Whether you owe Connecticut tax on your Social Security, pension, or IRA comes down to one number: your federal adjusted gross income. Stay under $75,000 single or $100,000 married filing jointly and most of your retirement income is exempt. Go over, and the breaks start to phase out. The Connecticut retirement income tax rewards moderate-income retirees and gradually pulls the exemptions away as income climbs.
This guide walks through how each kind of retirement income is treated, the income limits that control it, and the IRA phase-in that finishes in 2026.
In This Guide
- Connecticut Retirement Income Tax at a Glance
- Connecticut Retirement Income Tax: How It Works
- Social Security
- Pensions and Annuities
- IRA, 401(k), and Other Retirement Accounts
- Why the AGI Limit Matters So Much
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Next Steps
Connecticut Retirement Income Tax at a Glance
Connecticut's approach is built around income limits. Below the thresholds, Social Security, pension, annuity, and most IRA income is fully or nearly fully exempt. Above them, the exemptions shrink. The table below summarizes how each income type is treated.
| Income type | Treatment under the AGI limits | The limits | Above the limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security | Fully exempt | $75,000 single / $100,000 joint | Up to 25% of benefits taxable |
| Pension and annuity income | 100% exempt | $75,000 single / $100,000 joint | Phases out: $75k-$100k single, $100k-$150k joint |
| IRA distributions (non-Roth) | 100% exempt for 2026 (50% in 2024, 75% in 2025) | $75,000 single / $100,000 joint | Phase-in percentage applies to the exempt share |
| 401(k), 403(b), 457 income | Treated like pensions: 100% exempt | $75,000 single / $100,000 joint | Phases out with the pension exemption |
| Senior-specific exclusion | None separate; the AGI-based exemptions do the work | n/a | n/a |
Connecticut's income tax itself is graduated, running from 2 percent to 6.99 percent. The exemptions above determine how much of your retirement income reaches those brackets in the first place.
Connecticut Retirement Income Tax: How It Works
The whole system turns on federal adjusted gross income (AGI) and two threshold numbers: $75,000 for single filers and $100,000 for married couples filing jointly. The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services uses these same limits across Social Security, pensions, and IRAs, which keeps the rules consistent even though each income type has its own mechanics.
Here is the basic logic. Connecticut starts with your federal AGI. If you are under the limit for your filing status, your Social Security and pension income come out of your Connecticut taxable income, and your IRA income is exempt up to the year's phase-in percentage. If you are over the limit, the picture changes by income type: Social Security caps its taxable portion at 25 percent, while the pension and annuity exemption phases down to zero across a defined income band.
One detail worth flagging early: the AGI figure Connecticut uses is your full federal AGI, which can already include a taxable slice of your Social Security. So the number that decides your exemption is not just your pension and withdrawals; it is everything the IRS counts. That is why a large one-time IRA withdrawal can push you over the line and shrink your exemptions for that year.
Social Security
Connecticut fully exempts Social Security benefits for single filers with federal AGI below $75,000 and married couples filing jointly below $100,000. If you are under those numbers, none of your Social Security is taxed by the state, even if a portion is taxable on your federal return.
Above the limits, Connecticut still protects most of the benefit. The most that becomes taxable at the state level is 25 percent of your Social Security. In other words, even high-income retirees shield at least three-quarters of their benefits from Connecticut tax. There is no point at which Connecticut taxes 100 percent of Social Security.
Pensions and Annuities
Pension and annuity income is 100 percent exempt for taxpayers under the $75,000 single / $100,000 joint AGI limits. This covers most private and public pensions and commercial annuity payments.
Above the limits, the pension exemption phases out rather than disappearing all at once. For single filers the phase-out runs from $75,000 to $100,000 of AGI; for joint filers it runs from $100,000 to $150,000. Inside that band, the share of your pension that stays exempt steps down as your income rises, reaching zero at the top of the range. A single filer at $87,500, for example, sits roughly halfway through the phase-out and keeps part of the exemption; the same filer at $100,000 or above keeps none of it.
IRA, 401(k), and Other Retirement Accounts
This is the part of the Connecticut retirement income tax that has been changing, so the year matters.
Traditional IRA distributions (everything except Roth IRAs) are being phased to fully exempt for taxpayers under the income limits. The exempt percentage has climbed each year: 50 percent for 2024, 75 percent for 2025, and 100 percent for 2026 and beyond. So a retiree filing for the 2026 tax year who is under the AGI limit pays no Connecticut tax on traditional IRA withdrawals. Roth IRA distributions are generally already tax-free and are not part of this phase-in.
401(k), 403(b), and 457 plan income is treated like pension income, not like IRA income. That means it is fully exempt under the same AGI limits and follows the same pension phase-out above them, without waiting for the IRA schedule. If you are rolling a 401(k) into an IRA, be aware the two are taxed under different rules in Connecticut even though they feel interchangeable.
For a broader look at how these accounts fit into paying for care, retirement accounts for care covers the withdrawal and tax tradeoffs in more depth.
Why the AGI Limit Matters So Much
Because every major exemption keys off the same AGI thresholds, your income in a given year can swing your tax bill more than the headline rates do. A retiree comfortably under $75,000 single may owe almost nothing to Connecticut on retirement income. The same retiree who takes a large IRA withdrawal, sells an asset, or converts to a Roth in one year can cross the line and watch the Social Security and pension exemptions tighten at once.
That makes timing a real lever. Spreading withdrawals across years, or planning a Roth conversion before benefits start, can keep AGI under the threshold and preserve the exemptions. This is general information, not personalized tax advice, and the interaction between federal AGI and these state exemptions is exactly the kind of thing worth running past a tax professional before a big move. If retirement savings are part of how you will pay for care, building a senior care funding plan is a useful next read.
Trying to figure out whether a withdrawal will cost you exemptions? Chat with Brevy's care navigator to think through the timing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for most retirees. Single filers with federal AGI under $75,000 and joint filers under $100,000 pay no Connecticut tax on Social Security. Above those limits, at most 25 percent of benefits becomes taxable, so Connecticut never taxes the full benefit.
For the 2026 tax year, traditional IRA distributions are 100 percent exempt for taxpayers under the AGI limits, after a phase-in of 50 percent in 2024 and 75 percent in 2025. Roth IRA distributions are generally already tax-free.
Pension and annuity income is fully exempt under the $75,000 single / $100,000 joint AGI limits. Above the limits the exemption phases out: $75,000 to $100,000 for singles and $100,000 to $150,000 for joint filers.
Yes. Connecticut treats 401(k), 403(b), and 457 income like pension income, so it is fully exempt under the AGI limits right away. Traditional IRA income followed a separate phase-in that reaches 100 percent exempt in 2026.
Your federal adjusted gross income for your filing status. Because that figure can already include taxable Social Security and your retirement withdrawals, a large distribution can push you over a threshold and reduce your exemptions for that year.
Next Steps
If you are retired in Connecticut, start by finding your federal AGI and comparing it to the $75,000 single / $100,000 joint limits. That one comparison tells you most of what you need to know.
- Pull your federal AGI from last year's return and check it against your filing-status limit.
- Sort your income by type: Social Security, pension or annuity, 401(k), and traditional IRA each follow their own rule.
- Note the year for IRA income: the exemption reaches 100 percent for 2026.
- Plan large withdrawals with the AGI thresholds in mind, ideally before you take them.
If you are weighing how to fund care from retirement savings, how to pay for senior care lays out the main options.
Learn More
Find personalized help making sense of the Connecticut retirement income tax at brevy.com.
The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.