Behind on Property Taxes in Connecticut: Your Options

Most of the people I talk with who are behind on property taxes have been avoiding the mail. That's normal. Nobody wants to open the envelope.

Unfortunately, the bills don't stop and neither does the interest. So here's how it works in Connecticut and what you can do about it, as plain as I can make it.

The short answer

In Connecticut, an unpaid property tax charges interest at 18% a year from the day it was due while the town holds it. It becomes a lien on your house. If it stays unpaid, the town can collect by selling the property at a tax sale, foreclosing the lien in court or selling the lien to a private investor.

None of that happens overnight. The law requires notices along the way, and each one is a chance to fix it.

Your options, roughly in the order I'd look at them:

1. Pay it off, or pay down as much as you can.
2. Ask your tax collector about a payment arrangement.
3. Check the state and local tax relief programs for seniors, disabled homeowners and veterans.
4. Apply for state help paying overdue taxes through CHFA's EMAP program.
5. Refinance or take a home-equity loan.
6. Sell with a real estate agent.
7. Sell the house as-is to a local buyer like Clark St Homes.

This page isn't tax or legal advice. Every town runs its collections a little differently. Before you decide anything, talk to your town tax collector, a CPA or an attorney.

How property tax collection works in Connecticut

The interest: 18% a year, starting from the due date

A tax installment becomes delinquent if it isn't paid by the first day of the next month. Once that happens, interest is charged at 18% a year, or 1.5% a month, all the way back to the original due date. Any part of a month counts as a full month. There's a $2 minimum per installment, which a town can vote to drop. (CGS 12-146)

Here's what that looks like. If a $3,000 installment due July 1 is paid in late August, you owe two months of interest, which is $90. Paid a year late, you owe $540.

Two more rules matter here:

• Partial payments go to interest first. The collector has to apply each partial payment to the interest before the tax itself. (CGS 12-146)
• The interest generally can't be waived. The statute's only waiver is for taxpayers compensated as crime victims. Middletown's tax office says on its website that interest "may not be waived by the tax staff, the tax collector or any other municipal official." (CGS 12-146, City of Middletown)

The lien: the debt attaches to the house

Unpaid real estate tax is a lien on the property. It takes priority over transfers and mortgages. (CGS 12-172)

The tax collector can record that lien in the town land records. The collector has to file it within two years of the due date and has to mail you notice at least 15 days before filing. A recorded lien stays valid for up to 15 years from the due date, unless a foreclosure is started in that time. (CGS 12-175)

How a town collects

After a tax goes unpaid, the collector has to make a demand for it, in person, at your home or by mail. (CGS 12-155) After that, a town has three main ways to collect on a house.

A tax sale. The collector auctions the property to pay the taxes. You get notice by certified mail, and the sale is posted, recorded and published in the newspaper 9 to 12 weeks ahead. (CGS 12-157)

Foreclosing the lien. The town sues to foreclose its tax lien in court. (CGS 12-181)

Selling the lien. By a vote of its legislative body, a town can sell its tax liens to a private company. That company then holds the same rights the town had, including interest and foreclosure. (CGS 12-195h) If the town sold the lien on or after July 1, 2026, interest from the sale date runs at 12% a year. Liens sold before that stay at 18%. (Public Act 25-168, Sec. 231)

The timeline, as the law sets it

Each town sets its own pace inside those rules. Your tax collector can tell you exactly where your account stands.

If you just fell behind

One or two missed installments is the easiest place to fix this. The interest is real but it's still small.

Check whether your taxes are escrowed. If your mortgage company pays your taxes from an escrow account, the bank is the one who pays the town. (Middletown) If your taxes are escrowed and still show as unpaid, call your mortgage servicer first. If you're behind on the mortgage too, start with our Connecticut Foreclosure Guide.

Call the tax collector. Ask for your exact balance with interest. Ask whether they'll put a payment arrangement in writing. Every town handles that differently, so ask the question plainly.

Pay what you can, as early as you can. Every month that goes by adds another 1.5%.

