Staying compliant in Connecticut

When is the Connecticut annual report due and what does it cost?

The report is due in the window January 1 to March 31 each year, the fee is $80, and the Secretary of the State's Business Services Division takes it online.^{1, 2}

The deadline rule

Connecticut uses one fixed window for all LLCs, not a deadline tied to the date you formed. The statute says the report "must be filed with the Secretary of the State after January first and before April first", and the first report is due the year after formation. So an LLC formed in, say, October files nothing the following weeks, then makes its first report when the window opens in the new year.¹

That shared window has a practical upside. Your deadline never shifts, so a single repeating calendar entry covers it for the life of the LLC.

How to file

The Secretary's forms page describes the report as "filed online annually from January 1 to March 31", and online is the route the Division points owners to. For other filings, its paper-filings page warns that paper is "strongly discouraged as it is the slowest option".^{1, 5}

This page's sources don't list the questions the report asks. Annual reports commonly confirm the business address and the agent on file, so treat the report as your yearly check that Connecticut's record is still right. Read each screen before you submit rather than clicking through last year's details. Our explainer on how annual reports work covers what these filings usually ask.

If you also run an LLC in a neighbouring state, the calendars differ. Compare staying compliant in New York and staying compliant in Massachusetts.

Does Connecticut charge LLCs a franchise tax or business entity tax?

No. Connecticut used to charge a Business Entity Tax (BET), but the Department of Revenue Services says "Public Act 19-117 has ended the BET for any tax period beginning after 12/31/2018". The yearly charge you pay the Secretary of the State is the annual report fee of $80.^{2, 3}

That does not mean an LLC owes no tax at all. LLCs may still be subject to the elective/pass-through entity and income tax regimes, and those are income-tax questions rather than a yearly charge for existing. Which returns apply depends on how the LLC is owned and taxed and what it sells. This page doesn't cover those rules. Ask the Department of Revenue Services which registrations fit your business, and the IRS for federal filings, and keep those dates on a separate list from the Secretary's annual report.³

What happens if a Connecticut LLC falls behind, and how do you reinstate it?

A Connecticut LLC that goes without a registered agent can be dissolved by forfeiture, and getting it back takes a Certificate of Reinstatement filed with the Secretary of the State.

The sources behind this page don't give a late fee for a missed annual report or say how long a lapse may run before the Secretary acts on it. Treat the end of March as the real deadline and don't count on a grace period.

The sources are clear on the agent ground. The Secretary can dissolve the LLC by forfeiture when it has failed to maintain a registered agent for service (C.G.S. 34-267g(c)). Before that happens, the Secretary sends a notice, and the LLC avoids forfeiture if it appoints an agent within three months of the sending of such notice. A Change of Agent filing ($50) is how you do it.^{1, 4}

Reinstatement

The Secretary's paper-filings page has a fee line reading "Certificate of Reinstatement $120". The state notes that its combined form includes the annual report, so the reinstatement filing brings the report current at the same time. If you want to reinstate online, the Secretary's knowledge base adds that the Business Agent must be a Connecticut resident; ask the Division what that means for your filing if your agent is a company.⁶

An LLC that kept trading or signed contracts while forfeited may have questions that go beyond the paperwork. Ask a lawyer about those. The Connecticut registered agent guide explains what having no agent does to an LLC.

How do you keep your registered agent current in Connecticut?

Keep an agent on record that "shall have a place of business in this state" (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 34-243n), and file a Change of Agent with the Secretary, for $50, whenever that agent changes.^{1, 7}

The same rule covers out-of-state LLCs registered here (registration costs $120): a "registered foreign limited liability company shall have a place of business in this state" (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 34-243n).^{7, 8}

When to file a Change of Agent

File a Change of Agent when your agent moves out of Connecticut, resigns, or you switch services. Online filing can be expedited for $50 per transaction, and the Secretary notes "Expedited service is not applicable for filings by mail". Wait until the new agent shows on the Secretary's record before you cancel the old one, so there is no day without an agent. Our guides to changing a registered agent and cancelling an agent service cover the order of steps.⁹

What compliance features do for a Connecticut LLC

Agent services sell compliance help in two forms, and in Connecticut they map onto the single annual report.

• Some providers bundle reminders with the agent service. doola lists annual report notifications, and Northwest Registered Agent says "we'll remind you when your deadline is approaching". The Swyft Filings agent service promises "timely notifications of state correspondence", which is not the same as a deadline reminder. A reminder tells you the window is open; you still file and pay the $80 yourself.^{10, 11, 12}
• Filing services do the report for you. Tailor Brands includes annual report filing in its Essential and Elite plans, not in Lite. ZenBusiness sells Annual Report Filing $100 per report or Worry-Free Compliance $199/year. LegalZoom charges $99 + state filing fees, bills once, InCorp Services charges $89 + state fees, and Rocket Lawyer lists $100 with Pro membership, excluding state fees. Swyft Filings sells ComplianceGuard $199/year, with a 14-day free trial then auto-charged. Bizee (formerly Incfile) offers filing with no standalone price stated.^{13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19}
• None of them can fix an agent gap after the fact. If your service resigns because a renewal went unpaid, its notice goes to the contact details it holds. Keep your email and phone current in the provider's account.

Renewal terms deserve a look too, because a paid agent is a recurring cost on top of the report. Tailor Brands lists its renewal as $199/year (renews at the same price), and Harbor Compliance renews at $159 annually and needs notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the end of the current term. All providers' prices sit side by side in the Connecticut registered agent comparison, and services with compliance tools compares these features nationally.^{20, 21, 22}

What does a Connecticut LLC compliance calendar look like in the first year and after?

Connecticut's calendar is simple because the annual report window is fixed. What changes in the first year is only that no report is due yet.

Year one

1. Certificate of Organization filed. Your LLC exists once the Secretary accepts it. The Connecticut LLC formation guide covers the filing, and the cheapest ways to form a Connecticut LLC adds up the costs.
2. Confirm your agent. Check that the agent named at formation shows on the Secretary's record, and save its contact details and renewal date.
3. Tax registrations. Ask the Department of Revenue Services and the IRS which apply, and list their dates separately.
4. No annual report this year. The first report is due the year after formation.¹

Year two and later

1. The annual report window opens on the first day of the year and closes at the end of March (January 1 to March 31 each year). File online for $80 and check the agent and addresses on the form.^{1, 2}
2. Agent renewal. Your provider bills on its own cycle, which may not line up with the report window. Decide whether to keep the service before any notice deadline in its terms.
3. Any agent change. File a Change of Agent ($50) as soon as your agent changes, not at the next report.¹
4. If the Secretary sends a notice about a missing agent, appoint one within three months of the sending of such notice to avoid forfeiture.

Terms used here, such as forfeiture and service of process, are defined in the glossary. For what an agent does day to day, read what a registered agent is.