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HB05284 • 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT FOR CERTAIN FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS.

AN ACT CONCERNING PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT FOR CERTAIN FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS.

Housing Taxes
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Planning and Development Committee
Last action
2026-03-24
Official status
File Number 135
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official text does not specify if towns can offer less than $500, only 'up to' $500.

Property Tax Help for First-Time Homebuyers

This law allows towns to choose to lower property taxes by up to $500 a year for five years for first-time homebuyers who used Connecticut Housing Finance Authority funds and have a CHFA mortgage.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows each town or city to decide if it will offer this tax break through an ordinance approved by its legislative body or board of selectmen.
  • Reduces property taxes by up to $500 per year for eligible homeowners.
  • Limits the tax reduction to no more than five assessment years starting on or after October 1, 2026.
  • Requires that the home be purchased with funds from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) and have a mortgage financed by CHFA.
  • Defines eligible homes as single-family houses where the owner lives full-time.

Who It Names or Affects

  • First-time homebuyers who used CHFA funds to buy their home and hold a CHFA-financed mortgage.
  • Local town and city governments that may choose to offer this tax break.

Terms To Know

Abatement
A reduction or lowering of property taxes owed by the homeowner.
Ordinance
A local rule passed by a town's legislative body to set rules for that community, such as offering tax breaks.
Assessment year
The time period used by the government to calculate how much property tax is owed.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Towns are not required to offer this tax break; they can choose not to do it.
  • Only single-family homes that serve as the owner's main home qualify for the reduction.
  • The total amount of money towns might lose depends on how many people buy CHFA loans and which towns adopt the rule.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-24 LCO

    Reported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office

  2. 2026-03-24 Connecticut General Assembly

    Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, House

  3. 2026-03-24 Connecticut General Assembly

    House Calendar Number 115

  4. 2026-03-24 LCO

    File Number 135

  5. 2026-03-17 LCO

    Referred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/23/26 5:00 PM

  6. 2026-03-09 LCO

    Filed with Legislative Commissioners' Office

  7. 2026-03-06 PD

    Joint Favorable Substitute

  8. 2026-02-20 Connecticut General Assembly

    Public Hearing 02/27

  9. 2026-02-19 Connecticut General Assembly

    Referred to Joint Committee on Planning and Development

Official Summary Text

To authorize municipalities to abate up to five hundred dollars per assessment year of property taxes for certain first-time homebuyers who obtain a loan from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
House of Representatives
sHB5284 / File No. 135 1

General Assembly File No. 135
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5284

House of Representatives, March 24, 2026

The Committee on Planning and Development reported
through REP. KAVROS DEGRAW of the 17th Dist.,
Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the
substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT FOR CERTAIN
FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026, and applicable to assessment 1
years commencing on or after October 1, 2026) Any municipality may, upon 2
approval by its legislative body or, in any town in which the legislative 3
body is a town meeting, by the board of selectmen, adopt an ordinance 4
allowing for the abatement of up to five hundred dollars, for a period 5
not exceeding five assessment years, of the real property taxes due upon 6
any residential property owned by a person who purchased such 7
property with funds provided to qualified first-time homebuyers by the 8
Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and which property is 9
encumbered by a mortgage financed, directly or indirectly, by the 10
Connecticut Housing Finance Authority. For the purposes of this 11
section, "residential property" means a single -family residential 12
dwelling that is the principal residence of the owner of such property. 13
sHB5284 File No. 135

sHB5284 / File No. 135 2

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026, and
applicable to assessment
years commencing on or
after October 1, 2026
New section

PD Joint Favorable Subst.

sHB5284 File No. 135

sHB5284 / File No. 135 3

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
All Municipalities Potential
Revenue
Loss
See Below See Below

Explanation
The bill results in a potential revenue loss beginning in FY 27 to any
municipality that chooses to abate up to $500 in property taxes, for up
to five years, for homeowners with a first -time home buyer mortgage
purchased via the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA).
The revenue loss for each municipality will vary based on the amount
of the abatement and the number of eligible homeowners. It is estimated
that there are approximately 30,180 homeowners across the state with
the specific type of CHFA mortgage.1 If all municipalities implemented
a maximum $500 abatement, the revenue loss cumulatively to all
municipalities would be approximately $15.09 million annually. If any
municipality chooses not to offer the abatement, it will have no revenue
loss associated with the bill, and the total revenue loss among
municipalities will be lower.
The Out Years

1 CHFA has 30,180 outstanding first-time home buyer mortgages as of June 30th, 2025.
It is assumed that each of those people would be eligible for the abatement established
by the bill if their municipality chose to offer it.
sHB5284 File No. 135

sHB5284 / File No. 135 4

The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of municipalities that
implement the abatement, the amount of abatement, and the number of
CHFA first-time homebuyers in such municipalities.

sHB5284 File No. 135

sHB5284 / File No. 135 5

OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5284

AN ACT CONCERNING PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT FOR
CERTAIN FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS.

SUMMARY
This bill allows municipalities to establish, by ordinance, a property
tax abatement for certain first-time homebuyers. Municipalities may set
the abatement amount at up to $500 per year, for up to five assessment
years. To qualify , the homebuyer must have purchased the residential
property with funds from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority
(CHFA) for first -time homebuyers and the property must be
encumbered by a CHFA financed mortgage.
The ordinance establishing the abatement must be adopted by the
municipality’s legislative body or, in a town where the legislative body
is a town meeting, by the board of selectmen. Under the bill, a residential
property is a single -family dwelling that is the owner’s principal
residence.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026, and applies to assessment years
beginning on or after that date.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Planning and Development Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 20 Nay 0 (03/06/2026)