How Connecticut State Taxes Work
Connecticut runs a progressive income tax with seven brackets, from 2 percent up to 6.99 percent. In 2024 the state cut the bottom two rates, from 3 to 2 percent and from 5 to 4.5 percent, its first income tax reduction since the tax was created in 1991, and those lower rates carry into 2026. Connecticut doesn't use a standard deduction. Instead it gives a personal exemption, $15,000 for single filers and $24,000 for joint filers, that phases out as income climbs and disappears around $45,000 for single earners, plus a personal tax credit that also shrinks with income. Both mainly help lower earners, which is why a $55,000 single filer sees no exemption and a Connecticut income tax of about $2,252, an effective 4.1 percent of gross pay.
One thing Connecticut does not have is a local income tax, so no town adds a line to your check. If you live in Connecticut and commute to a New York job, you generally pay New York tax on that income and Connecticut gives you a credit for it, so you're not taxed twice. Every deduction, state and federal, is itemized on your pay stub, and the difference between a single check and your running totals is explained in our guide to pay stub vs paycheck.
CT PFML: The Paid-Leave Deduction to Watch
The line most calculators forget is PFML, Connecticut's Paid Family and Medical Leave program. Employees pay 0.5 percent of all wages, with no cap, to fund paid leave, and it comes out of every check. On a $54,000 salary that's about $270 a year. It's a small deduction, but a real one, and a calculator that omits it reads a little high. If your employer offers health insurance or a 401(k), those come out before taxes are figured, which lowers the lines that follow; how each line is calculated, from gross to net, is covered in our guide to federal withholding on a pay stub.
Hourly Pay and the 2026 Minimum Wage
An hourly wage just gets annualized first. Connecticut's minimum wage is $16.94 an hour in 2026, one of the highest in the country, and it adjusts automatically each January because it's tied to the federal Employment Cost Index. At $20 an hour, 40 hours a week is $800, about $41,600 a year, and a single filer at that rate with biweekly checks nets about $1,307 per check after Connecticut tax and PFML. Overtime past 40 hours pays time and a half, and every extra dollar runs through the same lines.
Overtime in 2026: your overtime is withheld like normal wages all year. The federal deduction of up to $12,500 of overtime premium ($25,000 joint, through 2028) is claimed on your federal return. Connecticut starts its tax from federal income, so watch the current-year Connecticut instructions to see how the deduction flows through. Your W-2 carries the amounts, explained in our guide to
overtime on the W-2 and code TT.
