Connecticut property tax appeals
Review the sourced process overview below, then get the Connecticut DIY Appeal Kit with an evidence workbook, filing controls, official links, and an editable appeal letter in one PDF. No parcel-specific comps.
How a Connecticut appeal actually works
Every statement below is cited to its primary source and shows the date we verified it. Where we could not confirm something from a primary source, we say so instead of guessing. Dataset last re-verified 2026-08-13.
Missed the main deadline? Connecticut has 4 remedies most homeowners never hear about
County pages rarely surface these. Each one is a distinct legal route with its own clock.
C.G.S. Sec. 12-119 -- Remedy when property wrongfully assessed (INDEPENDENT of the BAA; no board appeal required)
A COMPLETELY SEPARATE statutory cause of action in Superior Court, available IN ADDITION TO the Sec. 12-117a route and NOT requiring any prior appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals. Two and only two grounds: (1) 'a tax has been laid on property NOT TAXABLE in the town or city in whose tax list such property was set,' or (2) 'a tax laid on property was computed on an assessment which, under all the circumstances, was MANIFESTLY EXCESSIVE and could not have been arrived at except by DISREGARDING THE PROVISIONS OF THE STATUTES for determining the valuation of such property.' Who may bring it: the owner, or a lessee whose lease is recorded under Sec. 47-19 and who is bound by the lease to pay real property taxes. TIMING NUANCE: the statute says the application may be made 'PRIOR TO THE PAYMENT of such tax.' Served and returned like a civil summons; pendency does not suspend collection. The court may grant relief 'as to justice and equity appertains,' and the taxpayer is reimbursed for any overpayment if the assessment is reduced. THE LEGAL LINE THAT MATTERS COMMERCIALLY: 'Sec. 12-117a is concerned with OVERVALUATION, while the focus of Sec. 12-119 is whether the assessment is ILLEGAL' -- Sec. 12-119 'requires an allegation that SOMETHING MORE THAN MERE VALUATION is at issue' (Griswold Airport, Inc. v. Madison, 289 Conn. 723, 740 (2008), quoted in Wiele v. Board of Assessment Appeals of Bridgeport, 119 Conn. App. 544, 548 n.2 (2010)). A garden-variety 'my house is worth less than the assessor says' claim does NOT qualify. Typical qualifying claims: property is exempt or outside the town's taxing jurisdiction; misclassification (e.g., illegal removal of an open space or farm classification -- see 289 Conn. 723); assessment reached by flagrant disregard of the valuation statutes; assessment entered after legally defective notice (109 Conn. App. 287, holding a board increase without the Sec. 12-111 notice is 'illegal within the meaning of Sec. 12-119'). This is the ONLY practical route for a homeowner who MISSED the February 20 BAA deadline -- but only if the facts support illegality, not merely overvaluation.
When:
primary source · verified
Direct Superior Court appeal when the BAA declines to hear a high-value commercial appeal
The BAA 'may elect not to conduct an appeal hearing for any COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL, UTILITY OR APARTMENT property with an ASSESSED VALUE GREATER THAN ONE MILLION DOLLARS' (assessed value, i.e., 70% of fair market value -- so the trigger is roughly $1,428,572+ in market value). The board must notify such an appellant of its election not later than MARCH 1 (or not later than APRIL 1 in a Sec. 12-117 extension year). 'An appellant whose appeal will not be heard by the board may appeal DIRECTLY to the Superior Court pursuant to section 12-117a.' The property classes are exhaustive -- ordinary owner-occupied residential property is NOT subject to the discretionary decline regardless of value, and the threshold was raised from $500,000 to $1,000,000 by P.A. 09-196.
