If you are opening wholesale accounts as a Connecticut-based reseller, the document your distributors will ask for is the Connecticut Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate. It lets you buy inventory without paying Connecticut sales tax, because the tax will be collected when you sell to your own customers.
This guide covers the Connecticut specifics: which agency issues what, the exact form, what it costs, how long it takes, and how your suppliers will verify it. It is part of our step-by-step wholesale sourcing roadmap.
Certificate: Connecticut Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate. Prerequisite registration: Sales and Use Tax Permit. Issuing agency: Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS).
Yes – Connecticut accepts resale certificates bearing an out-of-state registration number, as well as the MTC uniform certificate.
Connecticut has no general public lookup for certificate numbers, so suppliers rely on the completed form itself being accurate and signed. Expect distributors to keep your certificate on file — supplier profiles in our catalogue note when a resale certificate is required at account opening.
The Sales and Use Tax Permit is valid for two years and renews automatically at no charge if the account is in good standing; blanket certificates should be refreshed every three years
Usually yes — but the supplier must then charge you sales tax, which comes straight out of your margin, and some distributors simply refuse accounts without resale documentation. Getting the certificate first is almost always worth it.
The $100 registration fee is among the highest in the country. No public online permit-verification tool; suppliers verify by contacting DRS.
Facts above summarise official Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) guidance; requirements change, so confirm current fees and forms at the agency site. Next step in the roadmap: choosing and verifying a supplier.