Connecticut Car Sales Tax Calculator

How much is car sales tax in Connecticut?

Connecticut has no local sales tax on vehicles. Every buyer pays the statewide 6.35% rate, except on more expensive cars: when the price plus taxable extras is over $50,000, the whole purchase is taxed at a 7.75% luxury rate.

The luxury test uses the price before your trade-in. If the car plus taxable extras costs more than $50,000, the 7.75% rate applies, even if your trade-in brings the taxable amount below $50,000.

For a dealer sale, the trade-in comes off the taxable amount. A private sale gets no trade-in credit, and the tax is charged on the higher of the bill of sale or the vehicle's NADA average trade-in value.

Registration adds several fixed charges: $120 registration, $25 title, $5 plate, $10 administrative fee, $15 Clean Air Act fee and the $24 Passport to the Parks fee. New vehicles add a $15 greenhouse gas fee ($7.50 if the vehicle already has a title), and cars four model years old or newer pay a $40 emissions exemption fee. Your town bills property tax separately.

1. Dealer: taxable = price + taxable extras - trade-in
2. Private: taxable = greater of NADA average trade-in or bill of sale price
3. Tax = taxable x 6.35% (7.75% luxury rate if over threshold)
4. Total = tax + title + registration + plate + admin + clean air + parks fee + new-vehicle fees + emissions + lien + property tax + doc fee

Connecticut car tax example with real numbers

A purchase that crosses the luxury threshold

You buy a new SUV for $54,000 from a Connecticut dealer and trade in your old car for $10,000.

1. The price before trade-in is $54,000, which is over $50,000, so the 7.75% rate applies.
2. Taxable amount: $54,000 − $10,000 = $44,000.
3. Tax: $44,000 × 7.75% = $3,410.
4. Registration, title and the other state fees come to $254, for an estimated $3,664.

Computed with the calculator on this page using the figures in our data. Local add-ons not mentioned in the example are left out.

Exceptions that change your Connecticut tax bill