How Pennsylvania taxes a paycheck
Pennsylvania's constitution requires a uniform rate, and the state has had a flat tax since 1971. The rate has been 3.07% since 2004, the lowest flat rate in the country for most of that time until Arizona, Indiana and Ohio moved below it. There is no standard deduction, no personal exemption and no dependent deduction: 3.07% applies to all compensation from the first dollar. Low-income filers can qualify for tax forgiveness, a credit that eliminates tax for a family of four earning under about $34,250 and phases out above it; it is claimed on the return and is not modelled.
The local layer is where Pennsylvania differs from almost every other state. Under Act 32, nearly every municipality and school district levies an earned income tax on residents, usually 1% combined (0.5% each), collected by a county tax collector and withheld by employers. Philadelphia is the exception: its wage tax is 3.74% for residents and 3.43% for non-residents who work in the city for 2026, and it is not creditable against other taxes. Pittsburgh residents pay 3% (1% city plus 2% school district). A local services tax of up to $52 a year is also withheld in most places. None of this is included here.
How much taxes are taken out of paychecks in Pennsylvania?
On a $60,000 salary in 2026, a single filer in Pennsylvania pays about $5,020 in federal income tax, $4,590 in Social Security and Medicare, and $1,842 in Pennsylvania income tax (exactly 3.07%), leaving roughly $48,550 a year or $1,867 every two weeks before local tax. A Philadelphia resident would pay a further $2,244 in wage tax; a resident of a typical 1% township $600.
Because there is no deduction, the state share is 3.07% at every salary and for every filing status. A married couple on $100,000 pays $3,070, the same as two single filers on $50,000 each.
Pennsylvania compared with its neighbours
On a $60,000 single salary the state tax is $1,842 in Pennsylvania, $2,640 in New York, $1,770 in New Jersey, $2,650 in Delaware, $2,490 in Maryland, $1,970 in West Virginia and $870 in Ohio. Pennsylvania is in the lower half before local taxes.
With local taxes the ranking depends on the town. A Philadelphia resident's combined $4,090 is above a New York City resident's state tax and close to their combined figure; a resident of a 1% suburb at $2,440 is below New Jersey's $1,770 only once New Jersey's own payroll deductions are counted. Pennsylvania and New Jersey have a reciprocal agreement, so commuters in either direction pay their home state only.
Withholding forms and filing status in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has no state withholding certificate: employers withhold 3.07% of all compensation for every employee, and a Residency Certification Form determines the local earned income tax rate for the employee's home municipality and school district. Filing status is irrelevant to the state tax; a married couple pays 3.07% on each spouse's compensation, and the only joint-return effect is that both spouses' income counts toward the tax forgiveness eligibility test.
Pennsylvania has reciprocal agreements with Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, so residents of those states working in Pennsylvania pay only their home state, and Pennsylvania residents working there pay only Pennsylvania. Philadelphia's wage tax is outside the agreements and applies to every non-resident who works in the city.