PA Revenue ID Number: Tax Accounts, myPATH Registration, and Updates

A PA Revenue ID number is a tax account number the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue assigns to your business after you register for a particular tax, such as sales tax, employer withholding, or corporate net income tax. There isn’t one universal number: you get a separate account number for each tax type your business needs. Registration is free and happens online through the state’s myPATH portal at mypath.pa.gov.

What the Number Actually Is

When people say “PA Revenue ID number,” they usually mean one or more tax account numbers issued by the Department of Revenue. A retailer collecting sales tax gets a Sales Tax license number. A business with employees gets an Employer Withholding account number. A corporation gets a Corporate Net Income Tax account number. Each number ties your business to a specific tax obligation, and you use it every time you file a return or make a payment for that tax.

All of these are managed through myPATH (my Pennsylvania Tax Hub), which replaced the older e-TIDES system in November 2022. The former PA-100 Enterprise Registration Form has been folded into the online registration, so there is no separate paper form to track down.

Which Tax Accounts Your Business Needs

Not every business needs every account. What you register for depends on what your business does and how it’s structured. The most common accounts are:

Sales, Use, and Hotel Occupancy Tax. Required if you sell taxable goods, perform taxable services, or rent hotel rooms. Pennsylvania’s state sales tax rate is 6 percent. Use tax applies at the same rate when you buy taxable items from out of state and no sales tax was collected.¹
Employer Withholding Tax. Required if you have employees working in Pennsylvania and need to withhold state income tax from their wages.
Corporation Taxes. Required for corporations and certain other entities doing business in the state.

The registration system also handles less common accounts such as Motor Fuels Tax, Public Transportation Assistance Taxes, Vehicle Rental Tax, Alternative Fuels Tax, Tobacco Products Licenses, and Consumer Fireworks tax, among others.² During registration you’ll see the full list and select only what applies.

Out-of-State Sellers

If your business is located outside Pennsylvania but sells to Pennsylvania customers, you’re required to register and collect sales tax once your annual gross sales into the state hit $100,000. Pennsylvania measures this by sales volume only, with no separate transaction-count threshold.³ E-commerce sellers with no physical presence in the state often overlook this.

What to Have Ready Before You Apply

The online system doesn’t let you save your progress and come back later, so gather everything before you start:

Your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). Most business structures need one; get it from the IRS first if you don’t have it. Sole proprietors without employees can typically use their Social Security Number instead.
Your legal business name and address, matching what’s on file with the IRS and, if applicable, the Pennsylvania Department of State.
Your business structure: sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, LLC, or nonprofit.
The exact date your business began or will begin operating in Pennsylvania.
The tax types you’re registering for.
Name, contact details, and Social Security Number for the person responsible for the business’s tax compliance.

If you’re forming a corporation or LLC, you’ll generally need to register the entity with the Pennsylvania Department of State first. The Department of Revenue needs to see that your business legally exists in the state before it will issue tax accounts.

How to Register Through myPATH

All tax registrations run through myPATH. The path differs slightly depending on whether your business already has any Pennsylvania tax account.

New Businesses

If you’ve never dealt with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue before, you can complete the entire registration without creating a myPATH login. On the Department of Revenue’s registration page, choose “Pennsylvania Online Business Tax Registration.”² The system walks you through a series of screens where you enter your business information, pick the tax types you need, and submit.

Existing Businesses Adding a Tax Account

If your business already has at least one Pennsylvania tax account, log in to myPATH and use the “Register New Business Tax Accounts” feature.² This also applies to sole proprietors who already file personal income tax in Pennsylvania and now need to register a business. You’ll verify your identity with a valid ID number (SSN, FEIN, or an existing Revenue ID) during sign-up.⁴

During registration you’ll reach a screen listing every available tax account. Review it carefully. If none of the listed accounts apply to your business, you don’t need to complete the form at all.⁴

After You Register

Online submissions are typically processed within a few business days. Once approved, your new tax account numbers appear in your myPATH account if you created one, or arrive by mail if you registered as a guest. Keep them somewhere accessible; you’ll need them every time you file a return or make a payment.

For sales tax, the Department of Revenue issues a Sales Tax license that you’re required to display at your place of business. Returns must be filed for every reporting period, even if you had no taxable sales during that period.¹ Skipping a zero-dollar return is a common mistake that can trigger penalties.

Keeping Your Accounts Current

Pennsylvania sales tax licenses are not permanent. The Department of Revenue requires renewal at least every five years, and your license will not be renewed if you have outstanding tax balances or unfiled returns.

If your address, contact information, or banking details change, log in to myPATH, open the account in question, and use the account maintenance options to update your sales, employer withholding, or corporation tax accounts.

If you stop the activity that required an account, such as no longer having employees, log in to myPATH, find the account on your Summary tab, and use the Account Maintenance link to cancel it. If you registered for the wrong account type by mistake, close the incorrect account and start a new registration for the right one. To dissolve a business entirely, call the Department of Revenue’s Customer Experience Center at 717-783-8434 so all liabilities and filing requirements can be cleared before the account is fully closed.

If You Should Have Registered but Didn’t

Operating in Pennsylvania without the required tax registrations gets expensive quickly. Under 61 Pa. Code § 35.2, failing to file a return adds 5 percent of the tax owed for each month the return is late, up to 25 percent, with a $2 minimum. Underpayments carry 3 percent of the unpaid balance plus 3 percent for each additional month, capped at 18 percent. Intentionally failing to collect or remit tax carries a 50 percent penalty on the tax amount unless the taxpayer makes a full, good-faith disclosure. Willful violations can be charged as a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $1,000, up to one year of imprisonment, or both.⁵ Interest accrues on top at a rate set annually under 72 P.S. § 806. A business that should have collected sales tax but wasn’t registered can end up owing the uncollected tax out of pocket.

Pennsylvania’s Voluntary Disclosure Program offers a way to limit the damage. If you come forward on your own, file the required returns, and pay the taxes and interest owed, the Department of Revenue waives penalties for up to three years plus the current year. You don’t qualify if the Department has already contacted you about the liability, if you were previously registered, or if you’ve used the program before. Businesses that collected sales tax from customers but never remitted it can still participate, but they owe the full amount collected for all years, not just the three-year lookback.⁶

Once you’re enrolled, the Voluntary Disclosure Office handles the registration, return processing, and payments. Do not try to register or file on your own through myPATH while participating; doing so voids the agreement and exposes you to the full penalty schedule.⁶

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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Register My Business for Taxes
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Online Retailers
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Help Guides – Apply for State Business Taxes
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Pennsylvania Code. 61 Pa Code 35.2 – Interest, Additions, Penalties, Crimes and Offenses
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Apply for the Voluntary Disclosure Program