Pennsylvania sales tax filing on myPATH replaced the old eTIDES system on November 30, 2022, and every sales and use tax return (Form PA-3) now runs through mypath.pa.gov. You log in, open the Sales and Use Tax panel, enter your taxable sales, submit the return, and pay, generally by the 20th of the month following the reporting period. The state rate is 6%, with an added 1% in Allegheny County and 2% in Philadelphia.
Getting Into myPATH
You need two things before you can file: a Pennsylvania sales tax license and a myPATH login. New businesses register through the Pennsylvania Online Business Tax Registration, which you can reach from myPATH without logging in. Once the Department of Revenue approves the registration, you receive an 8-digit Revenue Account ID that identifies your account on the platform.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Register My Business for Taxes
Old eTIDES credentials don’t work here. Even if you filed for years on the retired system, you have to create a new myPATH login, then link your existing sales tax account using your Revenue Account ID and Federal Employer Identification Number. Accountants managing multiple clients can link several business accounts under a single myPATH login.
Your Filing Frequency and Due Date
The Department assigns filing frequency based on the sales tax you reported during the third calendar quarter (July through September) of the previous year:2Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. How Is My Filing Period for Sales Tax Determined
- Monthly: $600 or more in Q3.
- Quarterly: $75 to $599.99 in Q3.
- Semi-annual: less than $75 in Q3.
New businesses start on a quarterly schedule. The Department reevaluates each year and can move you up or down automatically. Semi-annual filers are evaluated using a different window: the last half of the previous year plus the first half of the current year.2Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. How Is My Filing Period for Sales Tax Determined
Whatever frequency you’re on, returns and payments are due by the 20th of the month after the reporting period closes. If the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline slides to the next business day.3Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. 2025 Pennsylvania Sales, Use, Hotel Occupancy Tax Returns, Tax Periods and Administrative Due Dates REV-819
The Numbers You Need Before You Log In
Most of the work happens before you open myPATH. You need three figures locked down: gross sales, exempt sales, and use tax owed. Subtract exempt sales from gross sales to get taxable sales, then apply the 6% rate plus any local rate for Allegheny or Philadelphia County.4Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Tax Rates
What’s Exempt
Pennsylvania exempts most food (not ready-to-eat meals), candy and gum, most clothing, textbooks, computer services, prescription drugs, sales for resale, and residential heating fuels like oil, electricity, gas, coal, and firewood.5Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax
Digital Products Are Taxable
Since 2017, Pennsylvania taxes digital products delivered electronically at the full 6% rate. That covers e-books, streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, downloaded music and audiobooks, apps, games, digital photographs, and e-greeting cards. If it reaches the customer by download or streaming instead of on a physical disc, it’s taxable.6Department of Revenue. Digital Products
Shipping Charges on Taxable Sales
Pennsylvania taxes delivery charges on taxable sales even when the invoice lists them separately. The two exceptions: a third party (not the seller) handles delivery and bills the customer independently, or the underlying sale is nontaxable.7Pennsylvania Bulletin. Pennsylvania Code 61 Chapter 54 – 54.1 Delivery Charges
Use Tax on Untaxed Purchases
Use tax captures purchases where no sales tax was collected. Buy office furniture from an out-of-state vendor that doesn’t charge Pennsylvania sales tax, and you owe use tax at 6% (plus local rate) on that purchase. It goes on the same PA-3 return, calculated separately from the tax you collected.5Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax
Filing the Return Step by Step
With your numbers ready, the filing itself takes about ten minutes:8Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Return on myPATH
- Log in to myPATH and select the correct taxpayer account if you manage more than one.
- On the Summary tab, find the Sales and Use Tax panel and click “File Now” for the current period. For prior periods, click “View Returns and Periods,” pick the period, and choose “File or amend a return.”
- Answer the threshold questions. The system asks whether you have Pennsylvania sales to report. Select “Yes” and enter your taxable sales information, including Clean Indoor Air Act data if applicable.
- Click “Next” to see the calculated tax due, and check it against the numbers you prepared.
- Click “Submit” when ready, or “Save Draft” to come back within 30 days. After submission, print the confirmation screen as proof of filing.
