How Do I File My PA State Taxes for Free? myPATH, Direct File, and VITA

Every Pennsylvania resident can file PA state taxes for free through myPATH, the Department of Revenue’s own online filing portal, with no income limit and no eligibility screen.¹ Depending on your income and situation, you may also qualify to use IRS Direct File, IRS Free File, or in-person VITA help, each of which can prepare your PA-40 at no charge.

Free Ways to File a PA-40

myPATH (Open to Everyone)

myPATH, short for my Pennsylvania Tax Hub, is the Department of Revenue’s secure online system. You can prepare and submit a PA-40 Personal Income Tax return at no cost regardless of income or how complicated the return is. The same account lets you pay a balance, view notices, and track your refund.² If you owe tax, you can pay electronically through myPATH or by phone using TeleFile.

This is the default option. If none of the other programs below apply to you, myPATH is still available.

IRS Direct File

Direct File is the IRS’s own free preparation tool, and Pennsylvania participates. When you finish the federal return in Direct File, the system hands you off to Pennsylvania’s online filing tool and imports your federal data so you don’t start from scratch on the state side. One limit: you can only use Direct File if you lived in a single state for the entire year, so it won’t work if you split residency between Pennsylvania and somewhere else.³

IRS Free File

For the 2026 filing season (tax year 2025), the IRS partners with eight private tax-software providers to offer guided preparation free of charge if your adjusted gross income is $89,000 or less.⁴ Some of these providers also prepare the PA return for free, but each sets its own age, residency, and income rules.⁵ Before you start, confirm the provider’s offer covers the state return; some only cover the federal side.

VITA (In-Person Help)

If you’d rather have someone walk you through it, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program offers free preparation at community sites across the state. VITA generally serves households earning roughly $60,000 or less, people with disabilities, and filers who need help in another language. Dial 2-1-1 or visit PA 211 to find a site near you.⁶

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Gather these before you open any filing tool:

W-2s showing wages and Pennsylvania tax your employer withheld.
1099-NEC and 1099-MISC forms for freelance or contract work.
1099-R for pension, retirement plan, and IRA distributions. Pennsylvania does not tax most of these, but you still need the form to file correctly.
1099-INT and 1099-DIV for interest and dividends, both taxable in Pennsylvania.
A copy of last year’s PA-40 for reference.

If you file on paper, you must include copies of all W-2s and 1099-Rs with the return, along with any 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC forms that report compensation or PA withholding.⁷

If Your Income Is Modest, Check Tax Forgiveness

Pennsylvania’s Tax Forgiveness program can wipe out your entire state income tax liability. The credit scales from 10 percent to 100 percent forgiveness and is claimed on Schedule SP, which you attach to your PA-40. It uses “eligibility income,” a broader figure than taxable income because it includes nontaxable items like Social Security and public assistance.⁸

An unmarried filer with no dependents qualifies for 100-percent forgiveness at $6,500 or less in eligibility income, with partial forgiveness phasing out at $8,750. A married couple with no dependents gets full forgiveness up to $13,000, phasing out at $15,250. Each dependent child adds roughly $9,500 to every threshold, so a married couple with two children can earn up to $32,000 and still owe nothing, with partial relief extending to $34,250. An unmarried filer with four dependents can earn up to $44,500 and still qualify for full forgiveness.⁸

If you qualify for 100-percent forgiveness, you can also ask your employer to stop withholding state income tax, which keeps the money in your paycheck instead of tying it up until refund time.

Deadline and How the Return Gets to Harrisburg

Pennsylvania taxes all income at a flat 3.07 percent.⁹ The 2025 return is due by midnight on April 15, 2026.¹⁰

When you file through myPATH, the system issues a confirmation number; save it as proof of filing. Electronically filed returns take about four weeks to process. Paper returns take eight to ten weeks and go to one of three addresses in Harrisburg depending on whether you expect a refund, owe nothing, or owe a balance.⁷ Filing electronically is faster and removes the risk of your return getting lost in the mail.

If you moved into or out of Pennsylvania during the year, you owe tax only for the portion of the year you lived here, and you note the residency dates on the PA-40.¹¹ Non-residents who earned income in Pennsylvania also file a PA-40, but only on the Pennsylvania-sourced income.

If You Can’t File by April 15

Pennsylvania grants up to six extra months to file, but the extension only buys time on the paperwork. Any tax you owe is still due April 15. If you received a federal extension and don’t owe PA tax, the state honors the federal extension automatically. If you do owe, pay the liability and request the extension through myPATH, or mail Form REV-276 with a check.¹²

Missing the deadline costs 5 percent of the unpaid tax per month, up to 25 percent, with a $5 minimum, plus 7-percent annual interest on any balance.¹³¹⁴ Paying what you can by April 15 and extending the paperwork stops the late-filing penalty.

Two Things Free Filers Often Miss

Retirement Income Is Mostly Not Taxed

If you took a normal distribution from an eligible employer-sponsored retirement plan after meeting that plan’s age or service requirements, the distribution is not subject to Pennsylvania personal income tax. Social Security benefits are also fully exempt.⁷ Report these amounts on the return, but the tax owed on them is typically zero. Early withdrawals and distributions from plans that don’t meet the eligible-plan definition can be taxable, so check the 1099-R distribution code before you enter it.

Local Earned Income Tax Is a Separate Return

Filing the PA-40 does not satisfy your local tax obligations. Nearly every municipality and school district levies an earned income tax, and you must file a separate annual local return by April 15 even if your employer withheld local tax all year. Your local tax collector is set by the Tax Collection District where you live, not where you work; common collectors include Keystone Collections Group, Berkheimer Tax Administrator, and the York Adams Tax Bureau. Philadelphia residents deal with the city’s wage tax through the Philadelphia Department of Revenue. Look up your collector on the DCED website.¹⁵ Skipping the local return can trigger penalties and interest even when your withholding was correct.

1
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. File a Pennsylvania Income Tax Return
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. myPATH Pennsylvania Tax Hub
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Internal Revenue Service. Direct File Outreach Guide
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Internal Revenue Service. Use IRS Free File to Conveniently File Your Return at No Cost
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Internal Revenue Service. File for Free With IRS Free File
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PA 211. VITA – Free Tax Preparation
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pa.gov. 2025 Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax Return Instructions (PA-40 IN)
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Department of Revenue. Tax Forgiveness
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Personal Income Tax Rates
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Shapiro Administration Launches New Fast File Initiative
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Cornell Law Institute. Pennsylvania Code 61 Pa. Code 121.8 – Method of Taxing Part-Year Residents
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Extension of Time to File
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Personal Income Tax Guide – Penalties, Interest and Other Additions
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PA Department of Revenue. 2026 Interest Rate and Calculation Method for Title 72 Taxes
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PA Department of Community & Economic Development. Local Income Tax Collector