Connecticut Sales Tax Guide: Permit, Rates, Filing and Due Dates

Step 1: Find out if you need a CT Sales and Use Tax Permit

DRS says you must register if you plan to do any of these in Connecticut (CT DRS: Sales and Use Tax Information):

• Sell, rent or lease goods
• Sell a taxable service (CT taxes many services; see the list below)
• Run a hotel, motel, lodging house or bed and breakfast

This applies to sole proprietors, LLCs and corporations of any size, and to one-day sellers at flea markets, craft shows and fairs, who must display the permit at their table. It doesn't cover casual or isolated sales: infrequent, one-off sales by someone who isn't in the business of selling. Building contractors and subcontractors need a permit even if their own services aren't taxable.

1. Go to myconneCT (portal.ct.gov/DRS-myconneCT). Under Business Registration, choose New Business/Need a CT Registration Number?
2. Register for sales and use tax. The fee is $100. You need a separate permit for each location, and if you buy an existing business you can't use the seller's permit.
3. Display your permit where customers can see it.
4. Watch for your filing frequency. DRS generally starts new registrants as monthly filers and reviews your filings after 12 months (DRS: Getting Started in Business).

If you don't sell anything taxable but your business buys taxable items without paying CT tax (for example from an out-of-state website), DRS says you should register for business use tax and report those purchases on Form OS-114.

Step 2: Know your rate: CT sales tax rates for 2026

Connecticut has one statewide rate structure, and DRS confirms there are no local sales taxes in Connecticut. The general rate is 6.35%, but some sales use a special rate:

Also on the DRS rate list: a 4.5% rate on motor vehicles sold to certain nonresident active-duty military members (with CERT-135). Digital goods are taxed at the general 6.35% rate (DRS Special Notice 2019(8)). Rooms are taxed separately under the room occupancy tax (see below). Use the free sales tax calculator to run the numbers.

Step 3: Check what you sell. CT taxes many services

Most goods are taxable unless a specific exemption applies. Connecticut also taxes a long list of services, which surprises many new business owners. The major taxable service categories in state law (Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-407(a)(37)) and the OS-114 instructions include:

• Computer, data processing and website services (1% rate)
• Business analysis, management consulting and public relations services
• Advertising and PR services not tied to media advertising
• Services to commercial or income-producing real property (management, electrical, plumbing, painting, carpentry)
• Renovation and repair services to other real property
• Landscaping and horticulture, window cleaning, janitorial, maintenance, exterminating and pool cleaning
• Repair or maintenance of goods, including warranty and service contracts, and motor vehicle repair
• Employment agencies and personnel services
• Private investigation, security patrol and armored car services
• Painting and lettering, photographic studio, telephone answering and stenographic services
• Manicure, pedicure and nail services; spa services; health and athletic clubs, including yoga studios
• Pet grooming, boarding and obedience; car washes; dry cleaning and laundry (not coin-operated)
• Interior design, storage space, motor vehicle parking, storage and towing, packing and crating, and limousine/livery services
• Lobbying or consulting services, and sales agent services for selling goods (not auctioneers)

Services that aren't on that list, such as many professional services, generally aren't taxable. The details matter, though. Some services are taxable only to certain property or certain customers. If you're not sure where yours fits, take the Do I need to collect sales tax? quiz, then confirm with DRS.

Step 4: Handle resale and exemption certificates

• Buying inventory to resell: give your supplier a Connecticut Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate (or the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales & Use Tax Certificate, which DRS accepts for resale only). It must show your CT Tax Registration Number from your permit. A blanket certificate should be renewed at least every three years (DRS IP 2009(15)).
• Selling to someone who claims an exemption: keep the certificate they give you. Without it, the sale is presumed taxable and the tax becomes your responsibility. Common DRS certificates include CERT-100 (materials, tools and fuel), CERT-101 (manufacturing machinery), CERT-119 (qualifying exempt organizations, such as nonprofits) and CERT-134 (qualifying government agencies). See the full list on the DRS exemption certificates page.
• Report nontaxable sales as deductions on Form OS-114. Don't leave them off the return.

Step 5: Know your filing frequency and due dates

DRS assigns your filing frequency based on your sales tax liability for the 12 months ending the previous June 30 (Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-414):

New registrants generally start as monthly filers, and DRS tells you in writing when your frequency changes. Weekend and holiday rule: if a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the return is on time if you file and pay by the next business day. The dates below apply that rule.

Monthly filers (Form OS-114)

Quarterly filers

Annual filers

Due dates come from the DRS rule (the last day of the month after the period) and Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-414. Where a date fell on a weekend or holiday, we moved it to the next business day under the DRS rule. If DRS gives you a different date, use theirs.

