What does it cost to run a company in Connecticut.
Running a company in Connecticut means filing the state's tax returns and any annual report on time, keeping its registered address current, and running payroll for everyone you employ. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) can keep the company running and its filings on time, or Teamed's EOR can employ your people instead. If you’re pricing the upkeep of an entity in Connecticut, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed tells you when EOR is no longer the right model, and you get service terms adjusted to suit you, within reason and 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes.
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At a glance
The recurring bill for a Connecticut entity
Once your Connecticut LLC or corporation exists, the state expects you to file and pay every year regardless of whether you turned a profit. That means a corporate income tax on earnings, an additional surcharge layered on top in certain circumstances, and a flat minimum franchise tax that applies even to entities that made no money at all.
- Corporate income tax
- 7.5%
- Additional surcharge
- 10.0%
- Minimum franchise tax
- $250
- Franchise tax basis
- flat
- Formation / registration fee
- $120
Getting started
The one-time cost of forming the entity
Connecticut charges a formation or registration fee to file your domestic LLC with the Secretary of the State, set at $120. That fee gets you registered, but it is only the entry ticket. The real cost of owning an entity in Connecticut shows up every year after, in taxes and franchise filings that do not go away just because the company is quiet.
Most founders underestimate this second part. They budget for the setup fee and forget that Connecticut, like most states, treats the entity as a permanent obligation once it exists, not a one-time transaction.
Ongoing tax
Corporate income tax and the surcharge
Connecticut taxes corporate income at 7.5%. On top of that, the state applies an additional surcharge of 10.0% for companies with $100 million or more of gross income, or in a combined unitary group, which increases the effective liability beyond the headline rate. This combination matters when you are modeling what an entity actually costs to keep open, because the surcharge is easy to miss if you only look at the base rate quoted in summary tables.
Neither figure depends on how many people you employ. A single-employee Connecticut entity and a fifty-person one file the same corporate return and face the same rate structure, just on different income bases.
The franchise tax
A flat minimum tax that applies regardless of profit
Connecticut's franchise tax is structured as a flat minimum tax of $250. It is not tiered to revenue or headcount, it is a fixed floor. That makes it predictable, but it also means a dormant or barely-active entity still owes it, which catches out companies that stood up a Connecticut entity for one hire and then let activity taper off.
Because the basis is flat rather than scaled, the franchise tax behaves less like a variable cost of doing business and more like a fixed annual membership fee for keeping the entity alive.
Why this matters for small teams
When the fixed costs outweigh the flexibility
Add the formation fee, the corporate tax and surcharge, and the flat minimum franchise tax together, and you get a running cost that does not shrink just because your Connecticut headcount is small. For a company testing the state with one or two hires, that fixed overhead can be disproportionate to what those hires actually generate.
This is exactly the calculation an employer of record removes from the table. Teamed employs your people under its own Connecticut-registered entity, so you never file the corporate return, never owe the minimum franchise tax, and never pay the formation fee, because you never form the entity in the first place.
Your options
Who can keep it running for you
You can run a company in Connecticut yourself or pay someone to, and the right choice depends on whether it employs people.
You can keep the filings yourself, with the Connecticut Secretary of the State and the state tax agencies. That suits a founder with no staff and the time to track each deadline.
A company-secretarial or accounting service will keep the routine filings up to date at low cost. That suits a company with no employees.
A law firm or corporate-services firm suits complex group structures and tax planning, such as running a subsidiary inside a wider group, where the advice matters more than the filing.
For companies that will employ people in Connecticut, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed gives you real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters, a designated person who has done this before and one system from your first EOR hire to your own entity. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) sets up and manages entities in 100+ countries, and moves your people across from its EOR when you're ready. Teamed already owns an entity in the United States.
If you are a solo founder with no staff, filing yourself or using a company-secretarial service is the cheaper way to keep the company in good standing.
Before you commit
Sometimes an employer of record is the better fit
An employer of record is sometimes the better answer, not a lesser one, when your Connecticut team is small or still taking shape, or when you are testing the market before committing capital. Talk to a member of the team about your specific situation first, and if you want the numbers side by side, run them through the crossover calculator.
Contractors, employer of record and your own entity all run on one platform at Teamed, so moving between them later does not mean changing provider or re-onboarding anybody. Real HR and legal experts handle the work rather than a ticket queue.
Talk to a member of the team and we will tell you plainly which one suits where you are. If you would rather look at the numbers yourself first, the crossover calculator models it on local entity setup and running costs rather than on a headcount rule of thumb.
Who carries it
Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, move your people across, and keep it running.
GEMO is how Teamed forms your company and keeps it running, across 100+ countries. You stay the employer. We do the work behind it.
In Connecticut, GEMO covers incorporation, registrations, payroll-readiness and ongoing governance.
They set up our EU entity and moved hires across without missing a payroll.
Questions
Connecticut running costs, answered
What does it cost to register an entity in Connecticut?
The Connecticut Secretary of the State charges a formation or registration fee of $120 for a domestic LLC. That covers filing only, not the ongoing tax and franchise obligations that begin once the entity exists.
Does Connecticut charge tax even if the entity has no profit?
Yes. Connecticut applies a minimum franchise tax of $250 on a flat basis, meaning it is owed regardless of income. Corporate income tax at 7.5%, plus the additional 10.0% surcharge for companies with $100 million or more of gross income, or in a combined unitary group, applies on top of that when there is taxable income to report.
Is the Connecticut surcharge a separate tax or added to the base rate?
The additional surcharge of 10.0% sits on top of the 7.5% corporate income tax rate rather than replacing it, and applies only for companies with $100 million or more of gross income, or in a combined unitary group. Both figures come from the same Connecticut Department of Revenue Services guidance, so they should be read together when estimating liability.
How many employees do I need before a Connecticut entity makes sense?
There is no fixed headcount threshold, it depends on your entity costs and how long you plan to keep people in Connecticut. Run your numbers through the crossover calculator rather than relying on a rule of thumb.
Can Teamed remove these running costs entirely?
Yes, while you use Teamed's employer of record service, you avoid the Connecticut formation fee, the corporate tax filings, and the flat minimum franchise tax because the entity is ours, not yours. When you are ready to set up your own entity, GEMO sets it up and manages it for you.
Where these figures come from
Sources
Figures on this page are drawn from the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services and the Connecticut Secretary of the State.
Looking for a job in Connecticut yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.
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