Pennsylvania’s sales tax rates range from 6% to 8%, including a state rate of 6% and local rates of 1% in Allegheny County and 2% in Philadelphia—the only two local sales taxes in the state.
In Pennsylvania, the sales tax rate is 6% statewide, 7% in Allegheny County, and 8% in Philadelphia. This is much simpler than some other states where each county has its own add-on.
As for what’s taxable, clothing and footwear have a broad exemption most states don't offer, but SaaS and specified digital products are taxable here.
A business owes Pennsylvania sales tax once it either has a physical presence in the state or totals more than $100,000 in gross Pennsylvania sales during the prior calendar year. Unlike a lot of states, there's no separate transaction-count threshold to worry about.
Registration happens through myPATH, the state's online portal. Then, you must collect the right rate and file on the schedule the Department of Revenue assigns you (semi-annual, quarterly, or monthly).
One recent, notable change was Act 21 of 2026, legislation that changed how Philadelphia and Allegheny County apply their local tax.
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Allegheny County's 1% and Philadelphia's 2% are the only local add-ons in the state. No other county or city currently imposes a general local sales tax of its own.
On July 12, 2026, Pennsylvania passed Act 21 of 2026, which changes how Philadelphia and Allegheny County local tax is sourced. Prior to this change, local sales tax was based on where the vendor was located. Now, it is based on where the product or service is delivered.
So, sellers who are already required to collect and remit PA’s 6% sales tax are required to collect and remit Philadelphia’s 2% local sales tax and Allegheny County’s 1% local sales tax on taxable sales made to customers in those respective counties.
The law is retroactive to tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2025, though enforcement doesn’t begin until Oct. 1, 2026.
To calculate PA sales tax, multiply the taxable sale amount by 6%, 7%, or 8%, depending on whether the delivery address falls outside Allegheny and Philadelphia, inside Allegheny County, or inside Philadelphia.
If you deliver a $100 taxable sale into Philadelphia, and the tax comes to $8.00.
Philadelphia and Allegheny County local tax has historically been sourced to the seller, not the buyer. Act 21 of 2026 changes that, moving both counties to destination-based sourcing and aligning them with how most other states handle local rates.
No. Pennsylvania is not a member of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, so there's no shortcut through the Streamlined Sales Tax Registration System here. Instead, you register through Pennsylvania's own system, called myPATH.
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Nexus means you have enough connections with a state that the state can require you to collect sales tax on its behalf.
Before 2018, states couldn’t require out-of-state sellers to charge the state sales tax on online purchases. In South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that precedent, and states with a sales tax began setting nexus thresholds.
States each have their own nexus threshold, but generally, a business has physical nexus if it has an office, warehouse, employees, or inventory in a state. Economic nexus means an out-of-state business meets the dollar or transaction limit required for charging sales tax to customers in that state.
Here are specifics of Pennsylvania’s nexus thresholds:
Sellers from outside the state need more than $100,000 in annual gross sales into Pennsylvania to achieve economic nexus. There is no transaction count requirement. Both taxable and nontaxable sales count, across every channel a business sells through.
There's one carve-out worth knowing. A marketplace seller with no physical presence in Pennsylvania can generally leave out sales made through a facilitator that already collects Pennsylvania tax on its behalf.
Direct sales, and any marketplace sales the facilitator doesn't collect on, still count toward the threshold.
Tangible personal property is taxable by default, and Pennsylvania also includes prewritten/canned software and specified digital products, including SaaS, in taxable sales.
Clothing and footwear for everyday wear are the major exception, carrying a broad exemption most states skip.
Pennsylvania has very specific rules around clothing and footwear:
SaaS is taxable in Pennsylvania. Canned or prewritten software is taxable no matter how it arrives: physically delivered, downloaded, streamed, or accessed remotely through a SaaS platform.
Custom software built specifically for the purchaser is the only major exception.
Specified digital products are taxable as well, and Pennsylvania generally sources those sales using the billing address a customer has on file.
Form REV-1220, the Pennsylvania Exemption Certificate, covers both resale purchases and other exemption claims in one document. Keep a properly completed copy on file for at least four years, since that's what supports the exemption if an audit comes around.
Pennsylvania is also on the list of states that accept the MTC Uniform Sales & Use Tax Resale Certificate. However, this certificate is only valid for resale purchases, not other exemptions.
To use the MTC certificate, the buyer should enter their eight-digit Pennsylvania Sales and Use Tax license number. If the buyer does not have a license number, they must provide an explanation as to why they are not licensed.
Businesses register for a Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License online through myPATH, the Pennsylvania Online Business Tax Registration service.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, see how to register for a Pennsylvania sales tax license.
Have this information ready before you start:
There's no fee to register. The license renews automatically every five years, as long as you have filed all required returns and have no unpaid tax liabilities.
You don't need a separate registration for Philadelphia or Allegheny County. You report both local sales taxes on the state sales tax return.
Remote sellers follow the same myPATH process as in-state businesses once their Pennsylvania sales from the prior calendar year cross the $100,000 economic nexus threshold. The collection obligation then applies for the subsequent collection period.
Once registered, the routine is the same for every sale: determine whether it's taxable, apply the right rate (6%, 7%, or 8%) for the delivery location, collect at checkout, and keep a record for reporting.
