Bridgeport apartment property taxes are now calculated on values from the city’s October 1, 2025 revaluation, assessed at 70% of market value and multiplied by a mill rate that fell from 43.45 to 27.95 for the 2026-27 fiscal year. Whether a given building’s bill went up or down depends on how much its assessment rose compared with how far the rate dropped, and the rest of this guide walks through each piece an owner of a five-plus-unit building needs to understand.
Connecticut’s property tax system works the same way in every town, but Bridgeport adds its own numbers, forms and calendar. The sections below cover who assesses the property, how the revaluation changed the grand list, what the rate is, when bills are due, the income and expense report apartment owners must file, the appeal process and the limited incentives available for housing.
Who assesses apartment buildings in Bridgeport
Connecticut has not had functioning county government since 1960, so there is no county assessor. Bridgeport sits within Fairfield County as a geographic label, and since 2022 the state’s planning regions have served as county equivalents for Census purposes, with Bridgeport in the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region. For property tax, however, the only government that matters is the City of Bridgeport itself.
The Bridgeport Tax Assessor’s office values every parcel, maintains the grand list and administers exemptions and income reports. The Tax Collector’s office sends the bills and collects payment. The City Council adopts the mill rate as part of the annual budget. Keeping those three roles straight helps when something goes wrong: a value question goes to the assessor, a payment question goes to the collector, and a rate question is a budget matter.
Bridgeport is also a renter city. Census QuickFacts figures reprinted in the city’s adopted budget show an estimated 151,599 residents in July 2024 and an owner-occupied housing rate of 42.8% for 2020 to 2024, which means roughly 57% of occupied homes are rented. Median gross rent over the same period was $1,450. That large rental base is one reason apartment buildings make up a meaningful share of the city’s taxable value.
The 70% rule and the October 1 assessment date
Under Connecticut General Statutes section 12-62a, every municipality assesses real property at 70% of its “present true and actual value.” The assessment date is October 1 each year, and the list of all taxable property as of that date is called the grand list.
In practice this means an apartment building with a market value of $2,000,000 carries an assessment of $1,400,000. The tax bill is then the assessment multiplied by the mill rate divided by 1,000. One mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value.
A few points trip up owners who are new to Connecticut:
- The tax year and the fiscal year are offset. Values set on the October 1, 2025 grand list are the basis for bills that begin in July 2026, for the fiscal year running July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
- The assessment is a mass-appraisal figure, not a sale price. A purchase does not automatically reset the assessment, but a sale price can become evidence in a later revaluation or appeal.
- Personal property, such as equipment owned by a business, is assessed separately and declared by the owner each year, which is covered further below.
How the 2025 revaluation reshaped the grand list
State law under section 12-62 requires each town to revalue all real property at least every five years. According to the city’s revaluation information page, Bridgeport’s state-mandated revaluation was completed for the 2025 grand list. The Office of Policy and Management’s statewide schedule lists Bridgeport’s next revaluations for 2030 and 2035.
The size of the change was unusual. The city’s adopted fiscal year 2027 budget states that residential values rose by an average of more than 70%. In a March 2026 budget announcement, the mayor’s office described 62.5% growth in the grand list, to about $13 billion, from a net grand list of roughly $8.1 billion on October 1, 2024.
For apartment owners, the citywide average matters less than how a specific building moved. Revaluation values each property based on market evidence at the valuation date. Small multifamily buildings, larger apartment complexes and commercial property did not necessarily rise at the same pace, and two similar buildings on different streets can come out differently.
State law in section 12-62c lets a town phase in revaluation increases over a period of up to five years. Whether a phase-in applies to a particular assessment is something owners should confirm directly with the assessor rather than assume, because it changes the assessment used on each year’s bill.
Bridgeport’s mill rate for 2026-27
For fiscal year 2026-2027, the city’s page on how your taxes are determined lists a mill rate of 27.95 for real estate and personal property and 31.75 for motor vehicles. The adopted budget describes the cut from 43.45 to 27.95 as the largest mill rate reduction in Bridgeport’s history.