When:
primary source · verified
September BAA session -- MOTOR VEHICLE assessment appeals only (separate calendar)
Motor vehicle assessments run on an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT BAA calendar from real estate and personal property. C.G.S. Sec. 12-110(a): 'The board of assessment appeals in each town shall meet at least once in the month of SEPTEMBER, annually, provided any meeting in the month of September shall be for the SOLE PURPOSE of hearing appeals related to the assessment of MOTOR VEHICLES,' with ten days' posted notice in the town clerk's office and newspaper publication; meetings are held on business days (which may be Saturdays) and the last must be not later than the last business day in September. C.G.S. Sec. 12-112 correspondingly bars the board from hearing any appeal 'unless referred to it at one of its meetings during the month of September in the case of an appeal related to motor vehicle assessment or unless written appeal is made on or before February twentieth.' Verified in practice: Stamford's current published BAA notice is 'Board of Assessment Appeals Hearings - Motor Vehicles (For the 2025 Grand List and the 2024 Supplemental List), Thursday, September 10, 2026, 5:30-7:30 pm, 888 Washington Blvd,' first-come first-served with no appointments. Newington's motor vehicle application likewise sets a September hearing. Some towns restrict motor vehicle grounds narrowly (Newington's form: 'THE ONLY GROUNDS FOR APPEALS OF A MOTOR VEHICLE ASSESSMENT IS IF THE ASSESSOR DID NOT BASE THE ASSESSMENT FROM THE VEHICLE'S ORIGINAL MSRP').
When:
primary source · verified
Partial-payment protection during a pending Superior Court appeal
Not an appeal route but a cash-flow remedy worth surfacing to clients: 'The pendency of such application shall not suspend an action by such town or city to collect NOT MORE THAN SEVENTY-FIVE PER CENT of the tax so assessed or NOT MORE THAN NINETY PER CENT of such tax with respect to any real property for which the ASSESSED VALUE IS FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE.' A taxpayer with a live Sec. 12-117a appeal may therefore lawfully withhold 25% (or 10% for higher-value property) of the disputed tax pending judgment. If the court reduces the assessment, the town must reimburse the overpayment with interest and any costs awarded, or grant a tax credit at the applicant's option, and the reduced amount becomes the assessed value on succeeding grand lists until the assessor finds the value has changed. Note: this protection does NOT exist for Sec. 12-119 claims -- 'the pendency of such application shall not suspend action upon the tax against the applicant.'
When:
primary source · verified
What evidence wins in Connecticut
THE APPEAL MATH. Connecticut is a fixed-ratio state. C.G.S. Sec. 12-62a(a) sets a UNIFORM ASSESSMENT DATE of OCTOBER 1 for every municipality, and Sec. 12-62a(b) requires each municipality to 'assess all property for purposes of the local property tax at a uniform rate of SEVENTY PER CENT of present true and actual value, as determined under section 12-63.' C.G.S. Sec. 12-63(a) defines 'present true and actual value' of all non-classified property as 'the FAIR MARKET VALUE thereof and not its value at a forced or auction sale.' The correct test is therefore: (owner's proven fair market value as of the applicable October 1 assessment date) x 0.70 versus the assessor's assessed value. A homeowner should ALWAYS gross the assessment up (assessment / 0.70) before comparing it to sale prices -- comparing an assessment directly to a market value produces a spurious 30% 'overassessment.' PRIMARY WINNING EVIDENCE: COMPARABLE SALES. Because the statutory question is fair market value, the market/comparable-sales approach is the dominant method for residential property; the income capitalization approach and reproduction-cost-less-depreciation are the recognized alternatives (see the Judicial Branch research guide's treatment of the market data, cost and income methods, and cases such as Sakon v. Glastonbury, 111 Conn. App. 242 (2008) weighing competing appraisers' comparables). Courts routinely decide Sec. 12-117a appeals by preferring the appraiser whose comparables are more similar and better adjusted. VALUATION DATE DISCIPLINE: comparables must speak to value as of the October 1 assessment date for the grand list under appeal -- in a non-revaluation year the relevant valuation date remains the last revaluation date carried forward, so post-revaluation market movement is generally NOT a ground of appeal. ASSESSMENT COMPARABLES: assessments of other properties are NOT the statutory test under Sec. 12-117a (the test is the subject's own fair market value), so an appeal built only on 'my neighbor is assessed lower' will usually fail on aggrievement. However, a separate UNIFORMITY / DISPROPORTIONALITY theory does exist and is pleaded in practice: Sec. 12-64(a) requires real estate to be taxed 'at a UNIFORM PERCENTAGE of its present true and actual valuation,' and the Connecticut Judicial Branch's own model property-tax-appeal complaint alleges that the town 'failed to apply uniform percentages to the present true and actual valuation of the properties of the Grand List in violation of Section 12-64' and that the valuation is 'disproportionate and discriminatory in comparison with the fair market value determined by the Assessor for similar properties ... thereby causing the Applicant to bear an unfair share of the municipal tax burden.' Treat uniformity as a SUPPLEMENTAL count, never as a substitute for a market-value showing. FROZEN VALUE BONUS: when the BAA (or a court) increases or decreases the gross assessment of real property, that gross assessment is FIXED until the municipality's next revaluation under Sec. 12-62, subject only to court order, new construction, damage/demolition, or a certificate of correction -- so a single successful appeal carries forward for the remainder of the revaluation cycle (Sec. 12-111(a)(4); Sec. 12-117a(b) for court reductions).