File even when you owe nothing. If the business had zero taxable sales for the period, answer “No” to the sales questions and submit a zero return. Skipping the filing triggers delinquency notices and penalties whether or not you owe tax.3Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. 2025 Pennsylvania Sales, Use, Hotel Occupancy Tax Returns, Tax Periods and Administrative Due Dates REV-819
Paying What You Owe
myPATH offers three payment options:9Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Payment Methods on myPATH
- ACH Debit. You authorize the state’s bank to pull funds from your checking or savings account. Enter your routing and account number during filing, and schedule the withdrawal for the current or a future date.
- ACH Credit. You instruct your own bank to push a payment to the Commonwealth’s account, following the Department’s formatting requirements.
- Credit or debit card. A third-party vendor processes these and charges a fee. Set this up after submitting the return by clicking “Make a Payment” on the Summary tab.
Any business tax payment of $1,000 or more must be made electronically. Paper checks are only allowed for amounts under $1,000, and ignoring the electronic payment requirement can add penalties on top of what you already owe.9Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Payment Methods on myPATH
The On-Time Discount
File and pay on time and Pennsylvania takes 1% off the tax collected as a discount, capped by filing frequency:10Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Sales Payment File Specs
- Monthly filers: up to $25 per return.
- Quarterly filers: up to $75 per return.
- Semi-annual filers: up to $150 per return.
The amounts are small, but losing the discount is the first thing that happens when a return goes in late.
Late Filing Penalties and Interest
Missing a filing deadline costs 5% of the tax due for the first month, plus another 5% for each additional month the return remains unfiled, up to 25%. The minimum penalty is $5 even when no tax is owed. Penalties can be waived if you show reasonable cause and the failure wasn’t willful neglect.11Pennsylvania Bulletin. Pennsylvania Code 61 Chapter 121 – 121.26 Penalties for Failure to File or for Filing a Late Return
Interest also accrues on unpaid tax from the original due date. For 2026, the annual rate is 7%, or a daily rate of 0.000192, calculated by multiplying the unpaid tax by the number of days late and then by the daily rate. Interest cannot be waived.12Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. 2026 Interest Rate and Calculation Method for Title 72 Taxes Due REV-1611
If You Only Sell on a Marketplace
Since April 2018, Pennsylvania has required marketplace facilitators like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay to collect and remit sales tax on behalf of third-party sellers for transactions through their platforms. If every one of your sales runs through a marketplace that handles the tax, you likely owe no sales tax directly, but you still have to file. The Department expects a zero return for those periods, and failure to file draws penalties even when you owe nothing.
Sellers with mixed channels stay on the hook. If you run a Shopify store, a physical location, or invoice customers directly alongside your marketplace sales, you collect and remit tax on the non-marketplace side yourself.
Remote Sellers Crossing the $100,000 Threshold
If you sell into Pennsylvania from out of state, you must register, collect, and remit once your annual gross sales to Pennsylvania customers reach $100,000. Pennsylvania measures by calendar year, and there’s no separate transaction-count trigger. After registering through myPATH, you file on the same schedule and follow the same rules for exemptions, digital products, and delivery charges as in-state businesses.13Department of Revenue. Online Retailers
Accelerated Prepayments for High-Volume Filers
High-volume businesses have an extra obligation. If your sales tax liability for the third calendar quarter of the previous year hit certain thresholds, you have to make prepayments during the current year:14Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. How Do I Calculate My Sales Tax Prepayment Liability Amount for Accelerated
- AST Level 1 ($25,000 to $99,999 in Q3): prepay either 50% of the actual liability for the same month last year, or at least 50% of the current month’s actual liability. You pick.
- AST Level 2 ($100,000 or more in Q3): prepay 50% of the actual liability for the same month last year. No alternative calculation.
Prepayments are due by the 20th of the current month, and the full return for that period is due by the 20th of the following month. Missing a prepayment triggers the same penalty and interest rules as a late return.3Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. 2025 Pennsylvania Sales, Use, Hotel Occupancy Tax Returns, Tax Periods and Administrative Due Dates REV-819