CT Tax Exempt Form: Who Qualifies, How to File, and Recordkeeping

The Connecticut tax exempt form you need depends on who is buying and what they’re buying. The Department of Revenue Services issues a numbered series of CERT forms — CERT-119 for qualifying nonprofits, CERT-134 for government agencies, CERT-100 for manufacturers, CERT-112 and CERT-123 for meals and lodging, and a separate resale certificate for businesses buying inventory to resell. Picking the correct form, completing it fully, and keeping a copy on file for six years is what makes the exemption stand up if an auditor ever asks.

Which Form Applies to You

Every current form is available on the DRS website.¹ Match yourself to the right one before anything else:

CERT-119 — nonprofits with IRS 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(13) status buying tangible goods or taxable services.²
CERT-134 — federal and Connecticut governmental agencies buying tangible goods or taxable services. It does not cover meals or lodging.³
CERT-100 — manufacturers buying materials, tools, and fuel used directly in an industrial manufacturing plant to fabricate a product for sale or to power such a plant.⁴
CERT-112 — exempt organizations or governmental agencies requesting exemption from tax on meals or lodging for a specific event. This form must be submitted to DRS at least three weeks before the event.⁵
CERT-123 — a blanket certificate for exempt organizations or governmental agencies making ongoing qualifying purchases of meals or lodging.⁶
Resale certificate — for businesses that hold a Connecticut sales tax permit and are buying goods they intend to resell in the regular course of business.⁷

Using the wrong number is one of the fastest ways to lose an exemption on audit. A government agency that files CERT-119 (built for nonprofits) or a manufacturer that reaches for a general exemption instead of CERT-100 creates a documentation mismatch that can surface years later.

Who Qualifies to Use These Forms

Connecticut General Statutes § 12-412 sets the categories of exempt buyers.⁸ The groups tied to the CERT forms above are:

Sales to the United States, the State of Connecticut, or any of its political subdivisions and their agencies.
Nonprofits recognized by the IRS under Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(13), provided the purchase is used exclusively for the organization’s exempt purpose.
Businesses holding a Connecticut sales tax permit that are buying goods or services to resell.
Manufacturers using materials, tools, and fuel directly in an industrial manufacturing plant.

Being an exempt organization is not enough on its own. The statute requires that the goods or services be “used or consumed exclusively for the purposes for which such organization was established.”⁸ A 501(c)(3) buying office supplies for its programs qualifies. An employee running a personal errand with the organization’s certificate does not.

How Nonprofits Prove Exempt Status

Connecticut no longer issues its own exemption permits. DRS stopped issuing “E-Number Permits” on July 1, 1995; those older permits remain valid if never revoked, but every organization recognized after that date relies on its IRS determination letter as proof.⁵

When making a purchase, the nonprofit hands the retailer a completed CERT-119 along with a copy of that IRS determination letter. If the organization is covered by a group exemption letter (where a central organization applied on behalf of multiple affiliates), it also needs to attach the group exemption letter, its written consent to be covered, and the central organization’s notification to the IRS of that consent.²

Federal status can vanish quietly. An organization that fails to file its annual IRS return (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N) for three consecutive years automatically loses its federal exemption, which pulls the floor out from under the Connecticut exemption as well. Once the IRS revokes the determination letter, CERT-119 cannot be used. Organizations can apply for or renew their tax exemption status online through the myconneCT portal.⁹

How to Fill Out a Connecticut Exemption Certificate

The forms share a common set of fields. Using CERT-119 as the reference:

Purchaser’s legal name, address, Connecticut Tax Registration Number if applicable, any exemption permit number, and Federal Employer Identification Number.
Seller’s legal name, address, Connecticut Tax Registration Number, and Federal Employer Identification Number.
Whether the certificate covers a single purchase or serves as a blanket certificate.
A description of the purchase, noting whether the items are tangible personal property or taxable services, with each item written out.

