How To File Pa State Taxes

How Do I File A Pa

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• Wages and taxes reported on up to 64 federal Forms W-2
• Miscellaneous income reported on up to 64 federal Forms 1099-MISC
• Interest income reported on up to 2 Pennsylvania Schedules A
• Dividend income reported on up to 2 Pennsylvania Schedules B
• Profit or loss from a business or profession reported on up to 20 Pennsylvania Schedules C
• Sale, exchange, or disposition of property reported on up to 2 Pennsylvania Scheduled D
• Rents and royalty income reported on Pennsylvania Schedule E
• Other deductions claimed on Pennsylvania Schedule O
• Refund donations to Pennsylvania 529 College and Career Savings Program Accounts reported on Pennsylvania Schedule P
• Tax forgiveness credit claimed on Pennsylvania Schedue SP
• Gambling and lotter winnings reported on Pennsylvania Schedule T
• Allowable unreimbursed employee business expenses reported on up to 64 Pennsylvania Schedules UE

• You have income, expenses, or credits that myPATH does not permit;
• You are a first time filer and are not a resident of Pennsylvania

The Basics Of Pennsylvania State Tax

The Keystone State has a use tax, inheritance tax, sales tax and a transfer tax on real estate, along with county-level property taxes and various other taxes. In addition, all full-time Pennsylvania residents non-residents or part-year residents who earned or received more than $33 in gross taxable income must file state income tax returns.

The Pennsylvania Income Tax

Pennsylvania collects a state income tax at a maximum marginal tax rate of %, spread across tax brackets. Unlike the Federal Income Tax, Pennsylvania’s state income tax does not provide couples filing jointly with expanded income tax brackets.

Pennsylvania’s maximum marginal income tax rate is the 1st highest in the United States, ranking directly below Pennsylvania’s %. You can learn more about how the Pennsylvania income tax compares to other states’ income taxes by visiting our map of income taxes by state.

Like 14 other states, Pennsylvania allows cities and other localities to collect a local income tax in addition to the Pennsylvania Income Tax. The average income tax rate for counties and large municipalities, weighted by total personal income within each jurisdiction is 1.25%.

There are -534 days left until Tax Day, on April 16th 2020. The IRS will start accepting eFiled tax returns in January 2020 – you can start your online tax return today for free with TurboTax .

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Filing Your Pennsylvania Sales Tax Returns Online

Pennsylvania supports electronic filing of sales tax returns, which is often much faster than filing via mail.

Pennsylvania allows businesses to make sales tax payments electronically via the internet.

You can process your required sales tax filings and payments online using the official Pennsylvania e-TIDES website, which can be found here . You should have received credentials to access your Pennsylvania e-TIDES account when you applied for your Pennsylvania sales tax license.

Simplify Pennsylvania sales tax compliance! We provide sales tax rate databases for businesses who manage their own sales taxes, and can also connect you with firms that can completely automate the sales tax calculation and filing process.

Why Is The Department Of Revenue Doing This Now

Pennsylvania has historically interpreted the Quill Corp. v. North Dakota case broadly, concluding that the physical presence requirement it imposed as a condition of substantial nexus for sales tax purposes applied to other taxes as well, including corporate income taxes. Although this had long been an open question, most states operated on the assumption that Quill only applied to sales taxes, and that substantial nexuswhich is constitutionally necessary for imposing a taxcould be achieved without physical presence with other taxes, like the corporate income tax. Since the physical presence requirement from Quill has been struck down , the question is largely moot, so the Department is moving forward with new standards.

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Overview Of Pennsylvania Taxes

Pennsylvania has a flat income tax rate of 3.07%, the lowest of all the states with a flat tax. The statewide sales tax rate is 6%, though two counties charge an additional sales tax above this rate.

* These are the taxes owed for the 2020 – 2021 filing season.

If You Owe And Cant Pay

If you owe taxes and cant pay before the due date, dont fret. The Department of Revenue allows you to set up a payment plan by calling its Collections Unit at 1-717-783-3000. However, youll incur a late payment penalty and interest on the amount due, which will continue to add up until you pay off the balance. You should pay as much as youre able by the due date in order to minimize interest and penalties on the unpaid balance.

You can make your tax payments by check, money order, debit card or credit card. Fees will be charged for some payment options.

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How Do I File Pennsylvania State Tax If I’m Active Duty Military And Exempt

See the answer below for how to file PA state tax when active duty and exempt. ;I have also included two screenshots below that show the screens referred to in the answer.

