Sales and Use Tax Information
- Who Must Register and File the Sales and Use Tax Return
- Sales and Use Tax
- Business Use Tax
- Tax Rates
- How to File
- Electronic Payment Options
- When to File
- Interest and Penalties
Who Must Register and File the Sales and Use Tax Return
You are required to register with the Department of Revenue Services (DRS) for sales and use tax if you intend to engage in any of the following activities in Connecticut:
- Sale, rental, or lease of goods;
- Sale of a taxable service; or
- Operating a hotel, motel, lodging house, or bed and breakfast establishment.
Retailers that are required to file the Sales and Use Tax Return may register online through myconneCT. Go to myconneCT, under Business Registration, click New Business/Need a CT Registration Number? There is a $100 fee for registering to collect sales and use tax. After registering, you will receive a Sales and Use Tax Permit that should be displayed conspicuously for your customers to see.
If you purchase an existing business, you may not use the Sales and Use Tax Permit issued to the previous owner; you must obtain a new Sales and Use Tax Permit. If you will have more than one location, you must register to obtain a Sales and Use Tax Permit for each location.
Use myconneCT to file taxes, make payments, view 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.
Click here to File, Pay, or Register Now on myconneCT!
You must obtain a Sales and Use Tax Permit from DRS if you intend to engage in any of the following activities in Connecticut:
- Sale, rental, or lease of goods;
- Sale of a taxable service; or
- Operating a hotel, motel, lodging house, or bed and breakfast establishment.
You must obtain a Sales and Use Tax Permit from DRS if you will be selling at a flea market, craft show, trade show, antique show, fair, etc. in Connecticut even if you will only be making sales for one day. You must display the permit prominently at your booth or table.
The requirement to obtain a permit applies to individuals, corporations, partnerships, and all other business entities that will make sales in this state, regardless of the number of sales made or the amount of tax collected. These rules do not apply to casual sales or isolated sales, which are infrequent sales of a nonrecurring nature made by a person not engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property or taxable services. Manufacturers and wholesalers, as well as retailers, must obtain a permit. See Informational Publication 2018(5), Getting Started in Business.
All building contractors, including subcontractors, must obtain a Sales and Use Tax Permit from DRS prior to providing any services, even if the services provided are not taxable or if the contract is with a tax-exempt entity. For more information about contractors, see Informational Publication 2018(2), Building Contractors’ Guide to Sales and Use Taxes.
Note: Failure to obtain a tax permit will result in a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment of not more than three months, or both, for each offense.
Civil penalties will be imposed for failure to obtain or renew a seller's permit. A penalty of $250 applies for the first day the person engages in business without a seller's permit, and a penalty of $100 for each following day that the person engages in business without a seller's permit. The penalty may be waived if the person proves that the failure to obtain or renew the seller's permit was due to reasonable cause and was not intentional or due to neglect.
Any business that purchases goods or taxable services for use in Connecticut and does not pay Connecticut sales tax must pay the Connecticut use tax. The use tax rates are identical to the sales tax rates. See Informational Publication 2020(9), Q & A on the Connecticut Use Tax for Businesses and Professions. If purchases are made as an individual and not in connection with a business, see Individual Use Tax.
Per Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-408(4), the Department of Revenue Services reminds retailers that Connecticut law prohibits a retailer from advertising that the sales tax, or any portion of the sales tax, on merchandise will be paid or absorbed by the retailer. Connecticut law also prohibits a retailer from advertising that the sales tax will not be added to the sales price of merchandise or that, if added, the sales tax or any portion of the sales tax will be refunded. Any retailer violating these laws will be fined $500 for each offense.
A business not required to register to collect sales and use tax should still register to pay business use tax. If purchases are made in connection with a trade, occupation, business or profession, use myconneCT to register for business use tax. Report taxable purchases on Form OS-114, Connecticut Sales and Use Tax Return, for the reporting period in which the taxable purchase was made.
The sales tax rate of 6.35% applies to the retail sale, lease, or rental of most goods (including digital goods, which are described in Special Notice 2019(8), Sales and Use Taxes on Digital Goods and Canned or Prewritten Software) and taxable services. However, see Special Sales Tax Rates Apply to Certain Sales.
