Here Are All The New Taxes, Fees Coming To CT On Oct. 1

HARTFORD, CT — Several new or increased taxes and fees will go into effect in Connecticut come Oct. 1. Car trade-ins, alcohol, e-cigarettes, prepared meals and digital purchases are among some of the changes.

Car Trade-Ins

The trade-in fee is going from $35 to $100 and is expected to bring in around $17.2 million over two years for Connecticut’s coffers. It is paid for by car dealers, but that doesn’t prevent them from passing the cost over to car buyers.

Gov. Ned Lamont originally proposed applying the state sales tax to vehicle trade-ins, which would’ve cost car buyers much more. A $10,000 trade-in would come with a more than $600 tax. The move was nixed along with many other taxes on services by the time the budget was approved.

Those who buy from a dealer can apply their trade-in credit to reduce the sales price and therefore taxes on purchases.

Related: These 13 New CT Laws Can Change Your Life On Oct. 1

Digital Purchases

Connecticut’s full 6.35 percent sales tax will apply to digital purchases. That includes single-time buys such as renting or buying a digital movie and ongoing subscriptions like Spotify and Netflix.

Prepared Meals Tax

After much drama the new one percent tax on prepared meals at restaurants and grocery stores will go into effect Oct. 1. A few weeks ago the state Department of Revenue Services released an interpretation that would’ve applied the sales tax plus one percent tax on a number of grocery store items such as small bags of salad.

Republicans decried the tax and called for a special session. DRS reversed course and released a new interpretation so the tax will only apply to meals such as hot sandwiches served at grocery stores and restaurants.

E-Cigarettes

A 40-cent per milliliter tax on pre-filled e-cigarette products and a 10 percent tax on all other e-cigarette products

Short-Term Rentals

Short-term rental facilitators like Airbnb will have to collect and remit the state’s room occupancy tax.

Alcohol

A 10 percent increase on excises taxes for alcoholic beverages except for beer will take effect Oct. 1.

Beer sold at craft breweries for off-premises consumption will be reduced by 50 percent starting Oct. 1.