Connecticut · Do-it-yourself · $29

Appeal your Connecticut property taxes yourself.

Everything you need to appeal your Connecticut assessment yourself — starting with the 70% ratio that makes most homeowners wrongly think they are under-assessed, then the hard February 20 deadline, the hearing you must attend, and a ready-to-edit appeal.

Straight talk: we don’t have per-home comparable-sales data for Connecticut — Connecticut property records live with 169 separate town assessors rather than in any statewide roll, and most do not publish the building detail needed to size-adjust a comparable set. So this is a guide and templates, not a comp report, and you pull your own comps— the kit shows you exactly how. That’s the honest reason it’s $29 instead of the $49 done-for-you kit we sell in states we cover.

The Connecticut DIY Appeal Kit

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How a Connecticut appeal works

The short version, free. The kit is the long version with the forms, the filing steps, and the letter.

Connecticut assesses your home at 70% of market value as of October 1, and each of its 169 towns runs its own appeal — there are no counties. Divide your assessment by 0.70 first: that is the market value your town is actually claiming.
File a written application with your town's Board of Assessment Appeals by FEBRUARY 20 (March 20 only if your town's assessor got a grand list extension). It is a hard statutory bar with no good-cause cure.
Then SHOW UP at the March hearing. Section 12-113 bars the board from reducing the assessment of anyone who does not appear — filing the form alone accomplishes nothing.
The board notifies you of the hearing by March 1 and mails a decision within one week of deciding. A reduction stays locked in until your town's next revaluation. If you lose, you have two months from that mailing to appeal to Superior Court — and SERVICE, not just filing, must be completed inside those two months.

What to check on your assessment notice

DIVIDE THE ASSESSMENT BY 0.70. That is the market value your town is claiming. Compare that number, not the assessment, to what your house would actually sell for. This one step is where most Connecticut homeowners wrongly conclude they are under-assessed. (Hartford residents: confirm your ratio with the Assessor first — it is not 70%.)
The assessment date. Value is set as of October 1, and in a revaluation year as of the October 1 the revaluation took effect, which may be several years back. Your comparables must match that date.
Your property record card, audited line by line: square footage, bedroom and bath count, basement finish, garage, acreage, year built, condition and grade. A single wrong number is the easiest appeal to win.
Your filing deadline and delivery method, confirmed with the Assessor — February 20 or March 20, and whether they require physical receipt. Most large cities do not accept a postmark and several impose a 4:30 or 5:00 p.m. cutoff.

Official lookup: CT OPM: the five-year revaluation schedule for every town→

What’s inside

✓The 70% conversion that tells you whether you actually have a case — and why most Connecticut homeowners get it backwards.

✓The hard February 20 deadline, the narrow March 20 extension and what really triggers it, and the one court-recognised exception.

✓The § 12-113 appearance rule: why filing the form and not showing up forfeits the entire appeal.

✓How to get your town's OWN neighbourhood sales compilation and revaluation price schedules for free under § 12-62(c).

✓Your town's revaluation year, and why a February appeal may be contesting a valuation set years ago.

✓The service-versus-filing trap that kills self-represented Superior Court appeals under § 12-117a.

✓Dedicated sections for Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, and Stamford — including Hartford's non-standard residential ratio.

✓A ready-to-edit appeal application meeting every content requirement in § 12-111(a)(1).

How it works

Buy the kit — the PDF lands in your inbox instantly.
Call your Assessor's Office and ask two things: whether the grand list date was extended under § 12-117 (February 20 normally, March 20 with an extension), and whether they accept a postmark. Most large cities do not — the application must be physically received.
Gather the evidence on the checklist and edit the appeal-letter template.
File your town's Board of Assessment Appeals application with your municipal Board of Assessment Appeals, in practice received and date-stamped by the Assessor's Office before your deadline.

Different process where you live?

Connecticut is not one system. These jurisdictions use a different agency, a different form, and an earlier deadline than the rest of the state. The kit covers each one in its own section.

Bridgeport

All real property in the City of Bridgeport. Bridgeport revalued effective October 1, 2025, which makes this a live revaluation appeal cycle and the highest-stakes year for its homeowners.

Deadline: February 20, with the window opening February 1. The form states in capitals that completed forms must be on file with the Assessor no later than February 20 and that POSTMARK DATE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Filed with: The City of Bridgeport Board of Assessment Appeals, 45 Lyon Terrace, Room 105.
Form: Property Assessment Appeal Application, grand-list-year specific.

New Haven

All real property in the City of New Haven. Note the trap: New Haven's last revaluation was effective October 1, 2021 and the next is October 1, 2026, so a February 2026 appeal contests the 2021 valuation even while 2026 revaluation mailers are arriving.

Deadline: February 20 at 5:00 p.m. Postmark date will not be accepted. If the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, the city applies the previous business day.
Filed with: The City of New Haven Board of Assessment Appeals, 165 Church Street.
Form: Property Assessment Appeal Application, grand-list-year specific.

Hartford

All real property in the City of Hartford. IMPORTANT: Hartford assesses residential property at a lower ratio than the statewide 70% under separate authority, so the standard divide-by-0.70 arithmetic does not apply here without checking.

