Connecticut Revaluation: Why Your Assessment Jumped and What You Can Do Before February 20
Your house didn't change. The number on the assessor's notice did.
Maybe it arrived just before the holidays. Maybe it's sitting on the counter under the grocery list because you don't want to look at it again. If your town just finished a Connecticut revaluation, your new assessment may be tens of thousands of dollars higher than the old one. The first thing you probably felt was a jolt of worry about the tax bill.
Take a breath. A higher assessment doesn't automatically mean a higher bill, and you have the right to challenge a number you think is wrong. You just have to move before February 20. This guide explains what a revaluation actually measures, how to read your notice, and how to appeal step by step. And if the new number confirms what you've felt for a while — that your property taxes have outgrown your income — it also lays out your options.
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What a Connecticut Revaluation Actually Measures
Connecticut law requires every town to revalue all of its real estate every five years (CGS § 12-62). The town estimates what each property was worth on October 1 of the revaluation year, and your assessment is set at 70% of that fair market value.
So if the town says your house was worth $400,000 on October 1, your assessment is $280,000. That number generally stays on your bills until the next revaluation, unless it changes on appeal or you make improvements.
Towns revalue on a rotating schedule, so neighbors a few miles apart can be in very different places right now:
- October 1, 2025 revaluation: Shelton, Bridgeport, Fairfield, Greenwich, Milford, Newington, Stratford and Westport are among the more than 30 municipalities that revalued. Their new values drive tax bills from July 2026 through June 2031.
- October 1, 2026 revaluation: Ansonia, Brookfield, East Hartford, East Haven, Easton, Guilford, Newtown, Orange and West Hartford are among the towns in this round. New notices go out in late 2026 or early 2027, and the appeal deadline is February 20, 2027, unless your town gets an extension.
You can check where your town falls on the state's official revaluation schedule from the Office of Policy and Management — then confirm with your assessor, because a few towns have been allowed to delay.
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Why a Higher Assessment Doesn't Always Mean a Higher Bill
Your tax bill is your assessment multiplied by your town's mill rate, divided by 1,000. When a revaluation raises values across the whole town, the town can lower its mill rate and still raise the same budget.
Bridgeport is a good example. After its 2025 revaluation, the city cut its mill rate from 43.45 to 27.95 for fiscal 2026–27 — a drop of more than a third. But a lower mill rate doesn't automatically mean a lower bill. What matters is how your home's value changed compared with everyone else's.
Here's a simple illustration. Suppose a town's total assessments rise 50% and it lowers the mill rate just enough to collect the same budget. If your assessment rose 30%, your bill would actually drop. If it rose 70%, your bill would still climb — even with the lower rate.
One more catch: the mill rate that goes with your new assessment usually isn't set until your town adopts its budget, months after the appeal deadline. That's why your appeal should focus on one question only — was your home's value on October 1 correct?
How to Appeal Your Connecticut Revaluation Before February 20
The process is more approachable than most people expect. Here's the order to do it in.
- Step 1 — Check your property record card. Ask the assessor's office for it, or look it up online if your town posts it. Make sure the basics are right: square footage, bedrooms and bathrooms, finished basement, lot size and condition. A wrong fact is the easiest thing to fix.
- Step 2 — Use any informal review. If your town offers an informal review of revaluation values, take it — but don't let it run you past the formal deadline.
- Step 3 — File in writing by February 20. Under Connecticut General Statutes § 12-111, a written appeal to your town's Board of Assessment Appeals is due by February 20. In a revaluation year, some towns get an extension to March 20, so confirm your date with the assessor. In 2027, February 20 falls on a Saturday. A 2024 Connecticut Appellate Court ruling treated a filing on the next business day as on time when the deadline fell on a weekend, but confirm your town's date and file early.
- Step 4 — Gather your evidence. The best evidence shows your home's value on October 1: recent sales of similar homes nearby, a professional appraisal, photos of condition problems and written repair estimates.
- Step 5 — Go to your hearing. Hearings are usually held in March (April in towns with an extension). Plan to attend or send a representative — the Board generally can't lower your assessment if no one appears.
- Step 6 — Know your next step. If the Board says no, you can appeal to Superior Court, generally within two months of the Board's decision. Talk to an attorney before you take that step.
When the Assessor Can't See What You Can
A revaluation estimates the value of every property in town at once. Maybe your house has problems that don't show from the street: an aging roof, an old oil tank, a damp basement, original wiring. If so, your assessment may assume a condition your house simply isn't in. Photos and contractor estimates are exactly the kind of evidence that can help.
Those same problems are also why some owners decide not to fight the number at all. Facing a higher bill and a long repair list? It may make more sense to sell the house as it stands than to pour money into it — or into a few more years of taxes. That's especially true if you're nearing retirement and already thinking about downsizing to a smaller Connecticut home.
If an Appeal Won't Fix It: Your Other Options
Sometimes the assessment is fair and the bill is still too much for your budget. That's not a failure. It's information. Here's where to look next.
- Relief for older homeowners. If you're 65 or older, or totally disabled, check the state Circuit Breaker credit and any local freeze or deferral your town offers. Our comparison of property tax relief programs for Connecticut seniors explains who qualifies and what each one is worth.
- A local, as-is sale. If you own in a 2026 revaluation town like Ansonia, a written cash offer gives you a real number to weigh against the new assessment. Helpful Home Buyers buys houses in any condition across the Naugatuck Valley — here's how selling your Ansonia house for cash works.
- A plan, not a panic. You don't have to decide everything before February 20. If you think the value may be off, file your appeal to protect your rights, then use the months before your first bill on the new value to compare your options calmly.
Dan and Meghan, who run Helpful Home Buyers in Shelton, have spent more than 15 years investing in Connecticut real estate. If you'd like to see how a direct cash sale works before you decide anything, it's laid out step by step, with no obligation.
Frequently Asked Questions
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External: Connecticut General Assembly (cga.ct.gov) — CGS § 12-111 — appeals to the Board of Assessment Appeals (February 20) | Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (portal.ct.gov) — Municipal revaluation schedule
Get a Real Number Before Your Appeal Deadline
An appeal tells you whether the town's number is fair. A written cash offer tells you what your house would actually bring today, as it is. Having both puts you back in control of the timing. Ask for your no-obligation cash offer — Helpful Home Buyers puts it in writing within 24 hours of a single walkthrough, and if you decide to sell, you pick the closing date.