Marketplace facilitators that meet Pennsylvania's nexus thresholds collect and remit tax on the sales they facilitate, so sellers shouldn't assume they need to collect again on top of that.
Sellers do still need to track those marketplace sales for their own nexus purposes and collect tax on anything sold directly, outside the marketplace.
Inventory a marketplace facilitator stores in Pennsylvania on a seller’s behalf does not by itself create a collection duty, though the seller’s own stored inventory still does.
Shipping and handling generally get folded into the taxable purchase price for a taxable sale in Pennsylvania, whether or not the charge is broken out separately on the invoice.
Don't assume a separately stated delivery charge is automatically exempt; it usually isn't. Numeral's shipping tax guide compares how this works state to state.
Pennsylvania has three filing frequencies, and new registrants generally start as quarterly filers before the Department of Revenue adjusts based on actual liability. This information can be found in REV-717.
Zero returns are still required in periods with no taxable transactions.
Monthly and quarterly returns are due on the 20th of the month following the reporting period. Semiannual returns are due Aug. 20 and Feb. 20.
Filing and paying on time earns a small discount: the lesser of 1% of the tax collected or a flat cap of $25 for monthly filers, $75 for quarterly filers, and $150 for semiannual filers. If you miss the due date, the discount disappears.
Registration and filing both happen through the myPATH portal, and Allegheny County and Philadelphia have no separate local filing system to worry about.
Check out Numeral's guide to filing PA sales tax online to learn more.
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A late return costs 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month it stays unfiled, up to 25%, with a $2 minimum. Underpaying adds a separate 3% charge, plus 3% for each month the balance stays unpaid after 10 days, up to 18%.
Interest accrues on any unpaid balance at an annual rate that the Department of Revenue resets every year. For 2026, it's 7%.
Sales tax collected from customers is held in trust, and Pennsylvania can hold owners and officers personally liable if it's collected but never remitted.
Sales records, exemption and resale certificates, and returns and payment records all need to be kept for at least four years.
The Department of Revenue can audit a business against that paper trail to check reported sales, taxability calls, exemptions claimed, rates applied, and whether the right amount got collected and remitted.
If you disagree with the results of a sales tax audit, you can appeal the assessment. The first step is to file a petition with the Department of Revenue's Board of Appeals within 60 days of the date the assessment notice was mailed.
If the Board of Appeals rules against you, you have 60 days from the mailing date of its decision to appeal to the Board of Finance and Revenue. After that, you can take the case to Commonwealth Court within 30 days of the Board of Finance and Revenue's decision.
Your Notice of Assessment lists the exact deadline for your case, so check it before filing.
Having only three sales tax rates makes Pennsylvania look simple, but it still has plenty of complicated details and deadlines. Numeral makes it easy to stay compliant with Pennsylvania’s sales tax laws.
Numeral's nexus monitoring tracks sales against the nexus threshold and warns you when you are nearing and when you hit the threshold.
Once nexus is triggered, Numeral handles registration directly through myPATH, and its filing and remittance product keeps your returns on time. The exemption certificate management product keeps REV-1220 resale and exemption paperwork organized and ready if there is ever an audit.
Every filing gets reviewed by a US-based tax expert before submission and is backed by the Numeral Guarantee: if a filing error on Numeral's part causes penalties or interest, Numeral covers the cost.
Get started with Numeral or book a demo to put Pennsylvania compliance on autopilot.
What is the sales tax rate in Pennsylvania?
The rate is 6% statewide, 7% in Allegheny County, and 8% in Philadelphia. No other county or city in Pennsylvania adds its own local sales tax.
What is the economic nexus threshold in Pennsylvania?
Economic nexus is established when you have more than $100,000 in Pennsylvania gross sales during the prior calendar year. There's no separate transaction-count test to worry about.
Are services taxable in Pennsylvania?
No, not as a general category. Tax applies to tangible personal property, canned software, and specified digital products instead.
Is SaaS taxable in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Pennsylvania taxes canned or prewritten software the same way no matter how it's delivered, remote SaaS access included.
Are digital products taxable in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Specified digital products are taxable and generally sourced to the customer's billing address on file.
Does Pennsylvania charge sales tax on shipping and delivery?
Yes. Shipping and handling charges are usually folded into the taxable purchase price for a taxable sale, separately stated or not.
Do I need a sales tax permit in Pennsylvania?
Yes, once you reach the threshold to establish physical or economic nexus, you must register for a Sales, Use, and Hotel Occupancy Tax License through myPATH.
Do marketplace sellers need to collect sales tax in Pennsylvania?
You do not need to collect on sales that a marketplace facilitator already collects on. Direct sales outside the marketplace are still the seller's responsibility, and those marketplace sales still need to be tracked for nexus purposes.
How often do businesses need to file sales tax returns in Pennsylvania?
Businesses file returns semiannually, quarterly, or monthly, based on liability. Most new registrants start out quarterly, and the Department of Revenue adjusts from there.
Are groceries and clothing taxable in Pennsylvania?
Some are, but both carry broad exemptions. Clothing and footwear for everyday use are exempt, and groceries and food for home consumption are exempt. Formal and sports-specific clothing and footwear, athletic equipment, and prepared and restaurant food are taxed.
For sales tax filing and appeals in Pennsylvania, you would contact:
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