Pennsylvania does not have a personal property tax. The state is one of only seven that completely exempt tangible personal property — vehicles, boats, furniture, household goods, business equipment — from recurring taxation.1Tax Foundation. States Should Continue to Reform Taxes on Tangible Personal Property You pay a one-time 6% sales tax when you buy these items, but no county or municipality sends you an annual bill based on what you own. Personal property does get taxed in two other situations worth knowing about: at purchase, and at death.
No Annual Bill on Cars, Boats, or Household Goods
You won’t receive a yearly tax bill tied to the value of your car, motorcycle, boat, or anything inside your home. No Pennsylvania county or municipality is permitted to impose its own version of an annual personal property tax on movable goods. The exemption covers business assets too, so commercial equipment and machinery used in your operations are also free from recurring assessments.2Tax Foundation. Tangible Personal Property De Minimis Exemptions by State
This separates Pennsylvania from most of the country. Many states charge vehicle property taxes pegged to market value and bundle them into annual registration renewals. In those places, owning a $40,000 truck can mean $400 to $800 a year in property tax. Pennsylvania residents skip that entirely.
Sales and Use Tax at Purchase
Instead of taxing ownership year after year, Pennsylvania collects revenue from personal property at the moment of purchase through a 6% sales and use tax.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 P.S. 7202 – Imposition of Tax Allegheny County adds a 1% local tax; Philadelphia adds 2%, bringing the combined rate there to 8%.4Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax
If you buy from an out-of-state seller who doesn’t collect Pennsylvania sales tax, you owe use tax at the same 6% rate.5Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Bulletin 2018-01 – Marketplace Sales Individuals can report smaller use tax amounts on their annual PA-40 return, but that option doesn’t cover vehicles, boats, ATVs, snowmobiles, or any item flagged by a Notice of Potential Use Tax Due. Those go directly to the Department of Revenue.6Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Use Tax for Individuals
Several major categories of personal property are exempt from sales tax altogether. Most everyday clothing is exempt, though formal wear, fur garments, and sport-specific apparel remain taxable. Groceries for home consumption are exempt; restaurant meals, prepared foods, and soft drinks are not. Prescription and non-prescription drugs, wheelchairs, prosthetic devices, and eyeglasses are exempt.7Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 P.S. 7204 – Exclusions From Tax The clothing rule trips people up because accessories, ornamental items, and fur products are carved back in.
Vehicle Registration Fees Are Flat
Because Pennsylvania doesn’t tax vehicles annually by value, the fees PennDOT charges are flat and have nothing to do with what your car is worth. As of 2026:8Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Bureau of Motor Vehicles Schedule of Fees
- Annual passenger vehicle registration: $489Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Payments and Fees
- Certificate of title (new or transfer): $72
- Registration plate transfer: $11
A new luxury SUV and a 15-year-old sedan cost exactly the same to register. You’ll still owe the 6% sales or use tax the first time you title a vehicle, but once that’s paid, keeping the car on the road costs the same every year regardless of its value.
When Mobile Homes Become Real Property
Mobile homes sit in a gray area where personal property can convert to taxable real estate. Under Pennsylvania’s Consolidated County Assessment Law, a mobile or manufactured home gets treated as real property, and taxed like any traditional home, once it’s permanently attached to land or connected to utilities such as water, sewer, or electric.10Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 P.S. 5020-201 – Subjects of Taxation Enumerated
Once reclassified, the county assessor sets a market value, and the home becomes subject to the same millage rates as stick-built houses in that school district and municipality. If you disagree with the assessment, you can appeal to your county’s board of assessment appeals and from there to the court of common pleas.11New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Pennsylvania Code 72 P.S. 5020-518.1 – Appeal to Court From Assessments
The Old Intangibles Tax Is Dormant
Pennsylvania once imposed a county-level tax on stocks, bonds, and interest-bearing accounts under what’s known as the four mill tax.12Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 P.S. 4821 – Four Mill Tax on Loans, Credits, Securities for County and City Purposes After the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Fulton Corp. v. Faulkner13Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. Fulton Corp. v. Faulkner, 516 U.S. 325 and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling in Annenberg v. Commonwealth that the stock portion of the tax facially discriminated against interstate commerce,14FindLaw. Annenberg v. Commonwealth the tax’s reach collapsed. Counties technically retain the authority to impose it,15Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 P.S. 4821.1 – Authority for Imposition and Collection of Taxes but none do in any meaningful way. You don’t report investment portfolios to county assessors.
Inheritance Tax on Personal Property
This is where Pennsylvania residents often get caught off guard. The state won’t tax your personal property during your lifetime, but it does tax the transfer of that property at death. The inheritance tax applies to all tangible personal property owned by a resident at death, including cash, vehicles, furniture, antiques, and jewelry.16Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. What Property Is Subject to Inheritance Tax?
Rates depend on the relationship between the person who died and the person who inherits:17Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 P.S. 9116 – Inheritance Tax
- Surviving spouse: 0%
- Children aged 21 or younger: 0%
- Adult children and other lineal descendants: 4.5%
- Siblings: 12%
- Everyone else (nieces, nephews, friends, unmarried partners): 15%
- Charitable organizations: exempt
Property owned jointly between spouses is exempt.18Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Inheritance Tax For property owned jointly with anyone other than a spouse, the decedent’s fractional share is taxable. If the joint interest was created within one year of death, the full value gets taxed instead of just the fractional share.19Montgomery County, PA. Inheritance Tax for Pennsylvania Residents
A $200,000 collection of personal property passed to an adult child triggers $9,000 in inheritance tax. The same property left to a sibling costs $24,000. Pennsylvania imposes no separate estate tax, so the inheritance tax is the only death-related levy on personal property. For residents with significant tangible assets, that math is the strongest argument for planning the transfer in advance rather than leaving it to default.