Deadline: On or before February 20, with hearings throughout March. Hartford's next revaluation is effective October 1, 2026, then 2031.
Filed with: The Hartford Board of Assessment Appeals, c/o the Assessor's Office, 550 Main Street, Room 108.
Form: Application to Appeal (posted in PDF and spreadsheet versions).

Stamford

All real property in the City of Stamford. Stamford's last revaluation was effective October 1, 2022 and the next is 2027.

Deadline: February 20 at 4:30 p.m., or March 20 if the grand list date is extended.
Filed with: The City of Stamford Board of Assessment Appeals, 888 Washington Blvd., 6th Floor.
Form: Appeal Application Form for the current Grand List, with separate real-estate and motor-vehicle versions.

Deadline: Under § 12-111(a)(1) an appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals shall be filed in writing or by electronic mail, in a manner prescribed by the board, ON OR BEFORE FEBRUARY 20. Section 12-112 reinforces it: no appeal may be heard unless written appeal is made on or before February 20 (the September session is for motor vehicles only). There is no late-filing provision, no good-cause exception, and no hardship waiver — the one narrow exception is that a filing received after February 20 is timely where the deadline fell on a day the municipal office was closed. The March 20 variant is narrower than most people think. Section 12-111(b) extends the taxpayer's date to March 20, with hearings in April, only where an extension was granted TO THE ASSESSOR under § 12-117 by the town's chief executive officer. It is not something you apply for, and a § 12-117 extension granted only to the BAA — which is mandatory in a revaluation year — does NOT move your filing date. To confirm which applies, ask the Assessor's Office directly. Two reliable tells: the grand list is normally signed and published by January 31, and hearings scheduled for April rather than March indicate an extension year. After the board decides, § 12-117a(a)(1) gives you two months from the DATE OF MAILING of its notice to apply to the Superior Court.

What Connecticut charges to file

These are your county or state’s fees, not ours. Listed so there are no surprises.

Board of Assessment Appeals — FREE. No statute authorizes a municipal filing fee, and the major cities' forms show none.
The informal revaluation-company hearing — free.
Superior Court appeal under § 12-117a or § 12-119 — a $360 civil entry fee under CGS § 52-259 per the Judicial Branch's published schedule. Verify against the current fee page at the time of filing, since court fees are periodically amended.
Additional court costs that vary: state marshal service of process, the bond or recognizance required by § 12-117a(a)(1), and any appraisal you commission.
A licensed appraisal is MANDATORY within 120 days where assessed value is $1,000,000 or more (§ 12-117a(a)(2)). Not typical for residential, but relevant for high-value homes.
A fee waiver application (Judicial Branch form JD-CV-120) exists for indigent litigants.

Questions

Why is this $29 and not $49?

The $49 kit includes a comparable-sales analysis pulled from county records. We don't have that data for Connecticut yet, so this kit is the guide, the deadline rules, the exact form, an evidence checklist, and an appeal-letter template — you gather the comps yourself, and we show you how. Honest work, honest price.

When is the Connecticut property tax appeal deadline?

Under § 12-111(a)(1) an appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals shall be filed in writing or by electronic mail, in a manner prescribed by the board, ON OR BEFORE FEBRUARY 20. Section 12-112 reinforces it: no appeal may be heard unless written appeal is made on or before February 20 (the September session is for motor vehicles only). There is no late-filing provision, no good-cause exception, and no hardship waiver — the one narrow exception is that a filing received after February 20 is timely where the deadline fell on a day the municipal office was closed. The March 20 variant is narrower than most people think. Section 12-111(b) extends the taxpayer's date to March 20, with hearings in April, only where an extension was granted TO THE ASSESSOR under § 12-117 by the town's chief executive officer. It is not something you apply for, and a § 12-117 extension granted only to the BAA — which is mandatory in a revaluation year — does NOT move your filing date. To confirm which applies, ask the Assessor's Office directly. Two reliable tells: the grand list is normally signed and published by January 31, and hearings scheduled for April rather than March indicate an extension year. After the board decides, § 12-117a(a)(1) gives you two months from the DATE OF MAILING of its notice to apply to the Superior Court.

What form do I file to appeal my Connecticut property assessment?

your town's Board of Assessment Appeals application (Property Assessment Appeal Application), filed with your municipal Board of Assessment Appeals, in practice received and date-stamped by the Assessor's Office. The kit walks you through completing it line by line and includes a ready-to-edit appeal letter to attach.

Do you file the appeal for me?

No — this is a do-it-yourself kit. You file your town's Board of Assessment Appeals application yourself with your municipal Board of Assessment Appeals, in practice received and date-stamped by the Assessor's Office. The kit makes that straightforward with step-by-step instructions and a ready-to-edit letter.

What if it doesn't help?

30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. If the kit isn't useful, reply to your delivery email and we'll refund you.

Is this legal or tax advice?

No. It's general information to help you file your own appeal. Always rely on the date and instructions printed on your own assessment notice and confirm current requirements with your county.

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