A Pennsylvania LLC’s tax filing requirements come in layers: each member pays the state’s 3.07 percent personal income tax on their share of the profits, the LLC itself files a short annual report with the Department of State for a $7 fee, and depending on what the business does and where it operates, employer withholding, sales tax, local earned income tax, and Philadelphia city taxes stack on top.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Personal Income Tax The LLC is a pass-through by default, so the entity itself usually owes no state income tax.
Income Tax: What the LLC Files and What Members File
How the income side works depends on how many members your LLC has.
A single-member LLC is a disregarded entity. There is no separate state return for the LLC. The owner reports all business income on their personal PA-40, using Schedule C, E, or F as appropriate, and pays the flat 3.07 percent rate.2Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. What Are the Filing Requirements for a Single Member Limited Liability Company (SMLLC)?
A multi-member LLC defaults to partnership treatment and must file Form PA-20S/PA-65, an informational return that reports total income and each member’s share.3Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Pass Through Entities The LLC pays no tax on that return. Each member reports their share on their own PA-40 and pays 3.07 percent.4Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Tax Rates
One boundary worth flagging: if your LLC has elected to be taxed as a corporation federally, Pennsylvania treats it as a corporation too and applies the Corporate Net Income Tax instead of the pass-through system. That rate is 7.49 percent for 2026, stepping down half a point a year until it reaches 4.99 percent in 2031.5Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Corporate Net Income Tax Audit Manual Most LLCs don’t elect this treatment because the rate is far above 3.07 percent.
Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments
Because LLC income isn’t subject to employer withholding, members generally have to pay Pennsylvania personal income tax in quarterly installments. For 2026, estimated payments are required if you expect to owe at least $430 after credits and withholding, and your withholding and credits will cover less than 90 percent of your 2026 liability or 100 percent of your 2025 liability, whichever is smaller.6Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Instructions for Estimating PA Personal Income Tax for Individuals
The 2026 due dates:
- April 15, 2026
- June 15, 2026
- September 15, 2026
- January 15, 2027
Underpayment interest runs at 7 percent annually for 2026 and starts accruing from the date each installment was due, so a missed April payment compounds all the way through the year before you file.7Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. What Is the Current Interest Rate?
Withholding for Non-Resident Members
If any member lives outside Pennsylvania, the LLC has to withhold 3.07 percent on that member’s share of Pennsylvania-source income and send it to the Department of Revenue. The LLC is jointly liable with the non-resident member for the tax.8Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Are There Requirements to Withhold and Pay Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax9Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. PA-20S/PA-65 ES Declaration of Estimated Withholding Tax
Two or more qualifying non-resident individual members can be reported together on a single Form PA-40 NRC instead of each filing their own PA-40. To qualify, each non-resident member must have been domiciled outside Pennsylvania all year, kept no permanent home in the state, and had no other Pennsylvania-source income beyond the LLC.10Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. PA-40 NRC Nonresident Consolidated Income Tax Return With only one non-resident member, the consolidated return isn’t available and that member files their own PA-40.
Annual Report to the Department of State
Under Act 122 of 2022, Pennsylvania LLCs now file an annual report instead of the old decennial filing. The report confirms your LLC’s name, registered office address, principal office address, and at least one member or manager acting as a governor. The fee is $7.11Pennsylvania Department of State. Annual Reports
LLCs can file any time between January 1 and September 30. Starting with reports due in 2027, an LLC that misses the deadline faces administrative dissolution six months later. A dissolved LLC can only wind down or apply for reinstatement and loses the exclusive right to its registered name.11Pennsylvania Department of State. Annual Reports
Restricted Professional LLCs
PLLCs formed by licensed professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants don’t file the $7 report. They file a Certificate of Annual Registration by April 15 for the prior year, and for 2026 the fee is $700 per qualifying member. The fee only applies to members who were licensed and residing in Pennsylvania on December 31 of the reported year.12Pennsylvania Department of State. Certificates of Annual Registration13Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 15 Pa.C.S. 8998 – Annual Registration
If You Hire Employees or Sell Taxable Goods
Hiring even one employee opens up additional accounts. The LLC must withhold Pennsylvania personal income tax from wages and remit it to the Department of Revenue, and it owes unemployment compensation contributions. Register these accounts through the myPATH portal’s online business tax registration tool.14Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Register My Business for Taxes
Workers’ compensation insurance is mandatory for any LLC with employees who could be injured on the job in Pennsylvania. Operating without coverage carries fines of $2,500 and up to a year in jail per day for a standard violation, and $15,000 plus up to seven years per day if the violation is intentional. Responsible individuals can also be personally liable for benefits a judge awards to injured employees.15Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. LIBC-200 Employer Information
LLCs selling tangible goods or certain taxable services need a sales tax license. The state rate is 6 percent, with common exemptions for clothing, most groceries, and prescription drugs.16Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax
Local Taxes
Pennsylvania’s local tax system runs independently of the state and catches many LLC owners by surprise. Under Act 32, employers with worksites in Pennsylvania withhold both the local Earned Income Tax and the Local Services Tax from employee pay. The LST is capped at $52 per year per person across all municipalities where someone works.17Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Local Income Tax Information18Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Local Services Tax (LST) Self-employed LLC members pay EIT on business earnings directly to the local tax collector for their municipality, not to the state.
Philadelphia
LLCs doing business in Philadelphia owe two city taxes that don’t exist elsewhere in Pennsylvania, and they apply together rather than one instead of the other.
The Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT) charges 1.410 mills on gross receipts plus 5.71 percent on net income. The prior $100,000 gross receipts exemption no longer applies starting with the 2026 tax season, so every Philadelphia LLC now owes BIRT regardless of size. Returns are due April 15 for the prior year.19City of Philadelphia. Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT)
The Net Profits Tax (NPT) sits on top of BIRT. For tax year 2025, filed by April 15, 2026, the NPT rate is 3.74 percent for city residents and 3.43 percent for non-residents.20City of Philadelphia. Net Profits Tax Both BIRT and NPT are filed through the Philadelphia Tax Center, not the state’s myPATH portal.
Two Portals, Two Different Systems
Confusing the two state portals is a common mistake. Tax returns and payments, including income tax withholding, sales tax, and estimated payments, go through myPATH, the Department of Revenue’s portal. You can register new tax accounts, file returns, and pay in the same system.21Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. myPATH
Annual reports go somewhere else entirely. The Department of State’s Business Filing Services portal at file.dos.pa.gov handles annual reports. You create a separate account there, search for your LLC by name, file online, and pay by credit card. No PIN is required, and after processing you can download the filed report and acknowledgment letter.11Pennsylvania Department of State. Annual Reports
If You Miss a Deadline or Can’t Pay
Underpaid state taxes accrue 7 percent annual interest for 2026, running from the original due date and compounding on top of any late-filing or underpayment penalties the Department of Revenue assesses.7Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. What Is the Current Interest Rate? Missed local EIT or LST obligations trigger separate penalties and interest from regional tax collectors, entirely independent of anything the state charges.
If your LLC can’t pay in full, the Department of Revenue offers payment plans through myPATH. Balances under $50,000 that can be paid off within 12 months can be set up online or by phone. Balances above $50,000, plans longer than 12 months, or situations where you already have a plan require an extended arrangement and a Statement of Financial Condition (Form REV-484 for businesses) before the department will approve terms.22Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Personal Income Tax Payment Plans One catch: the department won’t set up a plan for the current year until after the return’s due date passes, so file on time even if you can’t pay.