If you're multiple years behind

At this point there's probably a lien recorded on the house. That puts the debt on the public land records and the interest has been running on every unpaid installment.

Get the full number. Ask the collector for a written balance for every year, with interest through a specific date.

Find out who holds the lien. If the town sold it, you'll be working with a private company instead of town hall (see the next section).

Do the math. Add up what you owe, what the house needs and what you can pay each month. If the numbers don't work, that's when refinancing or selling belong on the table.

If you got a tax sale notice or a lien assignment notice

Read the notice carefully. It tells you who to call and what the deadline is.

A tax sale notice. The notice lists the amount due, the date and the place of sale. The collector can postpone a sale. Ask the collector what it takes to stop it and get the number in writing. (CGS 12-157)

If the house is sold, you have a redemption period: up to 6 months after the sale, or 60 days if the property was abandoned. To redeem, you pay the taxes, interest and charges owed at the time of the sale, plus 18% a year on what the buyer paid. If nobody redeems in time, the buyer's deed gets recorded and the owner loses title. (CGS 12-157)

If the sale brings in more than what's owed, the town holds the extra in escrow. After the redemption period, the town pays the leftover to the clerk of the Superior Court for that judicial district and has to notify you. (CGS 12-157) Talk to an attorney about claiming it.

A lien assignment notice. If your town sold your lien, the company that bought it has to notify you within 60 days. The notice must show the property, the company's name and address and the amount of taxes, interest and fees it bought. (CGS 12-195h) If the town sold it on or after July 1, 2026, interest from the sale date runs at 12% a year instead of 18%. (Public Act 25-168, Sec. 231)

A few things Connecticut law requires of that company:

• It's treated as a consumer collection agency. It can't charge you the post-charge-off collection fees covered by that law.
• It has to give you a payoff statement, the same way a mortgage lender does. Ask for one in writing.
• For liens assigned on or after July 1, 2022, it can't start a foreclosure until one year after it bought the lien.

(CGS 12-195h)

Court papers. If you're served with a foreclosure on a tax lien, talk to an attorney before the date on the papers.

If you inherited a house with back taxes

This one comes at the worst time, when you are grieving, and usually with paperwork you've never seen before.

The taxes stay with the house. The lien takes priority over transfers, so it doesn't go away when the owner passes. (CGS 12-172) Interest keeps running while the estate is open.

Notices may go to the estate. If the tax collector knows the owner has died, tax sale notices go to the estate or the executor. (CGS 12-157) Make sure the collector has the executor's current address.

Ask the probate attorney about paying the taxes from the estate. That's a question for the attorney handling the estate, not something to guess at.

I've seen how tangled this gets. On a family property in Higganum, there were nine heirs spread across the country, a court backlog and back taxes. We paid the back taxes. It took 42 months from the signed contract to the closing, and we stayed with it the whole way.

More on the estate side: the Connecticut probate process and selling an inherited house in CT.

Every option (Recap)

1. Pay it in full

The cleanest fix if you can do it. It stops the interest. Once a recorded lien is paid, the collector can release it by recording a certificate in the land records. (CGS 12-175)

2. Ask the tax collector for a payment arrangement

Call or visit the tax office. Ask what they'll accept and get it in writing. Remember that partial payments go to interest first, so a small monthly payment may barely touch the tax itself. (CGS 12-146)

3. Check the tax relief programs

These lower your tax bill. Ask your assessor whether they help with what you already owe.

• Seniors and disabled homeowners (the state "circuit breaker"). For homeowners 65 or older, or totally disabled, who live in the home and meet the income limits. The credit is up to $1,250 for married couples and $1,000 for single people. Apply at your town assessor's office between February 1 and May 15. (OPM, CGS 12-170aa)
• Local programs. Connecticut lets each town add its own relief for homeowners 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled. Ask your assessor what your town offers. (CGS 12-129n)
• Veterans. There's a basic $1,000 exemption for honorably discharged veterans who served at least 90 days during wartime, or their survivors. There's an additional exemption for veterans and disabled veterans who meet income limits. Your DD-214 has to be filed in your town's land records before October 1, and the income-based application is filed every two years between February 1 and October 1. (OPM)

