How to File Local PA Taxes: PSD Codes, Form CLGS-32-1, and Deadlines

To file your local Pennsylvania taxes, look up your six-digit PSD code and assigned tax collector through the state’s address search tool, gather your W-2s and any self-employment records, complete form CLGS-32-1, and submit it with payment to your collector by April 15. Here is how to file local PA taxes step by step, along with the credits, deductions, and deadlines that most often cost people money when they get them wrong.

Step 1: Find Your PSD Code and Tax Collector

Pennsylvania uses a six-digit Political Subdivision (PSD) code to identify your exact municipality-and-school-district combination. The first two digits are the county, the middle two the school district, and the last two the municipality.¹ That code determines both your tax rate and which collection agency processes your return.

Use the Department of Community and Economic Development’s address search tool at apps.dced.pa.gov/munstats-public/findlocaltax.aspx. Enter your home address and the tool returns your PSD code, your Total Resident EIT rate, and the name and contact information of your assigned collector. Write it down. You will need it every year, and using the wrong code sends your payment to the wrong agency and delays processing for months.

Step 2: Know What Income Is Taxable

Local Earned Income Tax applies to wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, and net profits from a business or profession. It does not apply to Social Security benefits, unemployment compensation, military pay, interest, dividends, capital gains, or retirement distributions. That is why your local taxable figure is usually smaller than your federal adjusted gross income.

Self-employed filers report net profits, not gross revenue. Subtract ordinary and necessary business expenses first; the net figure from your federal Schedule C flows onto your local return.

Step 3: Gather Your Documents

W-2 forms from every employer. Box 18 shows local taxable wages and Box 19 shows local tax already withheld.
1099-NEC forms for freelance, contract, or gig income.
A profit-and-loss summary or Schedule C if you are self-employed.
Social Security numbers for you and, if filing jointly, your spouse.
Full name and physical address of every employer you worked for during the year.
Your six-digit PSD code from the DCED lookup.

If you worked in Philadelphia or in another state, keep the W-2s or state returns showing those withholdings. You will need them to claim credits so the same income is not taxed twice.

Step 4: Complete Form CLGS-32-1

The official return is the Taxpayer Annual Local Earned Income Tax Return, form CLGS-32-1. Download it from your assigned collector’s website or from DCED.² The form is standardized statewide, so the layout is the same regardless of which collector you file with.

The math is straightforward. Add your gross compensation from all W-2 Box 18 amounts plus any self-employment net profits. Multiply by your Total Resident EIT rate from the PSD lookup. That is your tax for the year. Subtract the local tax your employer already withheld (W-2 Box 19). If withholding fell short, you owe the difference. If it exceeded your liability, you are due a refund.

Rate Reconciliation When Your Workplace Is in a Different Municipality

When you work in a different Pennsylvania municipality than the one where you live, your employer compares your Total Resident EIT Rate to the Work Location Non-Resident EIT Rate and withholds whichever is higher.³ Your annual return reconciles the total, and you will not owe tax twice on the same dollar.

Credits for Taxes Paid Elsewhere

If you paid local or wage tax to another Pennsylvania municipality or to a state without a reciprocal agreement, you can reduce your liability by that amount. Credits for income taxes paid to other states must first offset your Pennsylvania state income tax; only the excess reduces your local EIT.² Credits for Philadelphia Wage Tax or taxes paid to political subdivisions outside Pennsylvania apply directly against your local EIT without that extra step.

Pennsylvania has reciprocal agreements with Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.⁴ If you live in Pennsylvania and work in one of those states, your employer should withhold Pennsylvania tax, not the other state’s. You cannot take a credit on your local return for state tax withheld by a reciprocal-agreement state.² If the wrong state’s tax was withheld, fix it with your employer early in the year.

Deducting Unreimbursed Business Expenses

If you paid for work-related costs out of pocket and your employer did not reimburse you, deduct 100% of those expenses on PA Schedule UE. There is no percentage-of-income floor. The expense must be ordinary in your industry, actually paid during the year, reasonable in amount, and tied to your job duties. Travel costs, required uniforms, and professional tools commonly qualify. Commuting to your regular workplace, meals while working late (unless you are traveling overnight), and job-hunting costs do not.⁵

One rule catches people. If your employer reimbursed you for an expense at all, even at a rate below your actual cost, you cannot claim it on Schedule UE. Schedule UE is for W-2 employees only; sole proprietors and partners deduct through their profit-and-loss calculations. Because the Schedule UE deduction reduces your taxable earned income, it also lowers your local EIT.