Active duty military income earned outside of Pennsylvania by a Pennsylvania resident is not subject to Pennsylvania income tax. In the state section of TurboTax, when you come to the page titled Compensation Summary, click;edit;beside your military income.;;Check the box to indicate that this income is not taxable to Pennsylvania.; This will flag your military income as not taxable in Pennsylvania.;

However, any interest, dividends, capital gains, rental income, etc;;IS taxable by PA regardless of where you are stationed.

If you have already e-filed, you can submit copies of your military orders and an explanation of where you earned your active duty pay to:

PA Department of Revenue

How Do I File An Amended Personal Income Tax Return

You can amend a previously filed tax return if you have since discovered that you incorrectly filed a tax return.

If you over-reportedyour income or if you are entitled to credits or deductions you did not claim and wish a refund, you must complete and file an amended return within three years from the original or extended due date.If youunder-reported income or erroneously claimed credits or deductions, you must correct the error by filing an amended return within 30 days of the discovery if the tax change results from:

The discovery of additional information that could not have been previously obtained by the exercise of due diligence; orThe occurrence of a contingent event.;In these circumstances, there is no time limit for filing.

CAUTION: You may not file an amended PA return after the department issued an assessment if your amendment relates to the same taxable year and item of income, gain, deduction, or loss that the department assessed. You must either file a timely petition for reassessment or pay the assessment and file a timely refund petition. Under PA law starting January 1st 2018, you must submit a Petition Form no later than 60 days from the date listed on the assessment notice or if you are petitioning for a refund, no later than;six months after from the date shown on the assessment.There are a few options for filing an amended return, so please review the information below and select the filing method that works best for you.

Complete the PA-40 by:;;

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Filing And Payment Deadline

For 2019 state taxes, the state has extended the filing and payment deadline. Pennsylvania residents now have until July 15, 2020 to file their state returns and pay any state tax they owe. As with the federal deadline extension, Pennsylvania wont charge interest or apply penalties to unpaid balances between April 15 and July 15, 2020.

While this year is a little different, generally you must file and pay your Pennsylvania state income tax each year by April 15. If that falls on a holiday or a weekend, youll get a brief reprieve since taxes will then be due the next business day.

Does Pennsylvanias Constitution Allow Such A Threshold

Thats uncertain, though state courts have granted significant latitude in the past. Pennsylvania has a robust uniformity clause in its constitution, applying to all taxes and requiring that they be uniform, upon the same class of subjects, within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax, and collected under general law. Although the Bulletin indicates that all doing business in the Commonwealth are potentially taxable , enforcement would appear to be on a factor presence basis, with a $500,000 threshold. This raises questions given the constitutional provision, though state courts have permitted a homestead exemption and other thresholds in the past despite the uniformity clause.

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Total Estimated 2020 Tax Burden

Our income tax calculator calculates your federal, state and local taxes based on several key inputs: your household income, location, filing status and number of personal exemptions. Also, we separately calculate the federal income taxes you will owe in the 2020 – 2021 filing season based on the Trump Tax Plan.

Live In Nj But Work In Pa Do I Need To Fill A Tax Return For Pa

PA and NJ have tax reciprocity with regard to W-2 wages.; If you lived in NJ the entire tax year, and worked in PA, your W-2;wages are not subject to PA taxes.; For tax purposes, your;PA wages are considered;NJ income, and are fully taxable by NJ.; If this is your situation, you would answer No;in the Personal Info section of TT to the question about having Other State Income.;

The only reason you’d have to file a non-resident PA return is if your employer mistakenly withheld PA taxes, or if you had PA income other than W-2 wages, such as rental income from a property located in PA.;PA-NJ reciprocity applies only to W-2 wages, not to any other type of income.

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Federal Deductions Not Allowed At State Level

Pennsylvania doesn’t allow many of the deductions that are permitted at the federal level, including medical and dental expenses, charitable donations, and casualty or theft losses. Deductions are limited to just three in this state: employment-related expenses, certain college savings plans, and contributions to medical or health savings plans.

What Is State Tax

State income tax is a tax assessed by a state on income earned during the tax year either while living or working within the state. State income taxes, which vary by state, are a percentage of money that you pay to the state government based on the income you make at your job.