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
The appeal ladder, in Connecticut's own terms
- 1
Board of Assessment Appeals (BAA) of the town or city where the property is situated
Deadline: Written (or e-mail) appeal must be FILED WITH the municipal Board of Assessment Appeals on or before FEBRUARY 20 following the October 1 assessment date. STATUTORY EXTENSION: if the chief executive officer grants the assessor/board an extension under C.G.S. Sec. 12-117, the taxpayer filing deadline moves to MARCH 20 and the board conducts hearings during the month of APRIL (notice of hearing at least 7 calendar days before, but no later than April 1). NOTE ON HEARINGS (non-extension years): the board must notify the appellant of the hearing date/time/place no later than MARCH 1; hearings are held during March and the board must complete its duties by the LAST BUSINESS DAY IN MARCH (C.G.S. Sec. 12-110(b)). There is NO 'March 20 hearing' requirement in the statute -- March 20 is only the EXTENDED FILING deadline. DISCRETIONARY DECLINE: the board 'may elect not to conduct an appeal hearing for any commercial, industrial, utility or apartment property with an assessed value greater than one million dollars'; if it so elects it must notify the appellant by March 1 (or by April 1 in an extension year), and that appellant may appeal DIRECTLY to Superior Court under Sec. 12-117a. DECISION NOTICE: for appeals it does hear, the board must send written notice of its final determination within ONE WEEK after the determination is made, and that notice must describe the owner's right to appeal.
C.G.S. Sec. 12-111(a)(1)-(3), Sec. 12-111(b), Sec. 12-112, Sec. 12-110(b), Sec. 12-117(a) · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Form: No statewide mandated BAA appeal form exists. C.G.S. Sec. 12-111(a)(1) requires the appeal to be 'filed in writing or by electronic mail in a manner prescribed by such board' -- i.e., each municipality prescribes and publishes its own 'Application to the Board of Assessment Appeals.' The Office of Policy and Management's official 'Municipal Official and Taxpayer Forms' page lists NO board-of-assessment-appeals application among its taxpayer forms (D-1, D-2, M-35H, M-35R, M-44, M-5, M-55, M-59a, M-65MV, M-66, M-PPD series only), confirming there is no state form. STATUTORY MINIMUM CONTENT (every municipal form must capture these, per Sec. 12-111(a)(1)): property owner's name; name and position of the signer; description of the property; name, mailing address and e-mail address of the party to receive BAA correspondence; reason for the appeal; appellant's estimate of value; signature of the property owner or duly authorized agent; and date of signature.
