Ezel / Tax Rulings / CT

When two owners exchanged Connecticut real-property interests by quitclaim deed, was each side subject to real estate conveyance tax?

Short answer Yes under this historical ruling. Each releasor made a taxable conveyance subject to state and municipal real estate conveyance taxes. Each tax base was the fair market value of the interest conveyed, without reducing it for encumbrances.
State
CT
Ruling
Ruling 89-207
Tax type
Real Estate Conveyance Tax
Issued
1989-11-09
Issued by
Connecticut Department of Revenue Services
Topics
real estate conveyance tax property exchange quitclaim deed fair market value encumbrances municipal tax
Source
View official page

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1989. Ask about yours and see what current Connecticut tax law says, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1989
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official 1989 Connecticut Department of Revenue Services Ruling applying state and municipal real estate conveyance taxes to the described exchange of real-property interests. Its result depended on reciprocal quitclaim conveyances and used each interest's unreduced fair market value; another taxpayer should not assume the same calculation for different transaction terms or current law. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Connecticut tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as an official web page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (official page)

Plain-English summary

Taxpayer A quitclaimed an interest in 92 Farmington Avenue to Taxpayer B in exchange for B quitclaiming an interest in 1 Market Street to A.

DRS treated each side as making a taxable conveyance subject to state and municipal real estate conveyance taxes. Each releasor's tax base was the fair market value of the real-property interest conveyed, without subtracting encumbrances.

What this means for you

Under the historical rule, an exchange of realty produced two taxable conveyances rather than one, and debt or other encumbrances did not reduce the stated measure of tax.

Common questions

Was each side of the exchange taxable? Yes.

Which taxes applied? State and municipal real estate conveyance taxes.

What was each tax base? The fair market value of the interest conveyed.

Were encumbrances subtracted? No.

Citations and references

  • Conn. Agencies Regs. § 12-494-2(a)(2), as cited in the ruling.

Source

Original ruling text

Ruling 89-207, Real Estate Conveyance Tax

Ruling 89-207

Real Estate Conveyance Tax

Where a conveyance of realty is made in exchange for the conveyance of other realty, each conveyance is subject to State and municipal real estate conveyance taxes. Conn. Agencies Regs. § 12-494-2(a)(2). If Taxpayer A quit-claims his interest in 92 Farmington Avenue to Taxpayer B in exchange for Taxpayer B quit-claiming his interest in 1 Market Street to Taxpayer A, each releasor will have made a taxable conveyance. The measure of each releasor's tax liability will be the fair market value (unreduced by the amount of any encumbrances) of the interest in realty conveyed thereto.

LEGAL DIVISION

November 9, 1989

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