How to fill out PA-40 (income tax), line by line

This walkthrough explains the two-page paper return and its major schedule connections. It does not decide a personal tax position for you. Keep your source records beside the form, use whole-dollar amounts, and complete the named Pennsylvania schedule whenever the instructions require one.

• Start with the 2025 PA-40 filing decision

• Complete your information, residency, and filing status first

• Report income and calculate Lines 1a through 12

• Enter payments, credits, and use tax on Lines 13 through 25

• Finish Lines 26 through 36, sign, and file the return

• Common PA-40 questions

Start with the 2025 PA-40 filing decision

Use the 2025 PA-40 for a paper Pennsylvania personal income tax return. The fill-in version must be downloaded to a computer before you complete it. Generally, a resident, nonresident, or part-year resident must file if total PA gross taxable income exceeded $33 in 2025 or if they incurred a qualifying loss. That can be true even when a federal return is not required.

The filing deadline is before midnight on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. A U.S. Postal Service postmark proves a timely paper filing. If you cannot file by that date, an extension can give more time to file, but it does not give more time to pay tax due.

• Your 2025 W-2s, 1099s, Schedule K-1 information, and records of PA withholding or estimated payments.

• The Pennsylvania schedules needed for your income, deductions, credits, or calculations.

• Complete Social Security numbers for you and, if applicable, your spouse.

• government form instructions

Complete your information, residency, and filing status first

At the top of page 1, print in black ink, use upper-case letters, enter one character per box, and fill ovals completely. Enter your full Social Security number and your spouse's full number when applicable—even when filing Married Filing Separately. A missing number can delay processing. Add a daytime phone number where the Department of Revenue can reach you.

For the school code and district name, use the district where you lived on December 31, 2025—not where you worked. A nonresident or part-year resident who did not live in Pennsylvania on that date enters 99999. A part-year resident who did live in Pennsylvania uses the district of the physical domicile or principal residence, even if a different mailing address appears on the return.

Residency status determines the income scope

Choose only one residency oval. A full-year resident reports income and losses from all sources. A full-year nonresident reports Pennsylvania-source income. If you moved into or out of Pennsylvania during 2025, select Part-Year Resident and enter the required dates: Pennsylvania generally taxes all-source income while you were a resident and PA-source income while you were not. Do not use your December 31 address alone to decide this choice.

Filing status can change whether you may file jointly

Choose filing status based on December 31, 2025, except for the form's deceased-taxpayer rules. Married taxpayers may file jointly only when all of Pennsylvania's joint-return conditions are met. Separate returns are required in certain situations, including specified support or court-ordered liabilities, different taxable years, or when one spouse is a PA resident and the other is not unless both elect PA resident treatment and meet the other conditions. Joint filing is for convenience: spouses' income and losses must still be determined separately.

Report income and calculate Lines 1a through 12

Pennsylvania uses separate income classes rather than one generic federal-income total. Classify an item before you enter it; federal treatment can differ. That sequence matters because losses have limited use and Line 9 later includes only positive income amounts.

Lines 1a through 3: compensation, interest, and dividends

Line 1a is gross PA-taxable compensation. W-2 Box 16 commonly provides the starting amount when Box 17 shows PA withholding, but use the PA instructions for adjustments and other compensation records. Do not include qualifying active-duty military pay earned outside Pennsylvania or qualifying retirement benefits. If you claim unreimbursed employee expenses, complete PA Schedule UE first. The expenses must be ordinary, customary, actually paid, reasonable, necessary, and directly related to your job. Transfer an allowable net expense to Line 1b, then subtract Line 1b from Line 1a for Line 1c.

Line 2 is interest income and Line 3 is dividend and capital-gain-distribution income. They remain separate PA classes. In particular, capital-gain distributions from mutual funds belong on Line 3 as dividend income, even if federal reporting treats them as capital gains. Complete PA Schedule A or B when the relevant schedule conditions apply.

Lines 4 through 8: business, property, rental, trust, and gambling income

Lines 4, 5, and 6 cover business, profession or farm income; gains or losses from property; and rents, royalties, patents, or copyrights. They are the only income lines that can report a loss, and you mark the related loss oval when reporting one. Use the applicable PA schedule to determine the final class amount. Lines 7 and 8 have explicit routes: estate or trust income requires PA Schedule J, and gambling and lottery winnings require PA Schedule T.

