How to File and Pay Philadelphia City Tax Returns

To file Philadelphia city tax returns, use the Philadelphia Tax Center at tax-services.phila.gov, submit a separate return for each of the four city taxes that applies to your situation, and pay any balance owed by April 15, 2026, for tax year 2025. The four taxes — Earnings Tax, Net Profits Tax, School Income Tax, and Business Income and Receipts Tax — each have their own return and, on paper, their own mailing address. Most filing problems come from treating “Philadelphia taxes” as one filing when you actually owe two or three.

Figure Out Which Returns You Owe

Start by matching your income to the four city taxes. Many Philadelphians file more than one return.

Earnings Tax: for Philadelphia residents with taxable wages whose employer does not withhold the City Wage Tax, and for non-residents working in Philadelphia without Wage Tax withholding.¹
Net Profits Tax: for anyone with income from a trade, business, or profession — sole proprietors, partnerships, LLCs, estates. Residents pay it even if the business operates entirely outside the city; non-residents pay on profits earned inside city limits.²
School Income Tax: Philadelphia residents only, on unearned income such as dividends, certain interest, short-term capital gains, gambling winnings, royalties, limited partnership income, and S corporation distributions.³
Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT): most businesses operating in Philadelphia, including out-of-city businesses generating at least $100,000 in Philadelphia gross receipts during any 12-month period. If you file a Net Profits Tax return, you almost certainly owe BIRT too.⁴

A resident who freelances and holds dividend-paying investments files both the Net Profits Tax return and the School Income Tax return. A resident business owner typically files Net Profits Tax and BIRT. A W-2 employee whose employer already withholds the City Wage Tax usually files nothing further for wages.

Tax Year 2025 Rates

Rates for returns due April 15, 2026:

Earnings Tax and Net Profits Tax: 3.74% for residents, 3.43% for non-residents.¹⁵
School Income Tax: 3.74% on taxable unearned income.⁶
BIRT: 1.410 mills on gross receipts (that is, $1.41 per $1,000) plus 5.71% on taxable net income.⁴

One change matters for small businesses. The $100,000 statutory deduction that previously shielded the first $100,000 of BIRT gross receipts was eliminated beginning with tax year 2025 due to a legal challenge. Businesses that previously paid nothing on BIRT may now owe tax.⁷

What to Gather Before You File

Your Social Security Number, ITIN, or, for businesses, your Federal Employer Identification Number.⁸
W-2s showing wages and any city tax withheld, plus 1099s for freelance, investment, or other income.⁸
A copy of your federal Form 1040 and any business schedules (Schedule C, Schedule K-1). Many Philadelphia calculations pull from these.
For BIRT or Net Profits Tax: gross receipts, expenses, and net income figures for the year. A Commercial Activity License is required to do business in Philadelphia; it costs nothing to obtain.⁹

Married couples can submit a combined School Income Tax return, but one spouse’s losses cannot offset the other spouse’s gains, and the primary city account holder’s name goes first on the form.⁶

Set Up Your Philadelphia Tax Center Account

Even if you’ve filed with the city before, you need to create a username and password for the Philadelphia Tax Center to file online.¹⁰

Two-step verification is required. One option involves the city mailing a physical access letter with a verification code, which takes 5 to 10 business days to arrive. If you’re registering in early April, that timeline can bump you past the deadline. Email verification is available for some account types.¹⁰

Complete Each Return That Applies

The Tax Center offers interactive returns online and downloadable paper forms. The mechanics differ by tax.

Earnings Tax

If your employer withholds the City Wage Tax, they handle the filing and you generally don’t submit a separate return. The Earnings Tax return is for residents and non-residents whose employers don’t withhold, or who need to reconcile amounts withheld. Report gross compensation, subtract any Wage Tax already withheld, and apply the 3.74% resident or 3.43% non-resident rate to what’s left.¹

School Income Tax

Taxable categories include dividends, certain interest income, S corporation distributions, limited partnership income, short-term capital gains, gambling winnings, royalties, some trust and rental income, and punitive damages awards.⁶

Interest is where most people trip up. Interest from savings accounts, checking accounts, and certificates of deposit at banks and credit unions is not taxable for SIT. Neither is interest from direct federal government obligations or Pennsylvania municipal bonds. But interest from securities, mortgages, private loans, and repurchase agreements is taxable. Your federal 1099-INT lumps everything together, so you’ll need to separate taxable from non-taxable categories line by line.⁶

Net Profits Tax and BIRT

Report net income from your federal business schedules on the Net Profits Tax return and apply 3.74% (resident) or 3.43% (non-resident).⁵

Most businesses that owe Net Profits Tax also file BIRT. BIRT has two components: 1.410 mills on gross receipts and 5.71% on taxable net income. With the $100,000 gross receipts deduction gone for tax year 2025, smaller operations that were previously below the threshold may owe BIRT for the first time.⁴