Step 6: How to file and pay CT sales tax in myconneCT

Form OS-114, the Connecticut Sales and Use Tax Return, must be filed and paid electronically in myconneCT. Annual filers have had to file electronically since 2022 (Form O-88, OS-114 instructions).

1. Gather your numbers for the period: total gross receipts, nontaxable sales by type (resale, exempt buyers, out-of-state shipments and so on), and sales at each special rate. Include taxable purchases that are subject to use tax.
2. Log in to myconneCT and open the OS-114 return for the period.
3. Report all sales, both taxable and nontaxable. Itemize your deductions, and put receipts at 7.35% or 7.75% in their own columns.
4. Submit the return. You'll get a confirmation number. Save or print it.
5. Pay. After you file, myconneCT takes you to the payment page. You can authorize a free direct payment (an electronic withdrawal from your checking or savings account) dated any day up to the due date. Or you can pay by credit or debit card (American Express, Discover, MasterCard or Visa). The card processor charges a convenience fee, which DRS says is generally 2.35% with a $3.95 minimum. You can also use Make a Payment to pay without filing a return.

Late filing or late payment: DRS charges a penalty of 15% of the tax due or $50, whichever is greater, plus interest of 1% per month (or fraction of a month) from the due date. Paying by paper instead of electronically adds a separate 10% penalty. See Step 11.

Step 7: Selling on Etsy, Amazon, eBay or Airbnb (marketplace facilitators)

• Goods: marketplace facilitators such as Etsy, Amazon and eBay collect and send in CT sales tax on the sales they process for you. DRS still asks in-state sellers who sell only through a marketplace to register on Form REG-1, checking the box for sales only through a marketplace facilitator. They're then set up as annual filers. Keep your platform agreement or a DRS-055 Certificate of Collection (DRS OCG-8). Our online seller taxes guide covers the income tax side.
• Sales on your own site, at fairs or in person: you collect and send in the tax yourself on those sales.
• Short-term rentals (Airbnb, Vrbo): since October 1, 2019, short-term rental facilitators that meet DRS's threshold collect and send in the room occupancy tax on rentals booked through them. You're responsible for bookings you take directly (DRS SN 2019(9)). See our Airbnb and short-term rental tax guide.

Step 8: Out-of-state sellers and economic nexus

A seller outside Connecticut must register and collect CT sales tax once it has at least $100,000 in gross receipts AND 200 or more retail sales into Connecticut during the 12 months ending on the September 30 before the filing period. You have to meet both tests (Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-407(a)(12)(G); DRS 2019 legislative summary). Sales a marketplace collects tax on are handled by the marketplace.

Step 9: Room occupancy tax (hotels, B&Bs and short-term rentals)

• Rates: 15% for hotels, motels, lodging houses and short-term home rentals, and 11% for bed and breakfasts. The tax applies to the first 30 consecutive days of a stay (DRS: Room Occupancy Tax).
• Register in myconneCT. The fee is $100, but there's no extra fee if you're also registering for sales and use tax.
• File Form OP-210, the Room Occupancy Tax Return, electronically in myconneCT by the last day of the month after the period. You have to file it even when you had no bookings.
• Late payment gets the same penalty: 15% or $50, whichever is greater, plus 1% a month in interest.

Step 10: Records to keep

• Sales records for every period: invoices, receipts, register tapes and platform reports, split into taxable and nontaxable sales.
• Every resale and exemption certificate you accept. Without one, DRS presumes the sale was taxable.
• Your DRS-055 or marketplace agreement, if you sell through a facilitator.
• Purchase invoices that show whether you paid CT tax, which backs up your use tax reporting.
• Copies of each filed OS-114 and its confirmation number, plus your payment confirmations.

Ask DRS how long you need to keep each type of record.

Step 11: Penalties and interest for late filing or payment

You can ask DRS to waive penalties for reasonable cause through myconneCT (DRS: penalty waiver requests). Interest generally isn't waived.

Step 12: Behind on CT sales tax? How to get caught up

1. Stop the problem from growing: register now if you should have a permit, and start collecting on new sales.
2. Rebuild each missed period from bank deposits, platform reports and invoices.
3. File every missing OS-114, including zero returns, and pay what you can, since interest keeps adding up.
4. Look at the DRS Voluntary Disclosure Program if you never registered or underreported. DRS says people who come forward on their own generally pay the tax and interest for a limited look-back period, with penalties waived. You can ask DRS questions anonymously first (DRS Voluntary Disclosure Program).
5. Already got a DRS letter? Read it carefully and respond by the date it gives. Our tax letters explained page can help you read it.

We help you understand it and get caught up: sorting out what's owed, organizing the records, and preparing your filings or payment plan request for you to submit.

More free tools

Try the CT and NC sales tax calculator or the Do I need to collect sales tax? quiz, or read Starting a Business in CT and the North Carolina sales tax guide.