Pennsylvania Property Tax Refund: Eligibility, Income, and Filing

Pennsylvania’s property tax refund, formally the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program, pays up to $1,000 (or $1,500 with a supplemental rebate) to eligible homeowners and renters who are 65 or older, widows or widowers 50 or older, or adults 18 and older with a permanent disability. Household income must be $48,110 or less, and only half of your Social Security counts toward that cap. Claims for the 2025 year are due June 30, 2026.¹

Who Qualifies

You need to fit one of three categories as of December 31 of the claim year: 65 or older, a widow or widower who was at least 50, or 18 or older with a permanent disability.² The disability standard is strict: a medically determined physical or mental condition that keeps you from working and is expected to continue indefinitely. A temporary injury does not count.

You also need to have owned or rented and actually lived in a Pennsylvania home during the claim year. The rebate covers your primary residence only, not a vacation home or investment property.² Residents of nursing homes, boarding homes, and similar facilities can qualify if their landlord paid property taxes on the building. One catch for renters: if you received cash public assistance during any month of the claim year, you cannot claim the rebate for those months.

The Income Cap and How Social Security Is Counted

Total household income for the claim year must be $48,110 or less, and that same cap applies to homeowners and renters alike.¹

The rule that pulls most seniors under the cap: only half of your Social Security benefits count toward household income. If you receive $30,000 a year in Social Security and have $10,000 from other sources, the program treats your income as $25,000. Household income otherwise includes wages, pensions, interest, dividends, Railroad Retirement benefits, and most other money received during the year.¹

How Much You Get Back

The standard rebate follows a sliding scale based on income after the Social Security exclusion:¹

$0 to $8,550: up to $1,000
$8,551 to $16,040: up to $770
$16,041 to $19,240: up to $460
$19,241 to $48,110: up to $380

Homeowners’ rebates are based on actual property taxes paid. For renters, the program treats 20 percent of your total annual rent as the equivalent of property taxes and calculates the rebate from that figure.

The Supplemental Rebate

Some homeowners get an extra payment on top of the standard amount, and the Department of Revenue calculates it automatically. You qualify if your household income is $32,070 or less and your property taxes exceed 15 percent of your income, or if you live in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or Scranton.¹

$0 to $8,550: $500 supplement, total $1,500
$8,551 to $16,040: $385 supplement, total $1,155
$16,041 to $19,240: $230 supplement, total $690
$19,241 to $32,070: $190 supplement, total $570

If your income falls between $32,071 and $48,110, you still receive the $380 standard rebate but are not eligible for the supplement.¹

What to Gather Before You File

The claim form is the PA-1000, available from the Department of Revenue website or in paper at local legislative offices.³ Have these ready:

Proof of age or disability. A birth certificate, Pennsylvania driver’s license, or medical documentation of your disability. First-time filers submit this; returning filers generally do not.
Income records. Social Security statements, W-2s, 1099s, pension statements, and any other proof of money received during the claim year. You must document every income type you report.⁴
Homeowners: a property tax receipt signed by your local tax collector for your primary residence for the claim year.
Renters: the PA-1000 RC Rent Certificate, signed by your landlord or property owner to confirm what you paid.³

Missing documents are the most common reason claims stall. If your landlord is slow to sign the Rent Certificate, start that conversation early rather than waiting for the deadline.

How and When to File

Filing online through myPATH, the state’s tax portal, is the fastest option. The system does the calculations for you and confirms that your application was received.⁵ For paper, mail your signed PA-1000 and supporting documents to the Department of Revenue in Harrisburg. Do not staple anything.

The deadline for the 2025 claim year is June 30, 2026.¹ The state has extended the window to December 31 in past years, but that extension is not guaranteed. Most approved applicants receive their rebate by direct deposit or paper check within several weeks, and online filers are paid faster than paper filers.

Filing for a Family Member Who Died During the Year

If a loved one passed away during the claim year and would otherwise have qualified, someone can still file for them. The deceased must have actually lived in the home and paid rent or property taxes during the claim year. If they died before occupying the home or making any payments, no claim is available.⁶

Three people can file: a surviving spouse (submit a copy of the death certificate); the executor or administrator of the estate (submit a Short Certificate showing the will was probated); or, if there is no will, a personal representative (submit the death certificate, a DEX-41 form, a completed RA-1000 with Line 3 filled in, and a receipted copy of the funeral bill).⁶ For partial-year residents, the department prorates taxes or rent and annualizes income when calculating the rebate.

Tracking Your Rebate and Avoiding Scam Calls

After filing, check status through the “Where’s My Rebate?” tool on myPATH or through the Department of Revenue’s online customer service center.⁷ Those are the only two legitimate status channels. If you filed on paper and weeks pass with no movement, the usual cause is a missing document, so check your file before assuming a problem.

Rebate applicants are a specific target for phone scams. The common version: a caller claims to be from the Pennsylvania Treasury Department and asks for your bank account information to “set up direct deposit.” The Department of Revenue has warned that neither Treasury nor Revenue will ever call to ask for bank information.⁷ Hang up. Other red flags include mailers demanding payment for “tax help,” emails claiming your rebate address needs updating, and letters asking for payment by gift card or wire. If you are not sure a message is real, contact the Department of Revenue through its official website rather than any number or link the message provided.

1
Department of Revenue. Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program
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Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. How Do I Know If I Qualify for the Property Tax/Rent Rebate?
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program Forms and Information
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Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Pennsylvania Property Tax or Rent Rebate Claim
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Apply for Property Tax or Rent Rebate
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Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Qualifying for a Property Tax/Rent Rebate Application on Behalf of a Decedent
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Scam Warning – Calls from Fraudsters Target Seniors and People with Disabilities Who Have Applied for PTRR