There are no additional sales taxes imposed by local jurisdictions in Connecticut.
Special Sales Tax Rates Apply to Certain Sales
While the general sales and use tax rate is 6.35%, other rates are imposed under Connecticut law as follows:
- 1%
- Sale of computer and data processing services.
- Canned software electronically accessed or transferred, without any tangible personal property, that is purchased by a business for business use. Canned software that is transferred with tangible personal property is taxable at 6.35% in all cases. Canned software that is electronically accessed or transferred for personal use is taxable at 6.35%. See Special Notice 2019(8), Sales and Use Taxes on Digital Goods and Canned or Prewritten Software.
- 2.99%
- Sale of vessels, motors for vessels, trailers used for transporting a vessel, and dyed diesel fuel sold by a marine dock exclusively for marine purposes. See Informational Publication 2021(10), Q & A on Purchases of Vessels.
- 4.5%
- Sale of a motor vehicle to a nonresident member, or a member and his or her spouse jointly, of the armed forces of the United States stationed on full-time active duty in Connecticut. The nonresident member of the armed forces must complete CERT-135, Reduced Sales and Use Tax Rate for Motor Vehicles Purchased by Nonresident Military Personnel and Their Spouses, and provide it to the Connecticut retailer. See Policy Statement 2001(4), Sales of Motor Vehicles to Nonresident Military Personnel and Joint Sales of Motor Vehicles to Nonresident Military Personnel and Their Spouses.
- 7.35%
- Sales of meals and certain beverages. See Policy Statement 2002(2), Sales and Use Tax on Meals, for more information.
- 7.75%
- Most motor vehicles with a sales price of more than $50,000. See Special Notice 2011(10), Sales and Use Tax Changes Affecting Motor Vehicle Dealers, for additional guidance;
- Items of jewelry, whether real or imitation, with a sales price of more than $5,000; and
- Articles of clothing or footwear intended to be worn on or about the human body, or a handbag, luggage, umbrella, wallet or watch, with a sales price of more than $1,000.
- 9.35%
- Rental or leasing of a passenger motor vehicle for a period of 30 consecutive calendar days or less.
Form OS‑114, Connecticut Sales and Use Tax Return, must be filed and paid electronically using myconneCT. DRS myconneCT allows taxpayers to electronically file, pay, and manage state tax responsibilities.
Click here to File, Pay, or Register Now on myconneCT!
Businesses must complete and file Form OS‑114 to report all sales activity in Connecticut, even if no sales were made or no tax is due. Both taxable and nontaxable sales must be reported in accordance with your monthly, quarterly, or annual filing frequency assigned by DRS.
You can make a free direct payment at the same time as filing your return through myconneCT. Upon completion of the return, you will automatically be taken to the payment page where you may authorize DRS to electronically withdraw payment from your checking or savings account or make a payment by credit card on any date up until the due date. You will receive a confirmation number upon successful filing and may print a copy for your records.
Pay by Direct Payment: You may also log into myconneCT and use the Make a Payment option to initiate a payment without a return (to pay bills, returns, or make advance payments). Select your payment type and date.
Pay by Credit Card or Debit Card: You may elect to pay your tax liability using a credit card (American Express®, Discover®, MasterCard®, VISA®) or comparable debit card. To pay by credit card or debit card, log into your account in myconneCT and select Make a Payment.
A convenience fee will be charged by the credit card service provider. You will be informed of the amount of the fee and you may elect to cancel the transaction.
At the end of the transaction you will be given a confirmation number for your records.
Form OS-114 is due on or before the last day of the month following the end of the filing period.
Interest
If this is a late or amended return, interest is computed at the rate of 1% per month or fraction of a month from the due date until the date of payment. Interest is based on the amount that should have been remitted on time.
Penalty for nonpayment or late payment of tax
15% of the tax due or $50, whichever is greater.
Penalty for failure to pay electronically
The following graduated penalty amounts will apply if you fail to remit payments electronically:
- First offense – 10% penalty on the amount of the required tax payment, but not more than $2,500;
- Second offense – 10% penalty, but not more than $10,000; and
- Third and subsequent offenses – 10% penalty.