Know Before You Close: Connecticut

Connecticut is one of the nation’s 22 states or districts that require an attorney’s involvement in residential real estate purchase transactions. Recording fees in the Nutmeg State are scaled by the size (length in page count) of each security instrument (mortgage), conveyance instrument (deed), or other recordable sent to the county for recordation.

Recording fees are uniform throughout the state—there are no variations by county.

Transfer taxes🔗

Connecticut is home to both state and city-specific transfer taxes, with some variance in the tax from city to city. Additionally, while some cities proscribe a flat transfer tax rate, others have tiered calculations. In such cities, for example, the tax rate for the first $4,000 of the purchase value might be x dollars, while that tax would rise to y dollars for the next $10,000 of purchase value.

Discounted transfer taxes🔗

Residential dwellings in Connecticut may also be eligible for a discounted, tiered state transfer tax (deed or transfer) under certain circumstances.

MERS🔗

Finally, it’s not uncommon for closing documents to be recorded with MERS in Connecticut, and the MERS fee can be significant.