The 43.45 real estate rate had been in place from fiscal 2023 through fiscal 2026, and in fiscal 2021-22 the rate was 53.99. So owners who have held Bridgeport property for several years have seen the rate move a great deal, which is a good reason not to judge a building’s tax burden from a single year.
The rate falls when the grand list grows because the city needs to raise a set amount of property tax revenue for the budget. When total assessed value rises sharply, the same levy can be collected at a lower rate. That is why a falling mill rate does not guarantee a lower bill.
Will Bridgeport apartment property taxes go up or down?
The quickest way to see where a building lands is to compare the change in its assessment with the change in the rate. The rate fell by about 35.7%, from 43.45 to 27.95. Dividing the old rate by the new one gives about 1.55, which is the break-even point: if a building’s assessment rose by roughly 55% or less, its real estate tax should be lower than before, and if the assessment rose by more than about 55%, the bill is likely higher.
Here is a simple hypothetical to show the arithmetic, using round numbers rather than any real property:
- Before revaluation, a 12-unit building is assessed at $840,000. At 43.45 mills, the real estate tax is about $36,498.
- After revaluation, the same building is assessed at $1,400,000, an increase of about 67%. At 27.95 mills, the tax is about $39,130, or roughly $2,600 more.
- If the new assessment had instead been $1,260,000, an increase of 50%, the tax at 27.95 mills would be about $35,217, slightly lower than before.
Because the residential average increase reported by the city was above 70%, many residential owners will be above the break-even line. Apartment owners should run this calculation on their own assessment notice. Recalculating net operating income with the new tax figure shows how much the change affects the building’s earnings, which is what drives an apartment building’s value.
Tax bills, installments and interest
According to the Tax Collector’s general tax information and frequently asked questions pages, Bridgeport real estate taxes are due in two installments, on July 1 and January 1, when the bill is over $100. Each installment has a one-month grace period, so the first half is payable through August 1 and the second through February 1. Bills of $100 or less are due in full in July.
Late payments are expensive. Connecticut law under section 12-146 sets interest on delinquent property taxes at 1.5% per month, or 18% per year, calculated from the original due date rather than from the end of the grace period, with a $2 minimum. The city’s FAQ page applies that rate. Because interest reaches back to the due date, a payment that misses the grace period by a few days is charged interest for the full month and more.
The Tax Collector’s office also notes that unpaid real estate taxes are liened at the end of the fiscal year on June 30. A recorded tax lien can complicate a refinance or sale, so owners who escrow taxes through a lender should still check that both installments were paid.
Annual filings for Bridgeport rental property
The income and expense report
For owners of five-plus-unit buildings, the most important filing is the annual income and expense report. Under section 12-63c, a Connecticut assessor may require owners of rental real property to submit actual income and expense information each year. The current statute sets the filing date at June 1 and allows an extension to July 1 for good cause if requested by June 1.
Bridgeport’s income and expense form has stated a June 1 deadline and warned of a penalty equal to 10% of the assessed value for failing to file. According to a Connecticut Office of Legislative Research report, the requirement does not apply to buildings with six or fewer units where the owner lives on site. A five-plus-unit building where the owner does not live, or any building of seven or more units, falls inside the requirement.
The 10% penalty is applied to the assessment, not the tax, which makes it costly. On a $1,400,000 assessment it adds $140,000 of assessed value, which at 27.95 mills is about $3,913 of additional tax for the year. Owners who buy a building mid-year should ask the seller whether the prior report was filed and make sure the June filing is on the calendar.
The report also has a practical use. Assessors rely on income data from rental properties to support their valuations. A complete, accurate report helps the assessor see a building’s real rents and expenses, including vacancy and repair costs, which can matter if the owner later argues that the assessment is too high.
Personal property declarations
Connecticut taxes business personal property, and under section 12-41 declarations are due by November 1 each year, with a 25% penalty on the assessment for late or missing filings. Under section 12-42 an assessor may grant an extension of up to 45 days if requested in writing by November 1. Bridgeport accepts declarations through an online filing portal and on paper.
