Who needs to file an Earned Income Tax (EIT) Return with Centre Tax Agency?

Any full- or part-year Resident of the Centre County Tax Collection District who has earnings (or a loss) from self-employment or as an employee is required to file an EIT return. The return is required whether a refund is due, a balance is due, or if no payment or refund is due and can be filed via this online eFiling module or by way of a paper form submitted to the Centre Tax Agency.

Residents who have no earned income or net profits are not required to file an annual return.  Social Security payments, regular distributions from retirement plans, interest, etc. are not considered earned income. If one or more of these serve as the individual’s only income, then that person is not required to file an EIT return.

Who cannot file with Centre Tax Agency?

Centre County residents who resided in the Townships of Taylor, Curtin, Liberty, and Rush, along with residents of Philipsburg Borough, cannot file their local Earned Income and Net Profits Tax Return with Centre Tax Agency.  While these municipalities are located wholly in Centre County, their respective school districts are split between multiple counties. Therefore, per Pennsylvania Act 32 of 2008, and for local Earned Income Tax purposes only, residents of these municipalities must file their returns with the Tax Collection Districts specified below:

• Taylor Township – Blair County Tax Collection District
• Curtin & Liberty Townships – Clinton County Tax Collection District
• Rush Township & Philipsburg Borough – Clearfield County Tax Collection District

What advantage is there to filing online?

A major advantage of filing online is that the eFiling system handles all the mathematical calculations for the return once the taxpayer enters the required information. Another advantage is that the eFiling system accepts a wide variety of payment methods if the return shows a balance due, including payment by credit card (an option that is not available when filing a paper return).

Is a User Account required in order to use the eFiling module?

Individual taxpayers are welcome to establish user accounts for the eFiling module, but it is not required for filing the annual EIT return. Those who do not have or do not want an account may still file electronically on the eFiling module by using their Social Security Number (SSN) to access the system.

That said, taxpayers who wish to make quarterly estimated tax payments on the eFiling system must register for a user account.

Is there a benefit to establishing a User Account?

A user account gives the taxpayer the ability to leave a return in progress and come back to it at a later time without losing information that has already been entered. Furthermore, the taxpayer will have the ability to reprint a return for 90 days from the date of submission. Finally, the user account will retain certain basic information from year to year, which makes filing easier in subsequent years.

How do I eFile my return?

Follow the steps on the eFiling home page to log in either with your user account or your SSN. The program will prompt you to enter the information needed to calculate your local tax return. The basic steps are as follows:

• Taxpayer Interview (identifies taxpayer and his/her spouse)
• Residency Interview (establishes all of the physical addresses where you and/or your spouse resided during the tax year as well as a mailing address, if different)
• Income and Adjustments
• Upload required documentation
• Review tax return summary
• Make refund and/or payment choices, if applicable
• Electronically sign the tax return
• Print and/or save the tax return (note the Tax Return ID number for your records)

How do I eFile with my spouse?

For local tax purposes, spouses are permitted to file on the same return, but each individual’s income and tax liability are treated separately.

If neither taxpayer has a user account, then either one of you can log in with the “New User/File with SSN” option, select the tax form you wish to use, and then answer Yes to the question, “Would you like to file a combined return?” that appears at the top of the Taxpayer page. Enter the spouse’s SSN and basic information and proceed with the combined return. When it is time to sign the return, each individual’s SSN should be entered.

If only one person has a user account, that individual should log in with the correct user name and password, make the tax form selection, and add the other person as the spouse by answering Yes to the question, “Would you like to file a combined return?” Enter the spouse’s SSN and basic information and proceed with the combined return. When it is time to sign the return, the taxpayer with a user account will use his/her password, while the spouse will use his/her SSN.

If both people have user accounts it is important that each person has set up their account preferences to authorize the other spouse to file on their behalf. Once this has happened, either taxpayer can log in and file the combined return by answering Yes to the question, “Would you like to file a combined return?” Whoever is logged in will add the SSN and basic information for the spouse. When it is time to sign the return, each taxpayer will be required to enter his/her unique password.

What information is required for eFiling a return?

