CITY OF PITTSBURGH, LOCAL SERVICES TAX
FOR EMPLOYERS OR SELF-EMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS
CITY CODE, TITLE TWO, CHAPTER 252
INSTRUCTIONS
WHO MUST FILE
All employers and self-employed individuals are required to collect the Local Services Tax from all employees and
self-employed individuals, engaged in an occupation within the City of Pittsburgh. A return must be still be filed, even
if there is no tax due for a given quarter.
LINE 1- NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES PER QUARTER
To calculate the number of employees per quarter, you must count the total number of employees (including sole
proprietor, owners and partners) for your established pay period. Your established pay period may be monthly,
weekly, bi-weekly, etc. Include all full-time, part-time, temporary, seasonal, salaried and hourly workers. Enter the total
number of employees for the quarter on line 1. If you are submitting an annual return, enter the total number of
employees for the year. The employer must still file the quarterly returns.
LINE 2- AMOUNT DUE
Pennsylvania Act 7 of 2007 requires that the $52 be deducted evenly from paychecks throughout the year. No
more than $52 should be deducted from a single employee’s paycheck for the entire year. A worker who is paid
weekly would see the tax deducted at the rate of $1 a week; while someone who is paid bi-weekly would pay $2 every
pay.
EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS
Employers must submit at year end, an annual summary of employee information in addition to the 4th quarter
payment. See the City of Pittsburgh website at www.pittsburghpa.gov/finance for record layout which shows the
required employee information. Employers with 20 or more employees must submit an annual employee summary of
information on a CD. For employers with less than 20 employees, you are encouraged to use a CD or you can submit
an annual employee summary report with the required information.
In the case of concurrent employment the employer shall refrain from withholding the Local
Services Tax if the employee provides a recent pay statement from the principal employer that
shows that the Local Services Tax is being withheld.
Employer must show on the employee pay stub the amount and locality to which the tax was paid (for
Pittsburgh use “PGH”). Pay stubs will take the place of individual receipts.
Employers must make upfront exemption forms readily available to employees at all times and provide new
employees with the forms at the time of hiring.
Employers must keep the exemption forms on file for 3 years.
WHEN TO FILE AND PAY
The employer shall file a return of taxes deducted for each three-month period (quarter) on or before the last day of
the month following each three-month period.
FIRST QUARTER (03): January 1 thru March 31 (due April 30)
SECOND QUARTER (06): April 1 thru June 30 (due July 31)
THIRD QUARTER (09): July 1 thru September 30 (due October 31)
FOURTH QUARTER (12): October 1 thru December 31 (due January 31)
ANNUAL RETURN (12) January 1 thru December 31 (due January 31)
REFUNDS
The City of Pittsburgh will issue refunds to the employer only if the employer provides evidence that the tax was refunded
previously to the employee by the employer. If the employer can demonstrate that it made a computation error on the return
and show that the underlying tax was not withheld from any person, the refund can be issued to the employer.
FOR ASSISTANCE CALL 412-255-2510
Has business been sold or discontinued? Do you need to update or change your business
information? If YES, a CHANGE IN BUSINESS STATUS FORM must be completed and returned for
processing. Form(s) can be downloaded at www.pittsburghpa.gov/finance or call 412-255-2510 to
request the form.
Make Check payable to: TREASURER, CITY OF PITTSBURGH – DO NOT SEND CASH
Mail to: CITY OF PITTSBURGH LS-1 TAX 414 GRANT ST PITTSBURGH PA 15219-2476
A $30.00 fee will be assessed for any check returned from the bank for any reason.
