Need to Know Tax Income Tax 2026 · Federal & Connecticut

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Connecticut · 2027 and beyond

Connecticut in 2027 and beyond: what is already law, and what is still open

No tax measure on the ballot. The 2026 return finishes the IRA phase-in; National Guard pay becomes exempt in 2027. What is on the 2026 return, what starts with tax year 2027, and what is scheduled or conditional after that.

Charles Trautman, EA

By Charles Trautman, EA, editor

Need to Know Tax  ·  written from Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) sources and the unofficial November 3 election returns, November 12, 2026  ·  not yet reviewed by a Connecticut practitioner

No tax measure on the ballot. The 2026 return finishes the IRA phase-in; National Guard pay becomes exempt in 2027. This page keeps apart three things that get mixed together in the news: what is on the 2026 return you file in early 2027, what begins with tax year 2027, and what is scheduled, conditional or still undecided after that. Election figures are the unofficial November 3, 2026 returns and are not final until the state certifies them.

What the voters decided on November 3, 2026

No statewide tax measure was on the November 3, 2026 ballot in Connecticut. Nothing voted on that day changes a Connecticut return.

This return, next year, and later

Connecticut: what applies when
WhenWhat applies
The 2026 return, filed in early 2027The last step of the IRA subtraction phase-in applies.
None of the federal deductions for tips, overtime, seniors or car-loan interest reaches Form CT-1040.
Mandatory withholding on lump-sum retirement distributions stays suspended.
The estate and gift tax line is $15,000,000, tracking the federal amount.
Starting with tax year 2027National Guard active-service pay is exempt beginning with tax year 2027 (Public Act 26-130).
The lump-sum withholding suspension runs through December 31, 2027.
Towns may adopt a $50,000 exemption on a primary home beginning with the October 2027 grand list.
The estate and gift figure follows the indexed federal amount.
2028 and later, or conditionalThe 2027 session decides what happens to the child tax credit proposal, the tips and overtime exemption and the property tax credit.

Items under 2027 and later do not change the 2026 return. They matter for 2027 withholding, estimated payments and planning. The detail behind each line is in the other Connecticut articles.

The 2025 federal law and the Connecticut return

Connecticut uses the Internal Revenue Code for one purpose: defining federal adjusted gross income, line 1 of Form CT-1040. The new federal deductions come off after that line, so they have no effect here. The corporation tax was decoupled from the new production-property write-off.

That is the reason a change on the federal return, such as the deductions for tips, overtime and people 65 and older, may or may not show up on the Connecticut return. The federal side is in The new deductions for tips, overtime and seniors.

What to watch

The 2027 session and the budget due in June 2027. When something on this page changes, the change is logged on the updates page with its date.

What to bring

  • Your 2026 federal and Connecticut returns, once filed, to set 2027 withholding and estimated payments against them
  • Your last pay stub of 2026 and the first of 2027, to see whether withholding changed
  • Any notice from the state about a 2027 rate, credit or filing change

Questions people ask

Does anything here change the Connecticut return I file in early 2027?

Only what is listed under the 2026 return. Everything listed under 2027 or later affects withholding, estimated payments and planning, not the return for 2026.

How will I know if this page changes?

Every change is logged on the updates page with its date and the article it affects. State legislatures meet in early 2027 and some act before the filing deadline.

Connecticut, after the election

No tax measure on the ballot. The 2026 return finishes the IRA phase-in; National Guard pay becomes exempt in 2027.

Written by Charles Trautman, EA, editor  ·  Need to Know Tax, Lone Tree, Colorado

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Sources and where to check

Written November 12, 2026 · after the November 3 election · awaiting review by a Connecticut practitioner