4. Ask CHFA about EMAP

Connecticut's Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program may help eligible homeowners who've fallen behind on non-escrowed property taxes because of a financial hardship beyond their control. It's assistance you pay back. Repayment is deferred until you transfer the title, stop living in the house or take out new cash-out financing. The EMAP line is (860) 571-3500. (CHFA, CGS 8-265cc, CGS 8-265hh)

5. Refinance or take a home-equity loan

If you have equity and income to qualify, a new loan can pay the taxes off in one shot. Then you're paying a mortgage rate instead of 18%. Call your bank or a local lender and ask.

6. Sell with a real estate agent

If the house is in decent shape and you have a few months, listing with a good local agent usually gets you the highest price. The back taxes get paid at closing out of the sale, the same as any other lien.

7. Sell as-is to a local buyer

If the house needs work and the taxes have piled up, a direct sale may be the simplest way out. That's what we do at Clark St Homes and it's one option on this list.

If we're a good fit, here's how it works. I come see the house and you get a written cash offer within 24 hours of our visit, usually the same day. We close in 2 to 4 weeks. You don't make repairs, clean out the house, hold showings or pay commissions. The back taxes are paid at closing out of the sale proceeds. You don't pay them out of pocket first.

The trade-off is price. A cash buyer pays less than a fixed-up, move-in ready house would sell for on the market. I'll show you the math so you can compare. More on how it works and why a cash offer is lower than Zillow.

I've been helping homeowners in Connecticut since 2011, mostly in Hartford County, Middlesex County, Guilford and Madison. If you want to talk your situation through, I'm happy to help you and you leave knowing where you stand.

Local pages: Cromwell, Middletown, Portland, Wethersfield, Haddam, East Hampton, Guilford, Madison.

Questions people ask about back property taxes in Connecticut

What's the interest rate on late property taxes in Connecticut?

18% a year while the town holds the tax, charged at 1.5% a month from the original due date. Any part of a month counts as a full month, with a $2 minimum per installment unless the town votes to drop it. (CGS 12-146)

Can my town waive the interest?

Generally no. State law sets the interest, and the only waiver in the statute is for taxpayers compensated as crime victims. (CGS 12-146)

Can a Connecticut town sell my house for back taxes?

Yes. The tax collector can sell the property at a tax sale after giving notice. You can redeem it for up to 6 months after the sale, or 60 days if the property is abandoned, by paying what's owed plus 18% a year on the sale price. (CGS 12-157)

My town sold my tax lien. What does that mean?

A private company now holds the lien with the same rights the town had. It has to send you notice within 60 days, give you a payoff statement and, for liens assigned on or after July 1, 2022, wait at least one year before starting a foreclosure. (CGS 12-195h) If the town sold the lien on or after July 1, 2026, interest from the sale date runs at 12% a year. Liens sold before that stay at 18%. (Public Act 25-168, Sec. 231)

Can I sell my house if I owe back property taxes?

Yes. The tax lien gets paid at closing out of the sale proceeds, whether you sell to a cash buyer or list with an agent. The lien takes priority over the transfer, so it has to be cleared for the buyer to get clean title. (CGS 12-172)

Is there help for seniors, disabled homeowners or veterans?

Yes. The state circuit breaker program gives a credit of up to $1,250 for married couples and $1,000 for single people who are 65 or older or totally disabled and meet income limits. Veterans may qualify for a $1,000 basic exemption and an additional income-based exemption. Apply through your town assessor. (OPM circuit breaker, OPM veterans)

Is there state help paying overdue property taxes?

CHFA's EMAP program may help eligible homeowners behind on non-escrowed property taxes because of a hardship beyond their control. It's repaid later, when you transfer the title, move out or take cash-out financing. Call (860) 571-3500. (CHFA)

I inherited a house with back taxes. Does the debt go away?

No. The lien stays with the property and interest keeps running while the estate is open. Ask the estate's probate attorney about paying the taxes from the estate. (CGS 12-172)