Submit the Return

Electronic filing through the Philadelphia Tax Center is the simplest path. After submitting, save the printable confirmation the system generates as your proof of filing.¹⁰

If you file on paper, each tax has its own mailing address, and BIRT and Net Profits Tax use different P.O. Boxes for returns and payments:¹¹

Earnings Tax: P.O. Box 1648, Philadelphia, PA 19105-1648
School Income Tax: P.O. Box 389, Philadelphia, PA 19105-0389
Net Profits Tax and BIRT returns: P.O. Box 1660, Philadelphia, PA 19105-1660
Net Profits Tax and BIRT payments: P.O. Box 1393, Philadelphia, PA 19105-1393

Sending a check to the return box (or vice versa) delays processing. Use a trackable mailing method, and make sure the envelope is postmarked by the deadline.

Deadlines, Extensions, and Quarterly Payments

The annual return deadline for all four Philadelphia taxes is April 15, 2026, for tax year 2025.¹²

Philadelphia honors the federal six-month filing extension automatically, so you don’t submit a separate extension form to the city. The extension covers filing only. It does not extend your payment deadline. Any tax paid after April 15 accrues interest and penalties even if your filing extension is valid.¹²

BIRT works a little differently. The Department of Revenue grants an automatic 60-day filing extension from the April due date, and a longer federal extension carries over for BIRT filing up to the end of the federal period. Filing an extension payment voucher, online or on paper, serves as both the extension request and the payment.⁴

Earnings Tax filers also owe quarterly estimated payments during the current tax year. For 2026:¹

First quarter (January–March 2026): April 30, 2026
Second quarter (April–June 2026): July 31, 2026
Third quarter (July–September 2026): October 31, 2026
Fourth quarter (October–December 2026): February 1, 2027

How to Pay

The Philadelphia Tax Center accepts:¹³

eCheck from a checking or savings account: free.
Credit card: 2.25% convenience fee ($1.50 minimum), collected by the payment processor.
Debit card: flat $3.95 fee per transaction.

For paper payments, write your account number on the memo line of your check and mail it to the correct P.O. Box for the tax you’re paying, postmarked by April 15.

What Happens If You File or Pay Late

For calendar year 2026, Philadelphia charges 9% annual interest — 0.75% per month — on unpaid tax, plus additional penalties.¹⁴

These charges start the day after the deadline. A filing extension protects you from late-filing penalties but does nothing about late-payment charges. Unpaid balances can be referred to the Law Department, sent to a collection agency, or result in revocation of your Commercial Activity License if you run a business.¹⁵

If you can’t pay the full amount, pay as much as you can by April 15. Interest and penalties apply only to the unpaid portion.

Refunds and Appeals

The most common refund situation is a non-resident who had Wage Tax withheld for days actually worked outside city limits. You’ll need signed documentation from your employer on company letterhead plus a completed date-and-location worksheet, submitted through the Philadelphia Tax Center. Processing takes six to eight weeks.¹⁶

All refund requests must be filed within three years from the date the tax was paid or was due, whichever is later.¹⁷

If the Department of Revenue assesses additional tax, denies a refund, or charges interest and penalties you dispute, you can petition the Tax Review Board. File within 60 days of an assessment notice, or 90 days of a refund denial. Petitions go to the Tax Review Board at 100 South Broad Street, Room 400, Philadelphia, PA 19110, and the original signed petition must be mailed or delivered even if you file electronically. Call (215) 686-5216 before paying any tax you plan to contest, so you don’t waive your right to dispute it.¹⁸

1
City of Philadelphia. Earnings Tax (employees)
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City of Philadelphia. Net Profits Tax
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City of Philadelphia. School Income Tax
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City of Philadelphia. Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT)
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City of Philadelphia. Philly extends deadline for relief program, announces tax cuts
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City of Philadelphia. 2024 School Income Tax (SIT) Instructions
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City of Philadelphia. Philadelphia Business Taxes Are Changing – Tax Year 2025
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City of Philadelphia. FAQs and Resources
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City of Philadelphia. Get a Commercial Activity License
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City of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Tax Center Taxpayer Registration Guide
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City of Philadelphia. Check the (PO) Box. Mailing Tax Payments and Forms to Revenue
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City of Philadelphia. Last-minute Tax Day Reminders for Philly Taxpayers
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City of Philadelphia. How to File and Pay City Taxes
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City of Philadelphia. Interest, Penalties, and Fees
15
City of Philadelphia. Jeffry Schott Answers Seven Questions About Tax Audits
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City of Philadelphia. Request a Wage Tax Refund
17
City of Philadelphia. General Regulations Relating to Taxes and Other Revenues
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City of Philadelphia. Petition for a Tax Appeal