The Pennsylvania Local Tax Reform website is strictly intended to help you know and understand more about local taxes and the tax options available to jurisdictions in Pennsylvania. The material is general and educational in nature. It is not intended to be legal advice, nor to replace the need for legal advice. If legal advice is what you need, you are encouraged to seek the aid of a competent professional in your area. Use of the different local taxes available in Pennsylvania varies across local government types and school districts.
Some local taxes are only available to certain local government types .
In addition, state set limits on these tax rates vary across local government types . Both factors combined mean that the range of local tax choices varies dramatically across local governments and school districts in the Commonwealth. School taxes are the largest local tax bill faced by most taxpayers in Pennsylvania, accounting for 57 percent of all local taxes in 1995. Municipal governments generally have a much wider range of local tax options than do county governments. Their options include the earned income, amusement, and mercantile taxes.