Similar to federal taxes, it is self-assessed and often based on a percentage you pay the state government on your income. Some states have a flat tax rate or no tax at all, even.

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How Do I File A Pa Income Tax Return For A Deceased Taxpayer

If you are filing a return for a deceased individual, you will need to to select the correct filing status for the taxpayer, see the PA Personal Income Tax Guide .; Then you will need to complete the;deceased indicator on the PA-40 return and make proper notation for either taxpayer, spouse or both.

IMPORTANT:; Effective Jan. 1, 2013 a joint return can be filed by the surviving spouse and decedent when a spouse or taxpayer dies during the tax year if:

Also for tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2014, the executor of the estate of the taxpayer and spouse may elect to file a joint return on behalf of the taxpayer and spouse if:

FILING TIPS:

CAUTION: Do not list the deceased taxpayers name and Social Security number as the primary taxpayer unless both the taxpayer and spouse die during the tax year and a joint return is filed on their behalf.

Who Pays Pa State Tax

Just like the federal government, most states impose an income tax on your earnings if you have a sufficient connection to the state .

So, if you earn income connected to the state, you must pay PA income taxes. As a traditional W-2 employee, your PA taxes will be withheld on each paycheck automatically. You will see this on your paycheck, near or next to the federal taxes.

If you work remotely, you should pay taxes to the state in which the work is performed. Employers will generally also pay taxes on wages paid to these workers to the same state, even if the employer has no physical presence in that state. However, some states may require that workers are taxed based on their employers location.

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Cell Phone & Electronic Device Policy

Effective April 24, 2017, the Board of Directors enacted a policy prohibiting the use of cell phones or other electronic recording devices by visitors in the lobby of either of the Tax Bureau offices. ;The purpose of this policy is to protect confidential taxpayer information which may be discussed or open to view in the office. Telephone calls and cell phone usage must be continued outside. ;

How To File Your Pennsylvania State Tax

You have a few options for filing your state income tax returns.

First, you can go the old-school route by filling out a paper copy of Form PA-40, which you can download from the Department of Revenues website or request by calling 1-800-362-2050. If sending a payment, mail the payment, tax forms and any supporting documents by the deadline to this address:;PA Department of Revenue, Payment Enclosed,1 Revenue Place, Harrisburg, PA 17129-0001

If you want to request a refund or dont have a payment or refund, youll need to mail your documents to other addresses.

Second, qualifying taxpayers can use the following free services:

• , a software provider certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, can help you calculate and file both your single-state and federal taxes for free.
• PA Free File allows qualifying taxpayers to file both federal and state taxes in one place.
• Padirectfile allows you to file just your state tax return if youve already taken care of your federal tax return.

The department has a robust database of FAQs for general or specific questions and an Office of Taxpayers Rights Advocate to resolve any lingering concerns.

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Does That Mean The Department Has The Inherent Authority To Set These New Rules

Thats unclear. Existing state law establishes that the CNIT is imposed on corporations doing business, carrying on activities, employing capital or properties, or owning property in the Commonwealth. Thats an expansive list that captures just about everything a company could do in Pennsylvania with or without a physical presence, and one impedimentPennsylvanias application of a physical presence standard through Quillhas now been lifted, presumably meaning that nexus standards become broader just through application of existing law.

However, thats not the end of the story. There are several remaining constraints on Pennsylvanias authority to impose its tax on companies not domiciled in the state , and the approach the Department took, establishing a rebuttable presumption at $500,000 in sales, looks a lot like factor presence, which is not mentioned in the statute. The Departments best argument is probably that technically all of these activities are taxed unless theres a legal reason why they cant be, but if a company has more than $500,000 in sales into the state, they will begin with the assumption that they are taxable, and act accordingly. To the degree that $500,000 comes to act as a nexus threshold, that could create problems, as the Department has no statutory basis for establishing a factor approach.

Where To Send Your Pennsylvania Tax Return

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Where Did The $500000 Threshold Come From

Its lifted from the states post-Wayfair safe harbor for remote sales tax collection and remittance obligations. Pennsylvania is the second state, after Hawaii , to create factor presence that follows remote sales tax provisions. This is not necessarily a problem, but it must be noted that nothing in the Wayfair decision expands corporate nexus. Using a threshold like those used for online sales taxes does not relieve Pennsylvania of the obligation to recognize other limitations on nexus. The Bulletin at times seems to lean on Wayfair for justification, which seems neither appropriate nor necessary.