governments have no power to add to it. So the number on this page is the number you will actually be charged, wherever in Connecticut you happen to be buying — which sounds ordinary and is not.
- Groceries are not taxed in Connecticut. Fill a cart with unprepared food and the sales tax on it is nothing. That is the common treatment, though not the universal one — a few states charge full rate on food, and a few more charge a reduced rate. The line here falls between groceries and prepared food, and it is narrower than it sounds.
- No apparel break in Connecticut. Clothes carry the same sales tax as anything else, working out at $64 per thousand dollars spent. A few states exempt clothing; most, including this one, do not. Prescriptions are exempt, which is the near-universal rule.
- Local sales tax authority does not exist in Connecticut. The state rate of about 6.35% applies uniformly, and no county or municipal add-on is permitted. That makes this one of the few states where a single figure fully describes the sales tax on an ordinary purchase. Where local authority does exist, the combined rate is a function of the address rather than of the state, and comparisons drawn from state rates alone systematically understate the higher-delegation states.
- Connecticut exempts groceries from sales tax entirely, so unprepared food carries no charge at any rate. This is the majority treatment nationally but far from universal: a small number of states apply the full rate to food and another group applies a reduced one. The consequential detail in an exempting state is the boundary rather than the exemption — where the statute separates exempt groceries from taxable prepared food, and rotisserie chicken, bakery items and heated food are where that line is usually drawn.
- Clothing in Connecticut is taxed at the general combined rate, or $64 per thousand dollars of apparel spending. Only a small minority of states exempt clothing, and where they do the effect on a household's effective rate is larger than most rate-based comparisons imply. Prescription medication is exempt in Connecticut, which is the standard treatment across the sales-taxing states.
Sales tax on this purchase
A $75,000 salary
| Tax added | $6.35 |
|---|---|
| Rate appliedStatewide average | 6.35% |
Uses this location’s stored combined rate and category rule. Clothing is one item; address-level coverage varies.
Rates across this state
A $75,000 salary
| Counties in this state | 8 |
|---|---|
| Different rates among them | 1 |
| Lowest county rate | 6.35% |
| Highest county rate | 6.35% |
Most counties here share a rate with many others. The county line rarely changes what you pay.
County floors only — city, transit and special-district taxes are excluded where applicable.
At the register
A $75,000 salary
| Tax added | $6.35 |
|---|---|
| You hand over | $106.35 |
| Rate here | 6.35% |
Uses this location’s stored combined rate and category rule. Clothing is one item; address-level coverage varies.
How much of that was tax
A $75,000 salary
| Goods before tax | $100.61 |
|---|---|
| Rate applied | 6.35% |
Uses the selected combined rate for ordinary goods. Exempt items or a mixed receipt change the split.
Every county here
A $75,000 salary
| Lowest | 6.35% |
|---|---|
| Highest | 6.35% |
| Gap between them | 0% |
County floors only — city, transit and special-district taxes are excluded where applicable.
What gets taxed, in each
A $75,000 salary
Connecticut
Statewide average
Texas
Harris County (Houston)
- Sales tax
- Fuel
- Tobacco
| Category | Connecticut | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Groceries | Exempt | Exempt |
| Clothing at $100 | 6.35% | 8.25% |
| Fuel | 25¢ | 20¢ |
| Tobacco | $4.35 | $1.41 |
Grocery and general rates use the locations named here. Clothing is one item priced at $100; a more expensive garment may be taxed differently. Fuel and tobacco have separate units and scales.
Tax-free days in Connecticut
A $75,000 salary
| Sales Tax Free Week | 2026-08-16 to 2026-08-22 |
|---|
Dates come from statute, so they move with the legislature rather than with a data refresh.
The split, county by county
The state rate is the same everywhere in Connecticut. Anything beyond it was decided by a county or a city. These counties are a sample chosen to show the range, not a complete list.
| County | State | Local | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide average | 6.35% | 0% | 6.35% |
What it costs on a thousand dollars
The same purchase in four categories, priced on average across Connecticut. A flat thousand dollars is used deliberately — this is Connecticut's own rate restated in money, not a claim about what anyone spends.
| What you're buying | Tax as share of price | Tax on $1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| General goods | 6.35% | $64 |
| Groceries | 0% | $0 |
| Prescription drugs | 0% | $0 |
| Clothing | 6.35% | $64 |
Every county in Connecticut
This is the whole state, not a sample — 8 counties, from 6.35% in Fairfield County up to 6.35% in Windham County. There is no local general-sales-tax add-on in Connecticut, so crossing a county line does not change this rate.
