Privacy Policy
Thank you for visiting the Department of Revenue Services web site. DRS is committed to protecting your privacy and to making your on-line experience enjoyable, secure, comfortable, and valuable.
The Department of Revenue Services' (DRS) policy is to respect and protect the privacy of our website users, consistent with the applicable laws of the United States and State of Connecticut, including the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act and the Connecticut Personal Data Act. We do not collect, use or disclose any information about our users without their knowledge and approval. We do not share user information with third parties unless we have informed users about the disclosures or when we have prior consent.
Visitors should be aware that the Department of Revenue Services could be required to disclose personal information in response to valid legal process, such as a search warrant, subpoena, or court order, pursuant to the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act. All record keepers face the possibility that disclosure of their records may be compelled in some civil, criminal, or administrative matters. Disclosures may also be necessary to protect the State’s legal rights or during emergencies if physical safety is believed to be at risk. While these events are unlikely, they are possible.
What Information About Users Does The Department of Revenue Services Collect?
A. Automatic Information
In order to improve usefulness of our web site for our visitors, we automatically collect and maintain the following statistical information:
| Information | Definition |
| Date | Date the visit occurred. |
| Time | Time the visit occurred. |
| Client IP | Unique Internet Protocol address of the website visitor. This will sometimes be masked by a proxy or other such equipment that connects the user to the Internet through their Internet Service Provider (ISP). |
| Server IP | Unique Internet Protocol address of web server accessed. This will always be the IP address of the FTB web server. |
| HTTP Status | Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) error code. E.g., 404 Requested page not found. |
| HTTP Request URL | Identifies the web page or file requested by the website visitor. |
| Bytes sent | Amount of data sent from the web server to website visitor during that connection. |
| Bytes Received | Amount of data sent from website visitor to the web server. |
| User Agent | Type of web browser or other client software that made request to the web server. |
| Referrer | Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that referred to the requested file. |
| Protocol Version | Version of HTTP used by the visitor's web browser software. |
This information is collected for statistical analysis using standard third-party software programs to create summary statistics. The statistics are used for the purpose of determining what information is of most and least interest to all visitors and identifying system performance or problem areas. This information is not collected for commercial marketing purposes and the Department of Revenue Services does not sell information collected online for commercial marketing purposes.
B. Personal Information You Provide to Us
DRS does not retain personally identifiable information about you when you visit our web sites unless you choose to provide such information to us (i.e. sending an e-mail, participating in a survey, responding to a feedback or "contact us" form, etc.)
We consider any information that could reasonably be used to identify you as Personally Identifying Information (PII). This includes, but is not limited to:
- Your name
- Your address
- Your e-mail address
- Your Social Security number
- Your password
- Bank account information
- Credit card information
- Any combination of data that could be used to identify you such as your birth date, your zip code and your gender.
If personal information is requested on the web site or volunteered by the user, state law and the United States Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it. However, this information is a public record once you provide it, and while its disclosure may be prohibited by Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-15, it may be subject to public inspection and copying if not deemed to be protected by federal or state law.
E-Mail Communications and Web Forms
We keep confidential the information that you provide us through electronic communications. However, any information that you send us by electronic mail is not secure and may be seen by others on the Internet. We recommend that you do not send us your Social Security number, Federal Employer Identification Number or Connecticut Tax Registration Number. In order to maintain the confidentiality of your information, DRS will not respond by e-mail to specific account inquiries. Account inquiries should be directed to DRS by telephone or by regular mail.
ALL e-mail messages collected by DRS contain the e-mail addresses of persons who voluntarily communicated with or requested information from us. E-mail addresses are not sold, leased or shared with any governmental or commercial entities without the user's consent. When a user has given us their e-mail address for purposes of communicating with or requesting information from DRS, that communication becomes part of the public record and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not protected by federal or state law.
You may decide to send DRS personally identifying information, for example, your home address or telephone number in an electronic mail message or when filling out a request form online. If you send us personally-identifying information, we will only use this personally-identifying information to respond to your request.
Does The Department of Revenue Services Share The Information It Receives With Anyone?
Except as provided by applicable state and federal laws, we do not collect, use or disclose user information without the user’s knowledge and approval. We do not share user information with third parties unless we have informed users about the disclosures or have prior consent.
Can I Access and Correct My Personal Information?
DRS does not collect any personally identifiable information other than what you voluntarily provide in your e-mail correspondence. The automatic data recorded is not matched with any of that personally identifiable information. Therefore, information cannot be provided about your visit.
Do I Have a Choice About Whether or Not My Personal Information is Provided to Others?
DRS does not obtain personally identifiable information about you when you visit our web sites unless you choose to provide such information to us (i.e. sending an e-mail, participating in a survey, responding to a feedback or "contact us" form, etc.). We do not disclose, sell, lease or provide any personal information about our users to any other government or commercial entity for any purpose.
DRS provides a growing number of online applications for various programs and tax processes. When used, these systems ask for personally identifying information including, but not limited to names, addresses, phone and e-mail. This information is used to process the request and may be incorporated into DRS’s computer systems. Users should be aware that any information submitted using this type of application is not secure. Users uncomfortable submitting information over the Internet using this type of application are encouraged to complete a paper copy of the form and send it to DRS by regular mail or to call DRS.
There may be instances where we send ongoing updates or announcements to interested parties. In such cases, visitors will have the choice whether or not to receive these updates or announcements.
However, it is important to understand that under applicable state and federal law, various forms of correspondence and other communications may be subject to public disclosure.
Commitment to Security
The Department of Information Technology, which manages the computers that support DRS, has put into place appropriate safeguards to ensure that any personal information is secure from destruction, corruption, unauthorized access and breach of confidentiality. This effort includes an ongoing review of safety measures, implementation of changes, and regular training for their personnel.
DRS provides this site as a public service. This site is monitored to ensure proper operation, to verify the functioning of applicable security features and for other like purposes. Anyone using this site expressly consents to such monitoring. Unauthorized attempts to modify any information stored on this site, to defeat or circumvent security features, or to utilize this site for other than its intended purposes are prohibited.
Disclaimer/Links to other Sites
The DRS web site contains links to other web sites. These may include links to web sites operated by other government agencies, non-profit organizations and private businesses. Please note that by clicking on a link to another site, you are no longer on the DRS web site and this privacy notice does not apply. When you link to another web site, you are subject to the privacy policy of that web site. We do not control the contents or links that appear on these sites.
Contacting Us
If you have any questions about this privacy policy notice, practices of this site, or your dealings with the site, you can contact the webmaster at DRS.Webmaster@ct.gov or write to:
Department of Revenue Services
450 Columbus Blvd. Ste. 1
Hartford, CT 06103