Gather the following items before starting the online interview process:

• Compensation and Net Income/Loss Documents including any W-2 forms, 1099’s, PA state net profit schedules, etc. that reflect earned income for the tax year for which you are filing
• Unreimbursed Business Expenses schedule (PA Schedule UE)
• If you have moved during the tax year, your addresses, move dates, and dates of employment for each position you held during the tax year. (see “What if I moved during the tax year?” for more details)
• Documentation supporting any credits towards your tax liability (i.e. total amount quarterly estimated payments, Schedule G for claiming out of state credits, Philadelphia Tax Credit documentation, etc.)
• Proof of non-residency, if filing as a non-resident (For an international student, this would be a current F1 or J1 visa and/or current I-20 or DS-2019. For others, this could be a current driver’s license, out-of-state-tuition paid receipt, or a copy of a current state tax return from your legal domicile.)
• Bank account info and/or credit card for paying any balance due or requesting a direct deposit of a refund.

What if I moved during the tax year?

Per Pennsylvania Act 32 of 2008, a taxpayer’s income, business expenses, and employer withholdings and/or quarterly estimated payments must be prorated based on the individual’s time of residence in each municipality during the tax year. The proration is calculated based on the average monthly income multiplied by the number of months at each residence. The eFiling system will do all these calculations, but it is essential that the taxpayer add each address and the dates of residence during the Residency Interview portion of the eFiling system. In addition, when entering the various income sources (W-2 forms, net profit schedules, etc.) it is important to indicate the dates of employment/dates the income was earned.

Taxpayers who moved during the tax year must use the Long Form for eFiling the annual return.

Applicable Penalty, Interest and Fees (Other Charges)

Penalty and interest charges will be assessed on any tax due that is paid after the due date. Penalty is calculated at 1% per month, and interest is calculated at a daily rate set by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Additional collection costs may be incurred if the unpaid tax remains outstanding.

If additional time is required to file the annual tax return, the taxpayer must submit an extension prior to the due date. This extension is only for filing the tax return and is not an extension of time to pay the tax due. Penalty and interest charges will accrue based on the original due date.

What happens after I file?

Once the return is submitted, the information provided will be compared to tax office records. If the filing agrees with information readily available to the tax office and there is no outstanding tax due, the return will be marked complete and any refund due (if applicable) will be issued. If, however, the filing does not agree with the information already on file with the tax office, the return will be marked incomplete and a letter will be sent to the taxpayer requesting clarification or supporting documentation related to the information provided on the tax return.

What if I am asked by the tax office to provide additional information and fail to do so?

Taxpayers have 30 days to respond to an information request from the tax office. The return will be considered incomplete until a response is received.

When will I receive my refund?

Generally refunds are issued within 75 days from the date the return was filed. If the tax office requests more information about the return from the taxpayer, any refund that may be due will be delayed until after the request for information is satisfied.

A note about rounding

You may enter all numbers in dollars and cents. Since the system has been designed to comply with Pennsylvania Act 32 of 2008, all numbers will be rounded off to whole dollars.

What has been done to protect my confidential information?

The tax agency has consulted with security and industry professionals to ensure that steps have been taken to safely guard your personal information and to retain it in a format that protects it from outside sources. The electronic filing system is also protected by 128-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption, the industry standard for online banking and trading.

Disclaimer on Site Use

This site requires a current browser with Javascript and cookies enabled to access our eFiling properly. The site supports Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer 10 or later, and Microsoft Edge. Other browsers and browsers without Javascript and cookies enabled will see graphical errors or may be denied access completely. The reporting functions on the site require a PDF Reader. 

The use of this system, as with all Internet usage, may pose a risk of damage to user computer systems because of the presence of computer viruses, software and hardware incompatibility or defects, and other factors associated with the use of the Internet. Users of this system assume all risks associated with its use, including the risk that damage may occur to user computer systems, software or data stored on or contained in user computer systems. The State College Borough, doing business as Centre Tax Agency, will not be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or other damages based upon any use of this payment system or use of any Web site to which this site is linked.

The State College Borough doing business as Centre Tax Agency disclaims all responsibility and liability for any damages, including loss of use, loss of profits, business interruption, procurement of substitute goods or services, and loss of revenues caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission of information or data, communication line failure, computer virus, theft, destruction, unauthorized access or alteration regardless of whether for negligence, breach of contract, or any other cause of action.