PA Local EIT 2026 Calculator (Act 32 + LST)

Pennsylvania local Earned Income Tax (EIT) is collected by every municipality and school district outside Philadelphia. Under Act 32 of 2008, employers must withhold the higher of the resident or worker tax rate and remit through a single Tax Collection District (TCD). Typical 2026 combined rate: 1.0%-3.7% of gross wages, plus a $52/year Local Services Tax (LST) cap.

How Act 32 Withholding Works

Pennsylvania Act 32 of 2008 consolidated 560+ local tax collectors into 69 Tax Collection Districts. Employers must compare the resident total rate (municipality + school district where the employee lives) against the non-resident rate at the work location and withhold whichever is higher. The Residency Certification Form (DCED CLGS-32-6) signed by every PA employee determines the residence rate. Tax goes to the employee's home jurisdiction first, with any excess (when work rate is higher) remitted to the work municipality.

Local Services Tax (LST) $52 Cap

LST is a separate per-employee tax (not a percentage of wages) levied by the work municipality. The statewide cap is $52/year per worker, withheld pro-rata each pay period (usually $1/week or $2/biweekly). Any worker earning under $12,000/year is exempt and can file an LST Exemption Certificate. If LST exceeds $10, the school district keeps $5 and the municipality keeps the rest. Some municipalities (Pittsburgh, for example) charge the full $52, others charge $10 or zero.

School District vs Municipal Split

The resident EIT rate is the sum of two layers: the municipal rate (typical 0.5%-1.5%) and the school district rate (typical 0.5%-1.5%). Combined averages 1.0%-2.5% for most boroughs and townships. Money is divided at the TCD level using the DCED-published rates and remitted separately to municipality and school district. Pittsburgh and other home-rule cities sometimes use different allocation formulas.

Philadelphia Wage Tax Exception

Philadelphia operates outside Act 32 and charges its own Wage Tax: 3.75% for residents and 3.44% for non-residents (effective rates through fiscal 2026 per the Philadelphia Department of Revenue). Philadelphia residents pay 3.75% on all earned income regardless of work location; non-residents pay 3.44% on wages earned inside Philadelphia. There is no LST in Philadelphia. PA residents who work in Philadelphia get a credit on their home EIT for taxes paid to Philly up to the home rate.

How to Find Your PSD Code and Total Resident EIT Rate

Every PA address maps to a six-digit PSD (Political Subdivision) code that identifies your municipality, school district and Tax Collection District. Look yours up by street address on the PA DCED local income tax register, then copy the PSD code and Total Resident EIT Rate onto your Residency Certification Form (CLGS-32-6) so payroll withholds the correct rate. Philadelphia is the exception: its PSD code is 510101 and its register entry shows a Total Resident EIT Rate of 0%, because Philadelphia sits outside Act 32 and charges its 3.75% City Wage Tax instead.

You Still Have to File a Local EIT Return — Even If Withholding Was Perfect

This is the step most Pennsylvanians miss. Act 32 requires an annual local earned income tax return filed with your Tax Collection District's appointed collector — commonly Keystone Collections Group, Berkheimer, or a county-appointed office — and the obligation stands even when your employer withheld the exact right amount all year and you owe nothing. The local return is due on the same date as your Pennsylvania state return, April 15. Filing it is how you claim credits that withholding cannot apply automatically: tax paid to Philadelphia against your home rate, tax paid to another state, and any over-withholding when your work rate exceeded your resident rate. Skipping the return is the usual cause of the "you owe local tax" notices that arrive a year or two later carrying penalty and interest on a balance that was often zero to begin with. Find the collector assigned to your Tax Collection District through the PA DCED local income tax register.

Self-Employed and Side-Income EIT — Net Profits and Quarterly Payments

Local EIT is not a wage-only tax. It also applies to net profits from self-employment, freelancing, a single-member LLC, a partnership share, and most side businesses, taxed at your same total resident rate. Because no employer withholds on that income, you are expected to make quarterly estimated local payments to your TCD collector on roughly the same schedule as federal estimates — mid-April, mid-June, mid-September, and mid-January — and then reconcile on the April 15 annual return. Two details catch people out. First, a net loss from self-employment generally cannot be used to offset W-2 wages for local EIT purposes, so a loss year does not reduce the tax on your salary. Second, Local Services Tax is separate and is owed per work location, not on net profits. Enter your combined wages plus expected net profit in the calculator above to size the quarterly payment before the first deadline rather than discovering it at filing. Last updated 2026-08-17.

Last updated August 2026. Sources: PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Act 32 guide, PA Department of Revenue, Pennsylvania Code Title 53 Chapter 24 (Act 32 of 2008), Philadelphia Department of Revenue 2026 wage tax rates.