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Fee: $0 (no filing fee)
C.G.S. Sec. 12-111, Sec. 12-112, Sec. 12-113 (no fee is authorized or imposed anywhere in the BAA statutes) · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
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Connecticut Superior Court for the judicial district in which the town or city is situated (may be transferred to the Tax and Administrative Appeals Session at New Britain at the request of the presiding or administrative judge)
Deadline: Application in the nature of an appeal must be made NOT LATER THAN TWO MONTHS after the date of the MAILING of the Board of Assessment Appeals' notice of its action. CRITICAL PRACTICE POINT: the Connecticut Supreme Court has held that SERVICE of the appeal -- not merely filing the application in court -- must be completed within the two-month limitation period (324 Conn. 528, 544; see also 158 Conn. App. 565, 576). An appellant whose appeal the BAA elected NOT to hear (commercial/industrial/utility/apartment over $1,000,000 assessed value) may appeal DIRECTLY to Superior Court under Sec. 12-117a without a BAA hearing. SEPARATE 120-DAY APPRAISAL RULE: for any Sec. 12-117a application made on or after July 1, 2022, where the assessed value of the subject real property is $1,000,000 or more AND the application concerns valuation, the applicant must file WITH THE COURT (not the assessor) an appraisal prepared by a Connecticut-licensed appraiser not later than 120 days after making the application; the court may extend for good cause, and may DISMISS the application if the appraisal is not timely filed.
Clock starts: Date of mailing of the Board of Assessment Appeals' written notice of its final determination (which the BAA must send within one week after making its determination, per Sec. 12-111(a)(3)); or, for a declined >$1M commercial/industrial/utility/apartment appeal, the date of the board's Sec. 12-111(a)(2) notice that it will not conduct a hearing.
C.G.S. Sec. 12-117a(a)(1) and (a)(2); Sec. 12-111(a)(2)-(3) · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Form: No mandated appeal form. Judicial Branch webforms used in practice: JD-CV-1 (Summons - Civil), JD-CL-12 (Appearance), JD-CV-21 (Motion for Continuance), JD-CV-41 (Withdrawal). — The Tax and Administrative Appeals Session expressly 'discourages the use of the civil summons form in filing an appeal. It is preferred that a party filing an appeal prepare his or her own citation and bond or recognizance with surety.' Required filing package per the Judicial Branch: (1) $360 filing fee; (2) signed and certified Complaint/Appeal with a return date that is a Tuesday at least 15 days after filing; (3) Citation (Summons); (4) Statement of the amount in demand; (5) Marshal's return of service showing service of a true and attested copy of the complaint/appeal, citation, recognizance and statement of amount in demand on an agent for the defendant municipality. C.G.S. Sec. 12-117a additionally requires the issuing authority to take a bond or recognizance with surety from the applicant. official form
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Fee: $360.00 civil entry fee (plus separate state marshal service-of-process fees, which are not set by the court and vary; plus the statutorily required bond or recognizance with surety) (statutory)
C.G.S. Sec. 52-259(a) ('for each civil cause in the Superior Court, three hundred sixty dollars'); bond/recognizance required by C.G.S. Sec. 12-117a(a)(1). Fee waiver for indigent parties available under C.G.S. Sec. 52-259b. · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Who has to prove what
Preponderance of the evidence, applied through a court-created TWO-STEP structure under Sec. 12-117a: (1) THRESHOLD AGGRIEVEMENT -- 'The burden, in the first instance, is upon the plaintiff to show that he has, in fact, been aggrieved by the action of the board in that his property has been overassessed.... In all cases, the burden remains on the property owner, as a threshold issue, to establish overvaluation' (Konover v. West Hartford, 242 Conn. 727, 734-35 (1997), quoted in Redding Life Care, LLC v. Redding, 308 Conn. 87, 99-100 (2013)). Mere overvaluation suffices; the taxpayer need NOT prove the assessment was unreasonable, discriminatory or substantially excessive. (2) ONLY AFTER aggrievement is proven does the court 'undertake a further inquiry to determine the amount of the reassessment that would be just.' If the court disbelieves the taxpayer's appraiser or valuation method, it may render judgment for the town on that basis alone.
