--- title: "Connecticut Entity Running Costs and Filings" description: "What it actually costs to keep a Connecticut entity compliant: formation fee, corporate tax, surcharge, and the minimum franchise tax." canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/united-states/connecticut/entity-running-costs-and-filings --- ![Connecticut business district.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/united-states/connecticut/entity-running-costs-and-filings/images/hero.webp) # What does it costto run a company in Connecticut. Connecticut charges a flat formation fee, a corporate income tax with a surcharge, and a fixed minimum franchise tax, no matter how small your payroll is. Teamed handles all of it for you. Served by Teamed US Inc., Delaware · Payroll via SUNA Solutions Last reviewed 22 September 2026 · Connecticut guide 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 tax7.5% Additional surcharge10.0% Minimum franchise tax$250 Franchise tax basisflat 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%, 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. 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 salaries and employer costs rather than on a headcount rule of thumb. Talk to a member of the team Model the crossover for the United States Who carries it ## Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, migrate you in, and hand it back intact. Global Entity and Employment Operations, which we call GEMO, is how Teamed forms your company, registers it for tax and payroll, runs it month to month and keeps its filings current, across 100+ countries. You stay the employer. We do the work behind it. For Connecticut specifically, that means we absorb the formation fee, the corporate income tax filings, the surcharge calculations, and the flat minimum franchise tax while you're with us. When the time is right, we transfer a clean, fully-formed entity to you, without you having to reconstruct compliance history from scratch. Entity Management (GEMO) The Graduation Model Employer cost calculator > They set up our EU entity and moved hires across without missing a payroll. *Helene Dubois, COO* Talk to an expert about Connecticut 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, 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. 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 salary levels 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 transfers a clean structure to 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. ## More on entities in Connecticut - [Hiring in Connecticut, overview](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/connecticut)parent - [Connecticut setting up](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/connecticut/entity-setup)sibling - [Connecticut tax presence](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/connecticut/permanent-establishment-risk)sibling - [Connecticut entity or eor](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/connecticut/eor-vs-entity)sibling - [Connecticut moving from an eor](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/connecticut/moving-from-eor-to-your-own-entity)sibling - [Set up an entity, by country](/entity-setup-by-country)hub - [Entity Management (GEMO)](/entity-management)core - [Talk to an expert about Connecticut](https://www.teamed.global/contact?from=entity-running-costs-and-filings)CTA