Connecticut sales and use tax certificate of exemption

Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 219, Sales and Use Taxes, imposes the Connecticut sales and use tax on the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property at retail, from the rental or leasing of tangible personal property, and on the gross receipts from the rendering of certain services.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-412 provides for various exemptions from the sales and use taxes. The following is a list of certain exemptions that are provided under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-412. If an exemption certificate is required, it is noted below. For a complete list of sales exempt from Connecticut sales and use taxes, refer to the Connecticut General Statutes.

  1. Materials, rope, fishing nets, tools, and fuel or any substitute, used directly in the commercial fishing industry.
  2. Commercial fishing vessels and machinery or equipment for use on the vessels. The purchaser must have a current Commercial Fisherman Exemption Permit, issued for a two-year period by DRS.
  1. The exemption does not include meals, carbonated beverages, candy, and alcoholic beverages. The exemption does include sales of candy, confectionery, and nonalcoholic beverages in schools and sales of candy, confectionery, beverages, and other items to persons in health care facilities.

Also exempt are:

  1. Food products, including meals, sold through coin-operated vending machines.
  2. Meals delivered to persons who are sixty years of age or older, have physical disabilities or are otherwise homebound.
  3. Purchases made with supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits.
  4. Vegetable seeds suitable for planting to produce food for human consumption.
  1. Residential dwellings; or
  2. Any metered building, location, or premises used directly in agricultural production or the fabrication of a finished product to be sold; or
  3. An industrial manufacturing plant provided that not less than 75% of the fuel used in the metered building, location, or premises is used for production, fabrication, or manufacturing. The purchaser must complete CERT-115,Exempt Purchases of Gas, Electricity, and Heating Fuel.
  1. Flyable aircraft sold by a manufacturer of aircraft located in this state to certificated or licensed carriers engaged in interstate or foreign commerce or to nonresidents for use exclusively outside Connecticut. Purchasers must complete Affidavit SUT-16a-3, which can be found in Conn. Agencies Regs. § 12-426-16a.
  2. Aircraft having a maximum certificated takeoff weight of 6,000 pounds or more.
  3. Repair or replacement parts exclusively for use in aircraft and aircraft repair services. The purchaser must complete CERT-110, Aircraft Repair Services - Aircraft Repair and Replacement Parts.
  4. Motor vehicles purchased but not registered in this state by persons who are nonresidents and do not maintain a permanent place of abode in Connecticut. The purchaser must complete CERT-125, Sales and Use Tax Exemption for a Motor Vehicle Purchased by a Nonresident of Connecticut.
  5. Commercial trucks, truck tractors, tractors, semitrailers, and vehicles used in combination with commercial trucks, truck tractors, tractors, and semitrailers that have a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of 26,000 pounds; or are operated actively and exclusively during the one-year period beginning on the date of purchase for the carriage of interstate freight under a certificate or permit issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission or its successor agency.
  6. Special equipment installed in motor vehicles for the exclusive use of a person with physical disabilities, including repair, replacement, and enhancement parts whether purchased separately or with the item. When a motor vehicle in which special equipment has previously been installed for the use of a person with physical disabilities is sold for use by such a person, the sales and use tax is due on the total purchase price of the vehicle less the portion of the price attributable to the special equipment.
  7. Commercial fishing vessels and machinery or equipment for use on the vessels.
  8. Property tax payments under motor vehicle leases (but only if separately stated on the bill to the lessee from the lessor).
  9. Marine vessel brokerage services.

Purchasers using either exemption must complete CERT-120, Machinery, Equipment, Tools, Materials, and Supplies Used in the Production of Printed Material or in Prepress Production.