Pittsburgh local tax guide
Who pays Pittsburgh's local tax
Where you sleep matters more than where you work. City residents owe the full 3% on all earned income, even if the job is in Cranberry, Monroeville, or across the Ohio line. Nonresidents who work in Pittsburgh pay the higher of their home municipality's resident rate or the city's 1% nonresident rate, so a commuter from Penn Hills or Upper St. Clair keeps paying the rate set at home. Ohio and West Virginia residents skip Pennsylvania state tax under reciprocity but still have the 1% local rate withheld.
Why the school district takes the bigger share
Most Pennsylvania school districts receive a small slice of the local earned income tax. In Pittsburgh the split runs the other way: Pittsburgh Public Schools levies 2% and the city 1%, which is why the city's resident rate is three times the basic level while its commuter rate is the ordinary 1%.
That split creates an oddity on the city's southern edge. A small part of Pittsburgh lies in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District, and the state register shows those residents pay the city's 1% plus Baldwin-Whitehall's much smaller share, not the full 3%. Check your PSD code if you live near the boundary.
Worked example at $75,000
A single filer earning $75,000 in Pittsburgh owes $7,670 in federal income tax, $2,303 in Pennsylvania tax at 3.07%, $4,650 in Social Security, and $1,088 in Medicare. The 3% resident EIT adds $2,250, bringing take-home pay to $57,040, about $4,753 a month, before the LST.
A commuter from a 1% suburb pays $750 and keeps $58,540, so city residence costs $1,500 a year at this salary. At $150,000 the gap widens to $3,000, with a resident paying $4,500 against a commuter's $1,500.
LST, payroll expense tax, and collection
Pittsburgh's Local Services Tax is $52 a year for anyone whose job is in the city, about a dollar a week withheld from pay, and the City Treasurer collects it. Our take-home figures do not include it. Employers also pay a separate payroll expense tax on wages, but that comes out of the employer's budget, not your check.
Jordan Tax Service collects the earned income tax for the city and the school district. Employers determine your rate from the Residency Certification Form you complete at hire, and residents generally file an annual local return by April 15, especially if an out-of-state employer did not withhold.
How Pittsburgh compares
Pittsburgh's $2,250 resident bill at $75,000 is the same as Wilkes-Barre's and $551 below Philadelphia's. It is $1,012 more than Erie, the other large western Pennsylvania city, at $1,238.
For commuters Pittsburgh is one of the cheaper big cities to work in, since its nonresident rate is 1% while Philadelphia charges nonresidents 3.425%. The calculation that matters for most households is the city-versus-suburb choice, which at $75,000 is worth $1,500 a year.
Tips for Pittsburgh paychecks
Price a move to the suburbs correctly
Moving from the city to a 1% township saves $1,500 a year at $75,000. Moving to a suburb with a higher resident rate saves less, so look up the rate first.
Ohio and West Virginia commuters: file REV-419
Give your Pittsburgh employer Form REV-419 to stop Pennsylvania state withholding. The city's 1% nonresident EIT and the $52 LST still apply.
Confirm your school district code
City residents in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District pay a different total rate. A wrong PSD code on your residency form means the wrong rate all year.
See the full picture by salary
Compare your offer on the Pennsylvania $75,000 salary page, then add Pittsburgh's EIT for your address.