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
When values are set
REVALUATION EVERY 5 YEARS. C.G.S. Sec. 12-62(b)(1)(A): from October 1, 2006 until September 30, 2023, each town had to implement a revaluation not later than the first day of October that follows, BY FIVE YEARS, the October 1 assessment date on which its previous revaluation became effective. C.G.S. Sec. 12-62(b)(1)(B): commencing October 1, 2023, each town implements a revaluation not later than the October 1 that follows, BY FIVE YEARS, an October 1 assessment date set under a REVALUATION DATE SCHEDULE prescribed by the Secretary of OPM for each of five 'revaluation zones' (geographic areas built on the boundaries of the planning regions). Assessments derived from a revaluation are used for the year the revaluation is effective and every year after until the next revaluation becomes effective -- so in non-revaluation years the assessment does NOT track current market movement. FULL INTERIOR INSPECTION EVERY 10 YEARS. Sec. 12-62(b) requires the assessor to 'fully inspect each such parcel once in every ten assessment years,' and 'in no case shall an assessor be required to fully inspect any such parcel more than once during every ten assessment years'; 'full inspection' means measuring/verifying exterior dimensions AND entering and examining the interior (interior entry requires the owner's or an adult occupant's permission). The assessor may also fully inspect any improved parcel at any time to verify property-record data, and may substitute a satisfactory owner questionnaire program for inspection of parcels whose data is verified. ASSESSMENT DATE: October 1, uniform statewide (Sec. 12-62a(a)). REVALUATION POSTPONEMENT: under Sec. 12-117(b), if OPM's Secretary finds the volume of pending BAA appeals precludes fair consideration within the extended period, the Secretary may postpone implementation of the revaluation until the next assessment day, and the prior year's real property assessments are reinstated for that year.
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
How counties differ
CONNECTICUT HAS NO COUNTY GOVERNMENT. Counties were abolished as functional units in 1960; property assessment and appeals are administered exclusively at the MUNICIPAL level by each of the 169 towns/cities. OPM states plainly: 'The Office of Policy and Management has limited authority in the area of property (real, personal, motor vehicle) assessment and taxation. Assessment and taxation are administered on the municipal level and one should check with their local assessor and tax collector.' There is no county board and no state property tax board. The Superior Court route is organized by JUDICIAL DISTRICT (the district where the municipality is located), not by county. WHAT DOES NOT VARY (statewide, statutory): the February 20 filing deadline; the March 20 extended deadline; the October 1 assessment date; the 70% assessment ratio; the March hearing month; the March 1 hearing-notice date; the one-week decision-notice rule; the $1,000,000 discretionary-decline threshold; the two-month Superior Court window; the one-year Sec. 12-119 window; the $360 court fee. WHAT DOES VARY BY MUNICIPALITY: (a) THE FORM ITSELF -- Sec. 12-111(a)(1) requires filing 'in a manner prescribed by such board,' so each town publishes its own application; (b) WHETHER AN EXTENSION WAS GRANTED that year under Sec. 12-117 (this is the single most dangerous variable -- it moves the deadline from February 20 to March 20 and hearings from March to April, and it is decided town-by-town by the chief executive officer, who must notify OPM within two weeks); (c) DELIVERY CHANNELS AND CUT-OFF TIMES -- Stamford requires submission 'no later than 4:30 PM on February 20th' and accepts fax, e-mail, lobby drop-off or mail; New Haven's published procedure required hand-delivered/mailed forms by 5:00 PM on the business day before February 20 with e-mailed applications accepted until 5:00 PM February 20; Bloomfield requires the completed application to be RECEIVED ('not postmarked') by close of business February 20; (d) REVALUATION YEAR -- each town sits on its own five-year cycle under the OPM revaluation-zone schedule; (e) MOTOR VEHICLE GROUNDS -- some towns limit motor vehicle appeals to MSRP-basis errors. VERIFIED MUNICIPAL FORM/PROCEDURE EXAMPLES (fetched 2026-08-12): 1. BLOOMFIELD -- 'Application to the Bloomfield Board of Assessment Appeals, 2025 Grand List.' Live PDF: https://www.bloomfieldct.