Pennsylvania’s tire tax is a flat $1 fee on every new tire sold for highway use in the Commonwealth, collected under the Public Transportation Assistance Fund.1Pennsylvania Code. 61 Pa. Code 47.19 – Public Transportation Assistance Fund Taxes and Fees A set of four tires adds $4 to your bill. The retailer, not the buyer, is legally responsible for collecting the fee and sending it to the Department of Revenue.
What the Fee Applies To
The fee attaches to every sale of a new tire delivered in Pennsylvania when the tire is meant for highway use.2Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Tire and Vehicle Rental Taxes/Fees “Highway use” means the tire is going on a vehicle that must be licensed for road travel under Pennsylvania’s vehicle code. If it’s the kind of tire normally used on such a vehicle, the law presumes highway use and the fee applies.1Pennsylvania Code. 61 Pa. Code 47.19 – Public Transportation Assistance Fund Taxes and Fees
It’s a flat dollar per tire. Brand, size, and model year don’t matter. Two tires means $2 in fees, four tires means $4. If a vendor fails to collect it, the vendor is personally assessed the amount owed, which is why shops apply it consistently.1Pennsylvania Code. 61 Pa. Code 47.19 – Public Transportation Assistance Fund Taxes and Fees
Wholesale purchases are different. A shop buying inventory from a distributor doesn’t pay the fee on that transaction, because the tires haven’t yet been sold for highway use. The fee is charged once, at the retail sale to the end customer.3Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 61 Pa. Code 47.19 – Public Transportation Assistance Fund Taxes and Fees
Sales That Don’t Trigger the Fee
Several categories of tire sales fall outside the fee. These are built into the regulation, so nothing needs to be applied for:3Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 61 Pa. Code 47.19 – Public Transportation Assistance Fund Taxes and Fees
- Used tires, retreads, and recaps. Only new tires trigger the fee.
- Tires not for highway use, such as those for ATVs, snowmobiles, and farm equipment used only off public roads.
- Tires sold to the federal government, the Commonwealth, its political subdivisions, and municipal authorities.
- Rentals and leases of tires. The lessor pays the fee when originally buying the tires, and the rental itself is excluded.
- Tires delivered out of state. Bringing them into Pennsylvania later doesn’t retroactively trigger the fee.
One boundary worth flagging: nonprofits and charitable organizations that hold a Pennsylvania sales tax exemption are still on the hook for the $1 tire fee. The statute allows no exemptions beyond governmental entities.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 PS 9301 – Public Transportation Assistance Fund A sales tax exemption certificate does not cover the tire fee.5Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Pennsylvania Tax Unit Exemption Certificate
How It Stacks with Sales Tax
The $1 fee and Pennsylvania’s 6% sales tax are calculated independently. The fee isn’t part of the sales tax base, and the sales tax isn’t applied on top of the fee.2Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Tire and Vehicle Rental Taxes/Fees On a $600 set of four tires in Philadelphia, where the combined sales tax rate is 8%, you’d pay $48 in sales tax and $4 in tire fees. Neither figure inflates the other.
What Retailers Have to Do
Anyone selling tires in Pennsylvania needs a Sales, Use, and Hotel Occupancy Tax license before collecting the fee.6Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax Returns are filed through myPATH, the Department of Revenue’s online portal.2Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Tire and Vehicle Rental Taxes/Fees
Filing frequency is set by the Department based on your sales tax volume in a lookback quarter, and can be monthly, quarterly, or semi-annual.7Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. How Is My Filing Period for Sales Tax Determined? A return is still required for periods with no tire sales; a zero-activity return is not optional.6Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax
Penalties for Late Filing
Missing a filing deadline triggers a 5% penalty on the tax owed, with another 5% added for each additional month or partial month the return is late, up to 25%. The minimum penalty is $5.8Pennsylvania Code. 61 Pa. Code 121.26 – Penalties for Failure to File or for Filing a Late Return Interest accrues on the unpaid balance as well.
Repeated noncompliance can also lead to suspension or revocation of the Sales, Use, and Hotel Occupancy Tax license, which effectively stops a retailer from operating legally in the Commonwealth until the license is reinstated.
Federal Excise Tax on Heavy Tires
Separate from the state fee, the federal government imposes an excise tax on heavy tires at the manufacturer or importer level. It doesn’t usually appear on a consumer receipt because it’s built into the wholesale price, but it affects what large truck and commercial tires cost.
The federal tax applies to tires with a maximum rated load capacity above 3,500 pounds. The rate is 9.45 cents for each 10 pounds of load capacity over that threshold, or 4.725 cents for biasply and super single tires. A passenger car tire falls well below the threshold, so no federal tax applies. A heavy truck tire rated at 6,000 pounds of load capacity works out to roughly $23.63 in federal excise tax per tire. The federal tax is currently set to expire on October 1, 2028.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4071 – Imposition of Tax>
Pennsylvania’s $1 fee applies on top of whatever federal tax is already baked into the price. For a commercial fleet, both layers add up quickly across dozens of tires per vehicle.