Complete county coverage for Connecticut: 8 counties spanning 6.35% (Fairfield County) to 6.35% (Windham County), across 1 distinct rates. These rows use the same general state rate because Connecticut has no local general-sales-tax add-on.
| County | State portion | County levy | Floor (state + county) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield County | 6.35% | 0% | 6.35% |
| Hartford County | 6.35% | 0% | 6.35% |
| Litchfield County | 6.35% | 0% | 6.35% |
| Middlesex County | 6.35% | 0% | 6.35% |
| New Haven County | 6.35% | 0% | 6.35% |
| New London County | 6.35% | 0% | 6.35% |
| Tolland County | 6.35% | 0% | 6.35% |
| Windham County | 6.35% | 0% | 6.35% |
Streamlined Sales Tax member rate files plus individual state Department of Revenue rate tables — county-level rows only; city, transit and special-district levies excluded — as of 2026-01-01, last verified 2026-08-29.
What this page does not cover
- The first county table and calculator list are samples, but Connecticut has no local general-sales-tax add-on. Ordinary goods use the same about 6.35% rate across the state. A longer county list would not change that rate. What you buy still matters: category exemptions and separate taxes on meals or other purchases can change the bill.
- Connecticut taxes some things through this general rate and other things through taxes of their own. Fuel, alcohol and tobacco fall in the second group, and those charges sit inside the price rather than on the receipt. Vehicle purchases, hotel stays and eating out often add their own charges as well.
- An exemption is a category, not a promise. Connecticut decides for itself where each category stops — hot food is usually outside the grocery exemption, and accessories are often outside the clothing one. That boundary work is where the real difference between two states with the same rate turns up.
- Connecticut permits no local general-sales-tax add-on, so its representative location list does not imply rate variation: ordinary goods use the uniform about 6.35% state rate. Complete county-floor coverage, where shown separately, records that same rate. Category definitions, per-item exemptions and special transaction taxes remain separate questions; a uniform general rate does not establish the tax treatment of every purchase.
- Connecticut's general sales tax is one of several consumption taxes it levies, and the only one modeled on this page. Motor fuel, alcoholic beverages and tobacco are taxed under separate excise schedules, normally price-inclusive and therefore not visible as a line item. Lodging, prepared meals and vehicle transfers are frequently subject to additional dedicated rates at state or local level.
- Exemption treatment in Connecticut is recorded here at category level; the operative detail is where the state's statute terminates each category. Heated and prepared foods generally revert to the full rate despite a grocery exemption, and clothing exemptions are typically bounded by price threshold or by use. These definitional boundaries account for much of the divergence between states that appear equivalent on rate and exemption list alone.
Questions people ask
Does the rate change depending on which town I shop in?
It does not. There is no local layer in Connecticut, so about 6.35% holds statewide and one number is genuinely correct.
Is food taxed the same as everything else?
No — groceries are exempt in Connecticut, which is why a basket of raw ingredients can leave a shop untaxed while a sandwich from the same shop does not. The line is drawn at preparation, not at the food itself.
Is clothing exempt here?
It is not. Clothing takes the standard rate here — only a small group of states exempt it, and Connecticut is outside that group.
Will the rate change if I shop in the next town?
Not by much. Only about 0% of the combined rate is set below state level here, so the figure moves a little across county lines rather than a lot — the state rate is most of what you pay wherever you are.
Why is the combined rate uniform across this state?
Connecticut authorizes no general local sales tax, so the combined rate equals the state rate of about 6.35% in every jurisdiction. This is structural rather than sampled: no loaded county levies an add-on because the statute provides for none.
How are groceries classified for sales tax here?
Connecticut exempts groceries from general sales tax. The exemption typically excludes prepared food, and definitional boundaries — utensils supplied, heating, or a seller's prepared-food share — determine which side a specific item falls on. Those tests vary by state and are not uniform.
How is apparel classified for sales tax in this state?
Connecticut applies the standard rate to apparel with no general exemption. Only a small minority of states exempt clothing, and among those several impose per-item caps or exclude athletic and formal wear, so cross-state assumptions about apparel are unreliable.
How much intra-state variation is there in the combined rate?
Locally determined levies account for about 0% of the representative combined rate, so intra-state dispersion is limited and the statewide figure approximates most locations closely. Rates remain sourced to the point of sale.