Step 5: Submit the Return and Pay

Berkheimer and Keystone Collections, the two largest collectors, both offer online portals where you can enter data, upload W-2s, and pay electronically. Smaller collectors may offer online filing or accept paper only. Check your assigned collector’s website after the PSD lookup.

Most portals accept ACH bank transfers at no charge. Credit card payments usually carry a convenience fee of roughly 2% to 3%. Paper filers mail the signed return with copies of all W-2s and 1099s to the address on the form, along with a check or money order payable to the specific tax collector. The envelope must be postmarked on or before the deadline. Keep a photocopy of the return and your mailing receipt; paper filings have no built-in confirmation. Online filers receive a confirmation number immediately. Refunds generally take four to eight weeks after acceptance.

The Deadline and Extensions

The annual local return is due April 15, the same day as your federal and state returns.⁶ When April 15 falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day.

To get an extension, file a federal or state extension and check the extension box on the front of your CLGS-32-1. Submit the form with an estimated payment by April 15.² The extension buys time to finalize paperwork, not time to pay. Any tax unpaid by April 15 starts accruing penalty and interest.

Special Situations

You Moved During the Year

If you changed PSD codes mid-year, prorate your income between the two addresses based on the dates you lived at each. Pages four and five of CLGS-32-1 have a dedicated section for this.² List each address, its dates of residency, and its PSD code. If you lived at Address A for eight months and Address B for four, roughly two-thirds of your income is allocated to Address A’s rate and one-third to Address B’s. File a single return with the collector for the jurisdiction where you lived on December 31; both PSD codes appear on the form.

You Live Outside Philadelphia But Work There

Philadelphia operates its own Wage Tax outside the Act 32 framework. If you live elsewhere in Pennsylvania and work in Philadelphia, your employer withholds the Philadelphia non-resident Wage Tax. Claim a credit on your home municipality’s return for the Philadelphia tax paid.⁷ Keep the W-2 showing Philadelphia withholding.

You Are Self-Employed or Your Employer Does Not Withhold

If you are self-employed, work from home, receive 1099 income, or have an employer that does not withhold local tax, you owe quarterly estimated local EIT payments. They are due within 15 days of the end of each calendar quarter: April 15, July 15, October 15, and January 15. Contact your assigned collector for the voucher.

State estimated payments run on a slightly different schedule. For 2026, you must make Pennsylvania estimated payments if you expect to owe at least $430 in state tax on income not subject to withholding, which corresponds to roughly $14,000 of such income. Those installments are due April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.⁸ Skipping either calendar triggers separate penalties.

The Local Services Tax

Many municipalities also impose a Local Services Tax (LST), capped at $52 per year, on anyone working within their borders.⁹ Your employer withholds it in small per-paycheck increments. Most employees never file anything separately for it. If your earned income in the work municipality falls under $12,000 for the year, you may qualify for an exemption; file an exemption certificate with your employer to stop the withholding.

If You File Late or Pay Late

A late return or unpaid balance accrues both a penalty and interest each month until it is resolved, and collectors may add collection costs on top.² Specific rates vary by collector, but the amounts compound monthly, so a small April balance can grow substantially by fall.

Collectors mail notices of deficiency when reported figures do not match employer records or when a return is missing. Respond quickly. Ignoring a notice escalates the account into formal collection and adds legal fees. Most disputes are simple PSD code mismatches; a phone call with your W-2 in hand usually resolves them.

1
PA Department of Community & Economic Development. Act 32 of 2008 Policy and Procedure Manual
2
PA Department of Community & Economic Development. Taxpayer Annual Local Earned Income Tax Return Instructions and Form CLGS-32-1
3
PA Department of Community & Economic Development. Local Withholding Tax FAQs
4
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Determining Residency for PA Personal Income Tax Purposes
5
PA Department of Revenue. PA Schedule UE – Allowable Employee Business Expenses
6
Department of Revenue. Brief Overview and Filing Requirements
7
City of Philadelphia. Request a Wage Tax Refund
8
PA Department of Revenue. 2026 Instructions for Estimating PA Personal Income Tax REV-413 I
9
PA Department of Community & Economic Development. Local Services Tax