E-file Pennsylvania Taxes and Your PA Tax Refund Fast

Pennsylvania tax laws require full and part time residents with gross taxable income of at least $33 to file PA taxes even if no taxes are owed. The following income sources are considered when evaluating taxable income: wages, business profits, net gain or loss from property disposition, rent income, dividends, interest, income from trusts and gambling proceeds.

Full-time and partial-year residents use PA-40 to file their Pennsylvania tax returns. Partial-year residents are taxed based on income earned during the time they were residents regardless of where the income was derived. Nonresidents, who earn some form of compensation from in-state sources, excluding dividends from investments and profits from the sale of intangible property, are also subject to state taxes. Indicate your status as a partial-year resident or nonresident in the check box provided on Form PA-40.

The Department of Revenue now encourages e-filing through sites such as E-file.com for more efficient processing.

Pennsylvania has signed reciprocal agreements that apply to employment compensation only with the following states: Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. Under this agreement, the other state will not tax income earned there, and taxpayers will pay taxes only to their state of residency.

If more time is needed to prepare the returns and meet the federal filing deadline, and you have already filed an extension for filing federal tax returns, filing Form REV-276 will not be required. The tax extension resets the deadline to six months after April 15, but the payment date for taxes due cannot be extended; penalties begin to accumulate the day after the original deadline, which is typically April 15. Tax Day may be moved when April 15 falls on a Saturday or Sunday.

It is possible to track your refund from a special page on the e-Services website, by inserting your Social Security Number and Refund Amount.

Amending a State Return Without Incurring Penalties

Under or over-reporting income, erroneous deductions or improper tax credits can be corrected by filing an amended return using Form PA-40 and PA-40X. To correct errors on current-year returns without incurring penalties, file amended PA tax returns within 30 days from the original date of filing. For older returns, amendments should be made within two years from the date taxes were paid or three years in all other cases.

Making Estimated Tax Payments to the DOR

Taxpayers who expect to earn at least $8,000 in taxable income should set up an estimated payment schedule. Failure to do so will mean that the total tax owed will be due as a balloon payment on April 15, and underpayment penalties may apply. The Department recommends making regular payments based on a “Safe Harbor Amount,” which is equal to the previous year's total income multiplied by the current tax rate. For the initial payment, use Form PA-40ESR, which should be sent to:
PA Department of Revenue
Bureau of Imaging & Document Management
P.O. Box 280403
Harrisburg, PA 17128-0403

Interest and Penalties

A 5% penalty per month is levied on accounts with tax liabilities. Taxpayers are responsible for interest on unpaid taxes even when state returns were filed on time but outstanding taxes were unpaid or underpaid.

Taxpayers who are unable to pay the full amount at filing are encouraged to file anyway and pay as much as they are able. The state does not have an equivalent to federal Form 9465 to establish a formal payment plan, but a deferred payment schedule may be set up after taxes are assessed and the appeal period has passed.

Note: States & U.S. territories may make changes to their tax laws with little notice. We do our best to keep this information up-to-date, but it is provided on an "AS IS" basis. For more see our terms.