The city’s declaration form lists items such as refrigerators and kitchen equipment under furniture, fixtures and equipment, but it does not address residential rental property specifically. Owners whose buildings include appliances, laundry machines or furnishings that belong to the ownership entity should ask the assessor whether a declaration is needed for their property instead of assuming either way. With the October 1, 2026 grand list date just passed, the November 1 deadline is close.
Appealing a Bridgeport assessment
The first step for an owner who disagrees with an assessment is the Board of Assessment Appeals. According to the city’s Board of Assessment Appeals page, applications are accepted between February 1 and February 20, and hearings take place in March. The February 20 deadline comes from section 12-111 and is strict.
State law allows the board to decline a hearing for commercial, industrial, utility or apartment property with an assessed value above $1 million. In that situation, or if the owner is not satisfied with the board’s decision, the next step is an appeal to Superior Court under section 12-117a, which generally must be filed within two months after the board mails notice of its decision.
Owners who wanted to challenge their October 1, 2025 revaluation value needed to apply by February 20, 2026. The next window opens February 1, 2027, for the October 1, 2026 grand list. Useful evidence typically includes:
- A rent roll and trailing operating statements showing actual income and expenses.
- Recent sales of comparable Bridgeport apartment buildings.
- An independent appraisal, especially for larger properties.
- Documentation of physical problems, such as deferred maintenance or code issues, that a mass appraisal may not capture.
- A copy of the income and expense report filed with the assessor, which should be consistent with the appeal.
Abatements and incentives for Bridgeport housing
Tax incentives for existing apartment buildings in Bridgeport are limited, and most of what exists is tied to new construction, rehabilitation or affordability.
- Enterprise Zone: Bridgeport was one of Connecticut’s original enterprise zone cities in 1981. The Department of Economic and Community Development describes a five-year, 80% property tax abatement, but it is aimed at manufacturing and certain service businesses rather than apartments.
- Rehabilitation assessment fixing: According to DECD, state law under section 12-65b lets towns enter agreements that fix assessments on rehabilitated buildings, including rental residential use, for up to seven years when improvements reach $3 million or more. Any such agreement is negotiated with the city.
- Payments in lieu of taxes: Bridgeport’s adopted budget lists individual housing PILOT agreements, including ones for Goodwill-Helms housing, a Crescent redevelopment phase at 252 Hallet Street and Steelpointe housing. These are negotiated project by project.
- State affordable housing abatement: The Department of Housing’s tax abatement program under section 8-215 historically supported certain affordable housing, but the department states it is not currently open to new applicants.
For a typical market-rate building that an owner has held for years, none of these programs is likely to apply, so planning should assume the full assessed value at the adopted rate.
Practical steps for Bridgeport owners this year
Taken together, the revaluation and the rate cut make 2026 a year to review the numbers rather than assume last year’s tax bill still applies. A short checklist for owners of five-plus-unit buildings:
- Pull the October 1, 2025 assessment and compare it with the 2024 assessment. Divide new by old and compare the result with the roughly 1.55 break-even ratio.
- Recalculate the 2026-27 tax at 27.95 mills and update the operating budget, lender escrow and any rent projections.
- Put June 1 on the calendar for the income and expense report, and November 1 for any personal property declaration.
- If the value looks wrong, gather evidence now for the February 1 to February 20 appeal window.
- Remember that the rate is set each year in the budget, so a future grand list or budget change can move it again before the next revaluation in 2030.
Buyers and sellers should pay particular attention. A buyer underwriting a Bridgeport building with the seller’s pre-revaluation tax bill could overstate income, while a seller with a well-documented income and expense history is in a stronger position to explain the property’s numbers. Connecticut’s approach is also compared with other states in the guide to rent control and property tax by state, and owners weighing a sale can read more about selling an apartment building in Bridgeport or browse other cities on the Connecticut markets page.
