Not which state is better — the wrong question. This instrument weighs both environments on the same five decision lenses and shows which coordination priorities change when the environment does. Same reasoning every state is read through; here, side by side.
Each lens turns a tax environment into a household decision. A dashed row means the two environments read the same on that lens; a solid row means they differ.
The household's operating-system domains each environment opens. The middle column holds where they agree; the outer columns are what is unique to each.
Whether — and how — a change of domicile is worth pursuing, and the facts (days, home, ties) that make it real rather than nominal.
Setting a harvesting cadence that captures the state rate a banked loss offsets, sequenced against the state's loss-carryforward rules.
Placing the high-turnover sleeve in tax-advantaged accounts so the state's rate falls on the least of the household's realized gains.
Titling assets to capture the fullest basis step-up the marital-property regime allows at the first death.
| Dimension | Connecticut | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| Capital-gains rate | 6.99%Loss treatment conforms to federal: capital losses net against gains and carry forward. Top effective long-term rate 6.99%. Quirk: recapture: a flat rate on all income over ~$1.08M. | 0%No state tax on capital gains — and a harvested loss is worth only the federal rate here. · Fla. Const. art. VII, §5(a) (no state income tax on natural persons) |
| Estate & inheritance | estateState estate tax (paid by the estate): top rate ~12%, exemption ~$13.99M. Flat 12% over the exemption (tied to the federal exclusion; total liability capped at $15M); rises to ~$15M for 2026. | No state estate or inheritance tax — only the federal estate tax applies. |
| Basis step-up | UDCPRDACommon-law state that has adopted the UDCPRDA — it preserves the community-property character (and the potential full step-up) of assets a couple brought from a CP state. | opt-inOffers an elective community-property trust: a couple can opt in to obtain a full (double) basis step-up at the first death. |
| Marriage treatment | ~2xJoint brackets widen for couples, but by less than 2× — a partial marriage penalty that bites on higher incomes. | No state income tax — no marriage penalty on the state return. |
| Loss treatment | federalCapital losses carry forward under the federal Section 1212 rules — a harvested loss nets against gains and rolls forward until used. | No state tax on capital gains, so a harvested loss carries no state benefit; its value here is only the federal offset. |
| Municipal bonds | in-stateOnly in-state municipal-bond interest escapes state tax; bonds from other states are taxed. The classic in-state muni preference that rewards a home-state ladder. | exemptMunicipal-bond interest is exempt from state tax whether the issuer is in-state or out-of-state — the broadest muni preference (states with no tax on investment income, plus a few that exempt all munis by statute). |
| QSBS (§1202) | §1202 okConforms to IRC §1202 — the federal qualified small business stock gain exclusion carries through to the state return. | no §1202No distinct state QSBS position applies here — either the jurisdiction levies no tax on the gain, or it does not separately recognize the §1202 exclusion. Confirm with a tax advisor. |
Because the rules differ, so does what coordination is worth. On an illustrative 30-year path, running a portfolio against each state's rules is worth an estimated ~$42,000/yr per $1M taxable in Connecticut versus ~$37,000/yr in Florida — the coordination gap between the two (about +4.2%/yr vs +3.7%/yr modeled). A hypothetical, illustrative figure; the household's own depends on bracket, holdings, and residency (see the full basis of the estimate below).
State law reflects 2025 tax-year law; last reviewed 2026-07-07. Every classification is a summary of state law; where a primary-source citation has been verified, it is linked on the card.