Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services

Seasonal, Household and Agricultural Withholding Tax Information

Who Must Complete a Registration Application and File a Withholding Tax Return

Seasonal Employer

If you are a seasonal employer, you will be classified either as a weekly remitter, monthly remitter, or quarterly remitter based on your annualized reported liability for Connecticut income tax withholding during the 12‑month look‑back period.

As a seasonal employer, you must file Form CT‑941, Connecticut Quarterly Reconciliation of Withholding, for any quarter that you are listed as active. If you regularly have no Connecticut income tax withholding liability for one or more calendar quarters each year because you pay no Connecticut wages during the same one or more calendar quarters, you may request permission to file Form CT‑941 only for the one or more calendar quarters during which you pay Connecticut wages. A written request indicating the calendar quarters during which you pay Connecticut wages must be submitted online through myconneCT, or send written notification to:

Department of Revenue Services
Operations Registration
PO Box 2937
Hartford CT 06104-2937

This request must be received on or before the last day of a calendar quarter to be effective for that calendar quarter. If you are granted seasonal filer status, you are not required to file Form CT‑941 for the one or more calendar quarters during which you pay no Connecticut wages. Instead, you are required to file Form CT‑941 only for the one or more calendar quarters during which you pay Connecticut wages. If you are not granted permission to become a seasonal filer, you must continue to file Form CT‑941 each quarter (even if no tax is withheld) as long as you are registered for Connecticut income tax withholding.

Household Employer

If you are a household employer, you are not required to withhold Connecticut income tax from the wages of a household employee(s) but may do so voluntarily by agreement between you and the employee(s). If you agree to withhold Connecticut income tax, you must register with DRS for income tax withholding. Use myconneCT to submit a registration application indicating you are a household employer and wish to register to withhold Connecticut income tax from wages of household employee(s). As a household employer registered to withhold Connecticut income tax, you should not file Form CT-941 HHE, Connecticut Reconciliation of Withholding for Household Employers, for each calendar quarter, but instead must file one Form CT-941 HHE for the entire calendar year. You must remit income tax withheld from the wages of household employees during the entire calendar year with Form CT-941 HHE. The due date of Form CT-941 HHE is April 15 of the following calendar year.

Agricultural Employer

If you are an agricultural employer, you must register to withhold Connecticut income tax from the cash wages of agricultural employees if you are required to withhold federal income tax from those wages. As an agricultural employer, you are required to withhold federal income tax from the cash wages of agricultural employees if those wages are subject to Social Security and Medicare tax withholding. See IRS Publication 51 (Circular A), Agricultural Employer’s Tax Guide.

If you are not required to withhold Connecticut income tax from the wages of agricultural employees, you may do so voluntarily by agreement between you and the employees. If you agree to withhold Connecticut income tax, you must register with DRS for income tax withholding. Visit myconneCT to register for income tax withholding and indicate you have only agricultural employees and wish to register to withhold Connecticut income tax from wages of those employees.

 Click here to File, Pay, or Register Now on myconneCT!

Go to myconneCT, under Business Registration click New Business/Need a CT Registration Number? There is no fee for registering for Withholding Tax.

myconneCT is the new Connecticut Department of Revenue Services’ (DRS) online portal to file tax returns, make payments, view your filing history, and communicate with the agency simply and more efficiently on virtually any mobile device, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You may request annual filer status by submitting a registration application in myconneCT indicating you:

  • Have only agricultural employees and wish to register to withhold Connecticut income tax from the wages of those employees;
  •  File federal Form 943, Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees; and
  • Wish to file one Form CT‑941 for the entire calendar year. If you are granted annual filer status, you should not file Form CT‑941 for each calendar quarter, but instead must file one Form CT‑941 for the entire calendar year. The due date of Form CT‑941 is January 31 of the following calendar year.

Filing Due Dates

Household employers must file with DRS the state copy of federal Form(s) W‑2, along with Form CT-W3 HHE, Connecticut Annual Reconciliation of Withholding for Household Employers, whether or not you are registered to withhold Connecticut income tax from wages of employees, and whether or not you have withheld any Connecticut income tax. On Form CT-W3 HHE, you report Connecticut wages paid to employees during the entire calendar year. The due date of Form CT-W3 HHE is January 31.

Household Employers Due Dates 

Form

Annual Remitter and Filer

Form CT-941HHE

April 15

Form CT -W3HHE

Submit to DRS Form CT-W3HHE with federal Forms W-2 by January 31.

Seasonal* Due Dates

Form

Quarters as approved by DRS

Form CT-941

For each active quarter – Last day of the month following the quarter. Example: First quarter is January 1 through March 31 - the due date is April 30.

Form CT-W3

Submit to DRS Form CT-W3 along with federal Forms W-2 by January 31.

Agricultural* Due Dates

Form

Annual Filer

Form CT-941

January 31

Form CT-W3

Submit to DRS Form CT-W3 along with federal Forms W-2 by January 31.

*You must request permission from DRS to file as a seasonal or agricultural filer.

Electronic Payment Options

All Withholding Tax payments must be made electronically. Non-electronic payments made without an electronic payment waiver will be subject to penalty. See Informational Publication 2021(5), Filing and Paying Connecticut Taxes Electronically.

There are multiple options to pay electronically:

myconneCT

Click here to File, Pay, or Register Now on myconneCT!

Visit myconneCT to make an electronic payment. After logging in to myconneCT, find your tax account on the Summary screen, select the Make a Payment link and choose your payment method.

  • Pay by Direct Payment: Using this option authorizes DRS to electronically withdraw a payment from your bank account (checking or savings) on a date you select up to the due date.
  • Pay by Credit Card or Debit Card: You may elect to pay your tax liability using a credit card (American Express®, Discover®, Master Card®, Visa®) or comparable debit card. A convenience fee will be charged by the credit card service provider. The convenience fee is generally 2.35% of the payment amount, with a minimum charge of $3.95. You will be informed of the amount of the fee and may elect to cancel the transaction. Your payment will be effective on the date that you make the charge.

At the end of the transaction, you will receive a confirmation number for your records. As a reminder, even if you pay electronically, you must still file your return by the due date. Tax not paid on or before the due date will be subject to penalty and interest.

Fed/State Employment Taxes Program (FSET)

DRS participates in the FSET program through which you can initiate federal taxes, Connecticut withholding and unemployment compensation payments and file multiple government returns through the same portal.

The FSET program is used by software developers, transmitters, and payroll service providers. It enables businesses to file payroll tax returns and make payments.

Transmission using the FSET system may be made by an individual employer or a third party, using the required XML format.

If your company is interested in using the FSET system for the quarterly filing of state and federal tax and wage reports and making employment tax payments ask your payroll company to contact DRS to get more information, or contact an Approved FSET Vendor.

ACH Credit

ACH credit method users should consult with their banking institution for guidelines to ensure that payment is received timely. (Taxpayers must pre‑register with the DRS Electronic Commerce Unit (ECU) prior to using this option). The taxpayer initiates an electronic payment through their banking institution. This payment must be sent in the ACH standard CCD+TXP format. For detailed information and a list of FAQs, review Informational Publication 2021(5), Filing and Paying Connecticut Taxes Electronically.