The description field carries more weight than it looks like it should. “Supplies” invites follow-up questions on audit. “Printing paper and toner cartridges for office operations” tells a reviewer what was bought and how it fits the exempt purpose. On CERT-100, a manufacturer should describe the production process and explain how the materials connect to fabrication.

Every certificate is signed under penalty of law. The CERT-119 declaration states that willfully delivering a false certificate to DRS carries a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.² That language tracks directly to the criminal penalties in § 12-428.

Businesses that need a Connecticut Tax Registration Number to complete the form can register through myconneCT using the REG-1 application. The system generates the registration number on submission.¹⁰

Single-Purchase vs. Blanket Certificates

Buyers making repeated qualifying purchases from the same vendor do not need a new certificate every time. Both CERT-119 and CERT-134 include a checkbox designating the form as a blanket certificate, which then covers future qualifying purchases from that seller.²

Two limits are worth knowing. CERT-119 cannot be used as a blanket certificate for goods intended for resale at fundraising or social events exempt under § 12-412(94). Government agencies using CERT-134 may purchase goods for resale at no more than five fundraising or social events per calendar year.³

Recordkeeping After You File

Both the buyer and the seller must keep a copy of the completed exemption certificate, any attached documents (such as the IRS determination letter), and records supporting the information on the certificate for at least six years from the date the certificate was issued.² Connecticut’s general recordkeeping regulation sets a shorter minimum of no fewer than three years from the extended due date of the return, unless the commissioner provides written notice that records are no longer needed.¹¹ The six-year period stated on the forms is the safer standard.

Digital copies are acceptable, but they need to be legible and retrievable on short notice. A scan buried in a five-year-old email thread is technically retained and practically useless when an auditor asks for it.

If You Paid Tax by Mistake

If an exempt buyer pays Connecticut sales tax on a purchase that should have been tax-free — the certificate wasn’t presented, or the seller wouldn’t accept it — the buyer can file a written refund claim with the Commissioner of Revenue Services stating the specific grounds for the overpayment.¹²

The deadline is three years from the last day of the month following the period when the overpayment was made. Missing it “constitutes a waiver of any demand against the state.”¹² For use tax overpayments there’s an added condition: the buyer must have reimbursed the seller for the tax the seller paid to the state on that transaction, so sorting out what the vendor already remitted may come first.

Penalties for Misuse

Connecticut treats fraudulent exemption certificates as a Class D felony under § 12-428. Willfully delivering a false or fraudulent document to the Commissioner or an authorized agent can result in a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.¹³

Separately, anyone required to pay sales tax, file a return, or keep records who willfully fails to do so faces a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in jail, or both. These penalties reach individual officers, employees, or partners with a duty to handle the tax correctly, not only the organization.¹³

Beyond criminal exposure, a failed exemption puts the unpaid tax back on the table with interest of 1% per month from the date the tax was originally due until the date of payment.¹⁴ On a large purchase that an audit catches years later, that interest alone can exceed the original tax.

1
Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Exemption Certificates
2
Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. CERT-119 Certificate for Purchases by Qualifying Exempt Organizations
3
Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. CERT-134 Certificate for Purchases by Governmental Agencies
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Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. CERT-100 Materials, Tools, and Fuel Certificate
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Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Tax Exemption Programs for Nonprofit Organizations
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Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. CERT-123 Blanket Certificate for Exempt Purchases of Meals or Lodging
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Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 219 – Sales and Use Taxes
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Justia Law. Connecticut Code 12-412 – Exemptions
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Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. myconneCT
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Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Register Your Business
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Connecticut eRegulations. Sec. 12-2-12 Recordkeeping and Record Retention
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Justia Law. Connecticut Code 12-425 – Overpayments
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Justia Law. Connecticut Code 12-428 – Wilful Violations
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Justia Law. Connecticut Code 12-414 – Sales Tax Penalties and Interest