Once your business has a Connecticut sales tax license and begins to make sales, you are required to start collecting sales taxes on behalf of the Connecticut government and filing regular sales tax returns. This page will help you understand the basics of your tax collection and filing responsibilities.
If a seller has an in-state location in the state of Connecticut, they are legally required to collect sales tax at the statewide sales tax rate. No matter where the seller lives, if they have sales tax nexus in the state, they are required to charge Connecticut's flat rate of 6.35%.
While many states allow merchants to keep a small percentage of the sales tax they collect as a collection discount, or compensation for the work put in collecting the tax on behalf of the state, Connecticut does not currently allow this.
To file sales tax in Connecticut, you must begin by reporting gross sales for the reporting period, and calculate the total amount of sales tax due from this period.
In the state of Connecticut, all taxpayers are given two options for filing taxes. One is filing online at the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. the other option is the online service AutoFile. Payment can also be remitted through both of these online systems. You cannot file manually through the mail in Connecticut, as the state requires all tax payers to use the online services.
Tax payers in Connecticut should be aware of late penalties the state applies. The penalty for late filing is fifty dollars, in addition to 1% of the tax imposed for each late month. The late payment penalty is 1% of the unpaid tax per late month, or fraction of a month.
The state of Connecticut requires that a seller who owns a sales tax permit files sales tax return on the required day, even if the tax return would have been "zeroed-out", and there is nothing to report.
Your business's sales tax return must be filed by the 20th day of the month next succeeding each monthly or quarterly period. For a list of this year's actual due dates, see our calendar of Connecticut sales tax filing due dates.
The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services had declared that the implementation of the alteration of the due dates was delayed until 2015. As of October first, 2014, the sales and use tax return due date becomes the twentieth day of the next month. If the tax liability is no more than four thousand dollars for previous year, as provided, the the taxpayer is allowed file on a quarterly basis. If the tax liability one thousand dollars or greater for the previoud year, as provided, the taxpayer is required to file anually. In addition, the commissioner might require any individual who is considered to be delinquent, to remit tax which was collected over the course of a weekly period on a weekly basis
Connecticut supports electronic filing of sales tax returns, which is often much faster than filing via mail.