How to Fill Out and Submit the CT-W4P: Codes, Filing, and Penalties

To fill out Form CT-W4P, enter your name, Social Security number, and address at the top, choose the withholding code on Line 1 that matches your filing status and expected annual gross income, optionally add or subtract a dollar amount on Lines 2 or 3, sign and date the bottom, and give the form to your pension or annuity payer. You do not send it to the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services; the payer uses it to calculate how much state income tax to deduct from each payment before it reaches you.¹

Before You Start

Three things decide what you write on the form: the filing status you expect to use on your Connecticut return, your expected annual gross income, and whether the payment is periodic (regular monthly or quarterly checks) or nonperiodic (a lump sum or on-demand withdrawal). Have last year’s CT-1040 nearby if you have one. If you share finances with a spouse, know whether your spouse also has income subject to Connecticut withholding, because that answer changes which code applies.

Download the current year’s version from the DRS website or Connecticut’s Office of the State Comptroller.² Some plan administrators also distribute it through their benefits portals. Older versions can carry outdated income thresholds, so use the one dated for the current tax year.

A few payments don’t need this form at all. Direct trustee-to-trustee rollovers and checks issued payable to a new qualified account are not subject to Connecticut withholding.³ Previously taxed Roth 401(k) and Roth IRA distributions are also outside the withholding system.² Military retirement pay is fully exempt from Connecticut income tax, so military retirees generally have no reason to submit the form for that income.

Filling Out Each Line

Personal Information at the Top

Write your first name, middle initial, and last name, your Social Security number, and your mailing address with city, state, and ZIP. Check the Social Security number twice. A single transposed digit can leave the withholding unreported on your state tax account and create a reconciliation problem when you file your return.

Line 1: Pick Your Withholding Code

Line 1 drives the whole calculation. The form has a chart organized by filing status, and you match your status and expected annual gross income to one of six codes labeled A through F. The code is a one-letter instruction to your payer about how to compute the deduction.²

On the 2026 form:

Code A applies to Married Filing Jointly when your spouse also has income subject to withholding and your combined annual gross income is more than $24,000 but no more than $100,500. It also applies to Married Filing Separately filers with income over $12,000.
Code B applies to Head of Household filers with annual gross income over $19,000.
Code C applies to Married Filing Jointly when your spouse does not have income subject to withholding and your combined income exceeds $24,000, and to Qualifying Surviving Spouse filers with income over $24,000.
Code D is for anyone, in any filing status, who has significant other income and wants to avoid under-withholding. It applies $0 in personal exemptions and $0 in personal tax credits and produces the heaviest withholding of any code.
Code E applies when your expected annual gross income is at or below the threshold for your filing status ($15,000 Single, $19,000 Head of Household, $12,000 Married Filing Separately, $24,000 Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Surviving Spouse), or when withholding is already handled through another income source. Code E results in $0 withheld.
Code F applies to Single filers with annual gross income over $15,000.

Don’t choose by the letter alone. Code A isn’t “maximum” and Code F isn’t “none.” Find the chart row for your filing status, locate the income description that fits, and copy the letter from that row onto Line 1.²

Lines 2 and 3: Adjust the Dollar Amount

After the code, you can tune the per-payment amount up or down. Line 2 adds a flat dollar amount on top of what the code calculates. Use it if you have outside income, such as rental property or freelance work, that will push your tax bill past what the code’s withholding alone would cover. Line 3 subtracts a dollar amount from the calculated withholding. Use it if you already make quarterly estimated payments to DRS and want to keep the combined total from overshooting your actual liability.²

Both lines are optional. Leave them blank and the payer withholds based on the code alone.

Lump Sum or On-Demand Distributions

The code chart does not apply to nonperiodic payments. For a one-time withdrawal or on-demand distribution, you have two options on the form: enter Code E on Line 1 to withhold nothing, or enter Code E on Line 1 and write a specific dollar amount on Line 2 for the amount you want withheld.²

Through December 31, 2026, if you skip the form entirely for a lump sum, the payer will not withhold any Connecticut tax. That is a change from prior years when the default on lump sums was 6.99%. If you want tax taken from a lump sum during this window, you have to request it on the form.²

Sign and Date

Sign and date the form at the bottom. Payers reject or ignore unsigned forms, so the instructions on the lines above take no effect without this step.

Where to Send the Finished Form

Send the completed form to the entity that pays you: the financial institution, former employer, or plan administrator issuing your pension or annuity. The Department of Revenue Services does not process individual withholding certificates and should not receive this form.¹ Most payers take it by mail to their benefits or payroll department; some have secure online portals or accept scanned copies by email. Ask your payer which method they prefer.

New instructions usually take effect on the next available payment cycle, though timelines vary by institution. Check your first statement after submitting the form and confirm the deduction matches what you expect. If it doesn’t, call the payer’s benefits coordinator rather than waiting through another cycle.

When to File a New CT-W4P

The form stays in effect until you replace it, so there is no annual deadline. File a new one when something shifts your code or income bracket:

A change in filing status from marriage, divorce, the death of a spouse, or a dependent leaving the household.
A meaningful change in income, such as starting or stopping part-time work, selling property, or beginning Social Security benefits, that pushes you above or below a threshold on the chart.
A move into or out of Connecticut that changes whether your pension payments are subject to state withholding.
A spouse’s retirement that removes their income from the withholding system, which may move you from Code A to Code C under Married Filing Jointly.

What It Costs to Get It Wrong

If your total withholding and estimated payments fall short of your Connecticut tax for the year, DRS charges interest at 1% per month, or any fraction of a month, on the underpayment.⁴ Interest runs from each installment due date until the earlier of the payment date or the annual filing deadline.⁵ That works out to 12% annualized.

Putting false information on a withholding certificate to reduce the amount deducted carries a $50 penalty per false statement under Connecticut law. The penalty does not apply if the understatement had no actual effect on the tax withheld or if you end up not owing additional tax for the year.⁶ The $50 is added to any underpayment interest, not substituted for it.

1
Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. CT-W4P Filing Instructions
2
Department of Revenue Services. CT-W4P Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments
3
Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut Code 12-705 – Withholding of Taxes From Wages and Other Payments
4
Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Tax Information
5
Justia. Connecticut Code 12-722 – Underpayment and Payment of Estimated Tax
6
Justia. Connecticut Code 12-738 – Penalty for False Statement Relating to Withholding Allowance