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6699/Appeal-Application---for-2025GL . Text on the form: 'Pursuant to Section 12-111 C.G.S. as amended by Public Act 95-283, any person appealing the assessment of property must file an application with the Board of Assessment Appeals on or before the close of business on FEBRUARY 20, 2026. Failure to return the completed application by the due date (NOT POSTMARKED) will result in the Board's dismissal of the appeal. Per CGS 12-111, the applicant must answer all questions or the application will be rejected.' Captures owner, agent (agency agreement/POA required), property type (motor vehicle / real estate / personal property), the applicant's opinion of MARKET VALUE, and basis of appeal. No revision date printed. No fee. 2. NEW HAVEN -- Board of Assessment Appeals Review and Appeal Procedure page: https://www.newhavenct.gov/government/boards-commissions/boards-commissions-listed/board-of-assessment-appeals/board-of-assessment-appeals-review-and-appeal-procedure . Form link on that page: https://www.newhavenct.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?blobid=43815 . Filing address: Board of Assessment Appeals, City of New Haven, 165 Church Street, New Haven, CT 06510, or e-mail nhbaa@newhavenct.gov. CAUTION: the dates on the live page are stale (they still recite February 18/20, 2022); confirm the current year's cut-off directly with the New Haven Assessor before relying on it. 3. STAMFORD -- https://www.stamfordct.gov/government/boards-commissions/board-of-assessment-appeals . Spring session forms are posted in the Stamford Government Center lobby and online between February 1 and February 20; submission deadline 4:30 PM February 20 (or March 20 in an extension year); filing address Board of Assessment Appeals, 888 Washington Blvd., 6th Floor, Stamford, CT 06901. The currently posted item is the SEPTEMBER motor vehicle session (Sept. 10, 2026), form at https://www.stamfordct.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/54062/639210884886670000 . 4. NEWINGTON -- https://www.newingtonct.gov/DocumentCenter/View/20664/Spring-2026-Board-of-Assessment-Appeals-Application (motor vehicle application for the Oct. 1, 2025 grand list, September 2026 hearing; prints the Sec. 12-117a two-month Superior Court warning on the form). 5. HARTFORD -- https://www.hartfordct.gov/Government/Boards-and-Commissions/Boards-Commissions/Board-of-Assessment-Appeals . NOT VERIFIED: the City of Hartford server returned 'Access Denied' to every automated request on 2026-08-12, so the Hartford form URL and current-year cut-off could not be confirmed. Do not publish Hartford-specific dates until manually checked in a browser.
Connecticut appeal deadline
Deadlines varyConnecticut deadlines are set locally.
The deadline is almost always printed on the assessment notice your local assessor mails you. Use that date, it is the one that counts.
Are you missing a Connecticut exemption?
Exemptions cut your bill before any appeal even starts, and most homeowners never claim all the ones they qualify for. Answer four questions:
Is your Connecticut home over-assessed?
The whole appeal hinges on one comparison: your assessed value (from your tax notice) versus your home's market value (what it would sell for today). Put both in:
How to find your home's real market value (free) →
- Pull free estimates. Look up your address on Zillow (“Zestimate”) and Redfin (“Redfin Estimate”). Average them, algorithms run high or low, so two beats one.
- Find 3-5 real comparable sales. Same neighborhood, similar size, beds/baths, age, and condition, sold in the last 6-12 months. Recent sales (not listings) are the strongest evidence a board will accept.
- Adjust for differences. Knock value off comps that are bigger or renovated; add for ones that are smaller or dated, so you're comparing like-for-like.
- Compare to your assessment. If your assessed value sits clearly above that adjusted market figure, you have grounds to appeal.
One catch: some states assess at a fraction of market value (an “assessment ratio”). If your notice shows a ratio or an “equalized” value, compare your implied full value to market, not the raw assessed number.
How property tax appeals generally work
Most states follow the same basic path: your local assessor mails an assessment notice with a value and a deadline; you file an appeal (often called a protest, grievance, or petition) before that deadline; you present comparable sales of similar homes; and a local board reviews the evidence and can lower your value.
The exact form, deadline, and board can vary by county. Use the current assessment notice and the official sources linked above to confirm the controlling local requirements. The paid kit organizes that verification, the evidence, the filing steps, and your editable letter in one place.
Want to see the depth we build per state? Take a look at our Texas, Florida, and Georgia guides.