To file local earned income tax in Pennsylvania, you file with the certified tax collector assigned to the Tax Collection District (TCD) that covers your home address, not with the state and not with your municipality directly. The fastest way to identify that collector is the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s free address lookup at Municipal Statistics, which returns your collector’s name and contact information along with your six-digit Political Subdivision (PSD) code and your resident earned income tax (EIT) rate.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Municipal Statistics – Find Local Withholding Rates by Address
Look Up Your Collector by Address
Open the Municipal Statistics tool and enter your home street address. The result page shows three things you need: your PSD code, your combined resident EIT rate, and the certified collector for your TCD, with a phone number and website. If you also enter your work address, the tool displays the nonresident EIT rate and Local Services Tax that apply at your workplace.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Municipal Statistics – Find Local Withholding Rates by Address
The PSD code is a six-digit number that pins down your taxing jurisdictions. The first four digits identify your school district; all six together identify your specific municipality — township, borough, or city.2PA Department of Community & Economic Development. PSD Codes and EIT Rates Your employer uses that code to send withholding to the right place.
Why Your Address Decides Where You File
Act 32 of 2008 consolidated local EIT collection into 69 regional Tax Collection Districts, each served by a single certified collector.3PA Local Fiscal Board. The Impact of Act 32 on the Collection of Local Earned Income Taxes Fewer than 20 collectors now administer EIT for the entire Commonwealth outside Philadelphia. You do not choose your collector; the TCD covering your home assigns one to you.
Residency for local tax purposes is set by where you live on December 31 of the tax year. If you move during the year, your year-end address controls which jurisdiction receives your annual filing. When you start a job or change address, complete a Residency Certification Form so your employer updates your PSD code and withholding rate.2PA Department of Community & Economic Development. PSD Codes and EIT Rates A wrong PSD code sends your withholding to the wrong jurisdiction and causes problems at filing time. If you move to a new TCD, re-check your collector before you file; it may have changed.
The Collectors You’re Most Likely to Deal With
The DCED publishes a complete list of certified collectors and the counties they serve.4PA Department of Community & Economic Development. Local Income Tax Collector The largest include:
- Berkheimer Tax Administrator, serving TCDs in Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, and many other counties.
- Keystone Collections Group, serving TCDs in Bedford, Bucks, and numerous western and central Pennsylvania counties.
- Jordan Tax Service, serving several TCDs in the southwestern part of the state.
- Southwest Regional Tax Bureau, serving additional southwestern Pennsylvania districts.
Each operates its own website, filing portal, and support line. Once the DCED lookup names your collector, go to that collector’s site for the actual forms and e-file access.
How to File Once You Know Your Collector
Most collectors run secure e-filing portals where you complete the return, upload documents, and pay by bank transfer or card. Keystone Collections Group operates its system at efile.keystonecollects.com, and Berkheimer offers a similar portal on its website. E-filing typically produces an immediate confirmation number.
If you prefer paper, download the return from your collector’s website, complete it, and mail the signed form with copies of your W-2s or 1099s to the address on the form. The postmark date generally controls whether a mailed filing is timely, so build in enough lead time before April 15. Keep copies of everything, because your collector may follow up if the income you report does not match the wage data your employer submitted.
Before you start, gather:
- Your W-2s. Box 18 shows local wages and Box 19 shows local tax already withheld. If you worked in more than one locality, you may have multiple entries.
- Any 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC forms for freelance or contract work.
- Records of business expenses if you are self-employed. Your net profit, gross income minus ordinary business expenses, is what the local return taxes.
To compute what you owe, multiply total earned income by your combined resident EIT rate (shown by the DCED lookup), then subtract local tax already withheld on your W-2 and any quarterly estimated payments. The remainder is your balance due, or your refund if you overpaid. Most Pennsylvania jurisdictions have a combined rate near 1%, though some are as low as 0.5% and a few are higher.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Municipal Statistics – Find Local Withholding Rates by Address
When the Return Is Due
The annual local earned income tax return is due April 15 following the close of the tax year. For the 2025 tax year, the deadline is April 15, 2026.
If you are self-employed, receive 1099 income, or work for an employer that does not withhold local EIT, you also owe quarterly estimated payments:
- First quarter: April 15
- Second quarter: July 15
- Third quarter: October 15
- Fourth quarter: January 15 of the following year
A missed quarterly payment can trigger penalty and interest on the underpaid amount. Your collector’s website carries the estimated payment form for your TCD.
Philadelphia Does Not Use the TCD System
If you live or work in Philadelphia, the Municipal Statistics tool and the TCD collectors do not handle you. The city administers its own Wage Tax (for employees) and Earnings Tax (for self-employed individuals) through the Philadelphia Tax Center, operated by the city Department of Revenue.5City of Philadelphia. Wage Tax Employers The resident Wage Tax rate is roughly 3.75%, well above the EIT in most other Pennsylvania municipalities, and your employer withholds it where required.
If you live in Philadelphia and your employer does not withhold the Wage Tax, you must register for and pay the Earnings Tax directly through the Philadelphia Tax Center. Philadelphia residents file with the city, not with a TCD collector. If you live outside Philadelphia but work in the city, the nonresident wage tax rate applies to your Philadelphia wages, and you may be able to credit that amount against the EIT owed to your home jurisdiction.
If You Paid Tax to Another Jurisdiction
When your employer withholds a nonresident EIT because you work in a different Pennsylvania municipality, you generally claim a credit for that withholding on your resident return, reducing or eliminating what you owe your home jurisdiction. The credit cannot exceed your resident EIT liability.
If you work in another state, the calculation is more involved. Pennsylvania has income tax reciprocity with Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia, so no state income tax is owed to the other state on your wages, and any local tax paid to a municipality in that state can be credited directly against your PA resident EIT. For non-reciprocal states, you may need to first apply the out-of-state income tax credit against your PA state liability, with any remaining credit then potentially applicable to your local tax. Your collector’s e-filing system often handles these credits automatically.
What Happens If You File Late or Don’t Pay
Under the Local Tax Enabling Act, unpaid local taxes accrue interest at 6% per year, plus a penalty of 1% of the unpaid amount for each month or partial month the tax remains overdue.6Pennsylvania General Assembly. Act of Dec 31 1965 PL 1257 No 511 Cl 53 – Local Tax Enabling Act Charges begin after the original due date and keep accumulating until the balance is paid.
If you can file on time but cannot pay in full, file anyway and contact your collector. Many collectors offer payment plans, and reaching out before the deadline helps. Collectors have legal authority to pursue delinquent accounts through wage attachment and other collection actions. Filing on time, even with a balance owed, avoids a separate non-filing penalty on top of the non-payment charges.