Connecticut sales tax on invoices (2026 guide)

Connecticut charges a 6.35% sales and use tax, and there are no local sales taxes — the rate is the same in every town. That makes the math simple.

What isn't simple is the list of taxable services. Connecticut taxes far more services than most states, including management consulting, website development, landscaping and photography. If you're a freelancer or small business, assume nothing until you've checked the list. This guide covers the rates, taxable services, permits and what your Connecticut invoices should show.

Connecticut sales tax rates

The Department of Revenue Services (DRS) lists a few other special rates for specific items, such as vessels and short-term passenger vehicle rentals.

Which services are taxable in Connecticut?

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-407 lists the services subject to sales tax. DRS's list includes:

• Business analysis, management and management consulting services (environmental consulting is excluded).
• Advertising and public relations services, including layout, art direction and graphic design, when they aren't related to developing media advertising or cooperative direct mail advertising.
• Computer and data processing services — including online access to computer services and services to create, develop, host or maintain all or part of a website — taxed at 1%.
• Landscaping and horticulture, janitorial, maintenance, exterminating and locksmith services.
• Interior design, photographic studio services, and painting and lettering services.
• Motor vehicle repair, towing and storage, and repair or maintenance of tangible personal property.
• Certain contractor services to real property, employment and personnel agencies, pet grooming and boarding, and many more.

That's far from the full list — DRS points to the statute for the complete set. If your work is on it, you charge tax on that work, even if you sell nothing tangible.

Getting a Connecticut sales and use tax permit

You must register with DRS if you sell, rent or lease goods, sell a taxable service, or operate a hotel or lodging in Connecticut. Register online through myconneCT.

• There's a $100 fee to register for sales and use tax.
• You receive a Sales and Use Tax Permit, which you display where customers can see it.
• You need a separate permit for each location, and a new owner can't use the previous owner's permit.
• All building contractors, including subcontractors, must get a permit before providing any services, even if the services aren't taxable.

Returns are filed and paid electronically on Form OS-114 through myconneCT.

Remote sellers

Out-of-state sellers must register if, during the 12-month period ending September 30 before the filing period, they make 200 or more retail sales into Connecticut and have at least $100,000 in gross receipts from those sales. Both tests must be met.

What a Connecticut sales tax invoice should show

• your business name and address,
• the customer's name and address,
• a unique invoice number and the invoice date,
• each item or service with its price,
• sales tax as a separate line, with the rate you applied, and
• the total due.

Because Connecticut has different rates for different services, put each type of work on its own line — for example, website development at 1% on one line and consulting at 6.35% on another — so the client can see how each amount of tax was worked out.

Resale certificates

The sale of a taxable item or service is taxed unless the buyer gives you a properly completed resale certificate (or exemption certificate) at the time of the sale. DRS's guidance says a resale certificate must:

• be signed by the buyer and show their name and address,
• describe what the buyer sells in the regular course of business and what they're buying from you, and
• show the buyer's Connecticut Tax Registration Number from their Sales and Use Tax Permit.

You can't accept a registration number instead of a certificate. DRS also accepts the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales & Use Tax Certificate — Multijurisdiction as a resale certificate (but not for other exemptions). Keep resale certificates for at least six years.

Exempt organizations and government agencies use DRS exemption certificates such as CERT-119 (qualifying exempt organizations) and CERT-134 (qualifying governmental agencies). See how to invoice a tax-exempt customer.

A worked example

Suppose you're a web developer in Hartford and you invoice a business client for:

• $3,000 to build their website (computer and data processing, 1%), and
• $1,200 for business strategy consulting (management consulting, 6.35%).

Tax on the website: $3,000 × 1% = $30.00. Tax on the consulting: $1,200 × 6.35% = $76.20. Total tax is $106.20, and the invoice total is $4,200 + $106.20 = $4,306.20. Charging 6.35% on the whole $4,200 would overcharge the client by $60.

Selling to customers in other states

If you ship goods or deliver taxable services to customers in another state, that state's rules may apply instead of Connecticut's. Since the Supreme Court's 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, states can require out-of-state sellers to register and collect their sales tax once sales into the state pass a threshold the state sets. Check each state you sell into and use its rate on those invoices. Our sales tax calculator can help with the math.

Common mistakes on Connecticut invoices

• Assuming services are tax-free. Consulting, web work, design and more are taxable in Connecticut.
• Charging 6.35% on computer and data processing, which is taxed at 1%.
• Lumping services with different rates into a single line.
• Accepting a registration number instead of a resale certificate.
• Not registering because you only sell services — selling a taxable service requires a permit.

Quick checklist for Connecticut invoices

• ✅ Sales and Use Tax Permit ($100) before your first taxable sale
• ✅ Checked your services against the § 12-407 list
• ✅ 1% on computer and data processing, 6.35% on most other taxable work
• ✅ Each service type on its own line
• ✅ Resale certificates on file for six years