Connecticut DRS notice of assessment: what it means and what to do this week
A written protest has to be received, or postmarked, within 60 days of the date on the notice. Day one is the day to find that date.
What is a Connecticut notice of assessment?
A notice of assessment is the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services' formal statement of the tax, interest and penalty it says you owe for a tax type and period. If you agree, pay it, or check whether DRS's payment plan terms fit your account. If you disagree, file a written protest with the DRS Appellate Division so it is received, or postmarked, within 60 days of the notice date. Total BizSolutions, an accounting firm in Trumbull, Connecticut, reads DRS notices with small business owners and checks the assessment against their books.
What a Connecticut notice of assessment means
A notice of assessment is how DRS sets out tax it says you owe for a tax type and period, with interest and any penalty. It is a determination you can contest. The DRS protest page says that if you disagree with a notice of assessment, including any penalty imposed in connection with an audit, you may file a written protest with its Appellate Division.
Keep the notice where you can find it. DRS asks that a protest clearly state the case identification number, the tax type and the period or periods, so have the notice in front of you.
It is a state notice only. Federal tax is the IRS, a separate agency with its own letters, such as the CP14 for a federal balance due. If both agencies have written to you about the same year, answer each one on its own terms and by its own date.
What to do this week
- 1
Find the notice date and count 60 days
DRS says a protest of a notice of assessment must be received within 60 days, or carry a U.S. postmark within 60 days, after the date of the notice. Put that date in your calendar now. For a jeopardy assessment the window is 10 days, not 60.
- 2
Check the assessment against your books
Pull the return for the tax type and period it names, the payments you made for it and, for sales tax or withholding, the reports behind the return. A late filing, a payment applied to the wrong period or a missing exemption certificate are all worth finding before you decide anything.
- 3
If you agree, pay it or ask for a payment plan
DRS's installment agreement guidance, published on its income tax pages, says you can request a payment plan in myconneCT, under the Summary tab, if your filings are current, current liabilities are $50,000 or less, the plan runs no more than twelve months and the account is not in collection status or under warrant, bankruptcy or criminal investigation. Otherwise it gives a revenue agent's number, (860) 297-4936.
- 4
If you disagree, protest in writing
DRS says state law requires the protest to be in writing. It offers an optional Form APL-002, Appellate Division Protest Form, and takes protests by mail or fax. It asks that any protest clearly state your name and address, Connecticut Tax Registration Number or Social Security Number, case identification number, tax type, the period or periods, a statement that you are protesting, and a factual statement for each disputed issue with the law or authority you rely on.
- 5
Decide what happens to interest while you protest
DRS says interest keeps accruing on an unpaid assessment while the Appellate Division considers your protest. To minimize that interest, it points to Form APL-004, Deposit in the Nature of a Cash Bond.
What happens after you protest, or if you can't pay
DRS acknowledges the protest
When the Appellate Division receives a timely protest, DRS says it sends you a letter acknowledging receipt and assigns the protest to an appellate officer or appellate specialist.
An appellate officer reviews it
You can give the appellate officer any information you think will help resolve the protest. DRS says the officer considers all relevant information, in most cases contacts you or your designated representative, and sends a letter with the Appellate Division's final determination. It also says the division cannot disregard Connecticut tax law to settle a dispute.
One month to appeal to Superior Court
If you disagree with the final determination letter, DRS says you may appeal to the Superior Court for the Judicial District of New Britain within one month from the date of that letter.
If you agree but cannot pay
DRS says that if you do not dispute the assessment but do not believe you can pay it, you can file an Offer of Compromise. It lists Form CT-656 for business taxes and Form CT-656a for personal taxes, including income tax.
When to call us
- The notice is for sales tax or withholding and you are not sure the returns behind it were right
- You think the assessment is wrong and the 60 days are running
- You agree with the figure but cannot pay it all at once
- Returns for other periods are also missing or late
Send us the notice and the returns and payment records for the period it names. We read it with you, rebuild the figures from your books, and show you where they agree with DRS and where they don't, so you can decide whether to pay, request a plan or protest. If that period's books were never kept properly, putting them in order comes first.
This is part of our tax resolution and IRS help, and the records side is what monthly bookkeeping keeps current. Our office is in Trumbull, Connecticut, and we work with small businesses throughout the United States.
Notice of Assessment questions
How long do I have to protest a Connecticut notice of assessment?
DRS says the protest must be received within 60 days, or carry a U.S. postmark within 60 days, after the date of the notice. A protest of a jeopardy assessment has 10 days.
Does interest stop while my protest is reviewed?
No. DRS says that if you have not paid the assessment, interest continues to accrue on the tax while the Appellate Division considers your protest. To minimize it, DRS points to Form APL-004, Deposit in the Nature of a Cash Bond.
Can I get a payment plan on a Connecticut assessment?
DRS's installment agreement guidance, on its income tax pages, lets you request one in myconneCT if your filings are current, current liabilities are $50,000 or less, the plan runs no more than twelve months and the account is not in collection status or under warrant, bankruptcy or criminal investigation. If you don't meet those terms, DRS says to call a revenue agent at (860) 297-4936. Any refund due to you from the IRS or Connecticut is applied to the bill and does not count as a monthly installment.
Can a penalty on a notice of assessment be waived?
It depends where the penalty came from. DRS takes penalty waiver requests on Form DRS-PW, and only after all tax and interest is paid, and interest itself cannot be waived. A penalty imposed in connection with an audit cannot go through a waiver request: DRS says it may be protested to the Appellate Division instead, by a timely written protest such as Form APL-002.
Is a Connecticut notice of assessment the same as an IRS notice?
No. It comes from the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services and covers state tax. IRS notices such as the CP14 or CP2000 are federal, carry their own dates and are answered separately.
Sources (checked October 14, 2026)
- Penalty waiver, filing a protest and offer of compromise, portal.ct.gov
- Installment agreement request, portal.ct.gov
- Department of Revenue Services, portal.ct.gov
This page explains how the notice generally works. It is not advice on your own return: check your notice and talk it through before you decide what to file or pay.