York local tax guide
Who pays York's local tax
York residents owe 1.25% on wages wherever they work, including jobs in Harrisburg, Lancaster, or across the Maryland line. People living in surrounding townships such as Springettsbury, West Manchester, York Township, and Manchester pay 1% at home, but when they work inside the city their employer withholds York's 1.25% nonresident rate because it is higher. Maryland residents who work in York skip Pennsylvania state tax under reciprocity, yet still pay the city's 1.25%.
How York's earned income tax works
York's tax is a Pennsylvania earned income tax on wages, salaries, and net business profits, shared between the City of York and the School District of the City of York. The total resident rate is 1.25%, only a little above the basic 1% that most of York County charges.
York is one of the few cities on our list that taxes commuters at its full resident rate. In most Pennsylvania cities the nonresident rate is 1%, so a suburban worker pays no more for a city job than for one near home. In York the difference is small but real, and it applies to every dollar earned inside the city.
Worked example at $75,000
At $75,000, federal income tax is $7,670, Pennsylvania's flat 3.07% tax is $2,303, Social Security is $4,650, and Medicare is $1,088. York's EIT adds $938, leaving take-home pay of $58,352, about $4,863 a month.
Because residents and nonresidents pay the same rate, a commuter's figures are identical: $938 in local tax and $58,352 in take-home pay. At $100,000 the York bill is $1,250, and at $150,000 it is $1,875.
Withholding, the LST, and the York Adams Tax Bureau
The York Adams Tax Bureau collects the earned income tax for the city and for nearly all of York County. Employers set your rate from the Residency Certification Form, so a move from a township into the city, or the reverse, needs a new form even though the rates are close.
York employers also withhold the Local Services Tax from people who work in the city, a flat amount of about a dollar a week that our take-home figures exclude. Residents generally file an annual local return with the York Adams Tax Bureau by April 15.
How York compares
York's $938 resident bill at $75,000 is lower than every Pennsylvania city on our list except Bethlehem, which charges $750. Harrisburg, about 25 miles north, costs a resident $1,500, and Lancaster costs $1,200.
At the high end the gap is wide. A York resident pays $1,863 less than a Philadelphia resident and $1,762 less than a Reading resident at the same $75,000 salary.
Tips for York paychecks
Commuters: budget for 1.25%, not 1%
If you live in a 1% township and take a job inside the city, expect York's 1.25% on your pay. The change is small but shows up on every check.
Maryland residents: file REV-419
Give your York employer Form REV-419 so Pennsylvania state tax is not withheld. York's local tax still applies, and Maryland will tax the wages at home.
Do not overlook the annual return
Even when withholding is correct, the York Adams Tax Bureau generally expects residents with earned income to file a yearly return.
Check the full picture
Use the Pennsylvania $75,000 salary page and the city comparison tools to see how York stacks up.