Where to Send PA Estimated Tax Payments: myPATH or Paper Check

Send your Pennsylvania estimated tax payments to the PA Department of Revenue, either electronically through the myPATH portal at mypath.pa.gov or by mail with a PA-40 ES voucher to PO Box 280403, Harrisburg, PA 17128-0403.¹ Both channels go to the same agency; the choice is yours unless a single payment is $15,000 or more, in which case the electronic route is required.

Paying Online Through myPATH

The myPATH portal is the fastest option, and you don’t need an account to use it. From the homepage, choose the guest payment option, select an estimated payment toward your PA-40, and submit.² If you’d rather track your payment history or manage multiple filings, log in to a full account instead.

The system accepts ACH withdrawals from a checking or savings account at no cost. Credit and debit cards also work, but they carry a convenience fee charged on top of the tax. Once the payment goes through, the portal issues a confirmation number. Save it. That number is your proof of timely payment if the department ever questions whether you paid.

Any single estimated payment of $15,000 or more must be made electronically. Mailing a paper check for that amount triggers a penalty of 3% of the payment, capped at $500.³

Mailing a Paper Check

If you’d rather pay by mail, send the completed PA-40 ES voucher along with a check or money order to:

PA Department of Revenue
PO Box 280403
Harrisburg, PA 17128-0403¹

Make the check or money order payable to PA Department of Revenue. On the check itself, write the last four digits of the primary taxpayer’s Social Security number, “2026 PA-40 ES,” and the quarter being paid. If the voucher and check get separated during processing, that information lets the department still match the payment to your account.¹

The voucher itself asks for the primary taxpayer’s full nine-digit Social Security number, the spouse’s SSN for joint filers, a daytime phone number, and the payment amount in dollars and cents written without a decimal point. You can download the current voucher from the Department of Revenue’s website, or use a pre-printed booklet if the department sent you one after a prior filing.¹

For a mailed payment, the postmark date is what counts. For an online payment, submitting through myPATH on the due date is timely even if the bank takes a day or two to process the withdrawal.³

When Payments Are Due in 2026

Pennsylvania uses four installment deadlines:

First quarter: April 15, 2026
Second quarter: June 15, 2026
Third quarter: September 15, 2026
Fourth quarter: January 15, 2027

If you file your declaration by April 15, the year’s estimated tax splits into four equal installments on those dates. Starting later changes the math: a June filer pays in three installments, a September filer in two, and anyone who starts after September 15 owes the full amount at once.⁴ When a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day.³

Do You Actually Need to Pay?

Pennsylvania’s 3.07% flat income tax applies to all taxable income, but employer withholding already handles most wage earners. Estimated payments are for income without withholding: self-employment earnings, rental income, investment gains, and similar sources. The requirement kicks in when you reasonably expect to owe $430 or more in state tax for 2026 after withholding and credits, which corresponds to roughly $14,000 of income not subject to withholding.³

A second condition applies as well: your withholding and credits must come in below the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax liability or 100% of last year’s liability recalculated at the current 3.07% rate.³ Both residents and nonresidents with Pennsylvania-source income fall under the rule. If withholding alone already clears one of those thresholds, you don’t owe estimated payments.

If You End Up Overpaying

If your estimated payments add up to more than your actual tax, Pennsylvania applies the overpayment first to any unpaid installments or outstanding tax debts. Whatever is left gets refunded, or you can choose to credit the excess toward next year’s estimated tax.⁵ Rolling the credit forward is often the simpler move if you expect similar income next year, since it effectively prepays your first quarter.

Federal Payments Go Somewhere Else

Paying Pennsylvania does not satisfy your federal obligation. The IRS has its own quarterly schedule, its own thresholds, and its own payment channels, including IRS Direct Pay at irs.gov/directpay for free bank transfers and the EFTPS system for scheduled payments.⁶ Mailed federal payments use Form 1040-ES, and the correct IRS address depends on your state, so check the current 1040-ES instructions before sending anything.⁷

1
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Declaration of Estimated Personal Income Tax PA-40 ES (I)
2
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Make a Personal Income Tax Payment
3
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. 2026 Instructions for Estimating PA Personal Income Tax
4
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 PS 7326 – Payments of Estimated Tax
5
Legal Information Institute. 61 Pa Code 119.12 – Refund or Credit of Overpayment
6
Internal Revenue Service. Direct Pay Help
7
Internal Revenue Service. Estimated Tax for Individuals