Lines 9 through 12: taxable income, deductions, and tax

1. For Line 9, add only positive amounts from Lines 1c through 8. Do not add or subtract losses from Lines 4, 5, or 6.

2. For Line 10, use only an eligible coded deduction and complete PA Schedule O. The deduction cannot reduce Line 9 below zero.

3. Subtract Line 10 from Line 9 for Line 11.

4. Multiply Line 11 by 0.0307, the 2025 rate of 3.07%, for Line 12 PA tax liability.

Enter payments, credits, and use tax on Lines 13 through 25

Lines 13 through 18: withholding and prior payments

Keep each payment source separate. Line 13 is total PA tax withheld from the specified W-2, 1099, W-2G, and Schedule T sources. Lines 14 through 17 collect a 2024 carryover credit, 2025 estimated payments, an extension payment, and nonresident withholding; Line 18 adds only Lines 14 through 17. Verify estimated payments and carryover credit before entering them. If you include Form REV-459B to transfer, adjust, or correct an estimated-payment account, mark the Line 15 oval.

Use the record that belongs to each payment line.

Lines 19 through 24: Tax Forgiveness and other credits

Lines 19a, 19b, 20, and 21 are transfers from PA Schedule SP, not a second calculation on the PA-40. Schedule SP uses filing status, dependent children, and eligibility income to calculate a Tax Forgiveness credit. Eligibility income includes prescribed taxable and nontaxable income, so it is not simply Line 9. Do not claim Line 21 without completing and including Schedule SP.

Line 22 is the Resident Credit from PA Schedule G-L and required other-state return support. Line 23 is for allowable credits supported by PA Schedule OC and/or PA Schedule DC. Finally, Line 24 totals Lines 13, 18, 21, 22, and 23. This is the payments-and-credits side of the final comparison.

Line 25: when unpaid sales tax becomes use tax

Line 25 is for qualifying consumer use tax when a seller did not charge and collect applicable sales tax on taxable purchases or services. Use actual purchase records when possible. The worksheet applies a 6% state rate, plus 1% for Allegheny County or 2% for Philadelphia when applicable; use it for any individual purchase of $1,000 or more. Sales tax already paid may reduce the result through the worksheet, up to the applicable rate.

Finish Lines 26 through 36, sign, and file the return

Tax due or overpayment: follow one branch

After completing Line 24, follow the result that applies. If Line 12 plus Line 25 is more than Line 24, enter the difference on Line 26 as tax due. Line 27 is only for applicable penalties and interest; if you include Form REV-1630 or REV-1630A, mark its oval. Add Lines 26 and 27 for Line 28, using the alternate form formula when Lines 12, 25, and 27 exceed Line 24. If Line 24 is more than Lines 12, 25, and 27 combined, the difference is your Line 29 overpayment.

Allocate an overpayment and complete the signature block

If you have a Line 29 overpayment, Lines 30 through 36 direct it. Line 30 requests a refund check, Line 31 applies an amount to your 2026 estimated-tax account, and Lines 32 through 36 allow donations using the form’s organization codes. The total of Lines 30 through 36 must equal Line 29. If you leave those lines blank or their total does not equal Line 29, the Department issues a refund check. A Code H 529 donation requires PA Schedule P.

• Round all income, loss, deduction, and credit amounts to whole dollars; recheck the math and keep a copy of the return.

• Attach every required schedule, supporting statement, and record. A return is not acceptable until required schedules are filed.

• Sign and date the return. A spouse must also sign and date a joint return. The E-File Opt Out oval is for a paid preparer when the taxpayer requested paper filing; self-preparers do not mark it.

• Mail according to the official route for a payment enclosed, a refund or credit request, or neither. Pay any amount due by April 15, 2026.

• browse other government form instructions

Common PA⁠–⁠40 questions

Do I need to file PA⁠–⁠40 if I do not need to file a federal return?

Yes. Pennsylvania filing requirements differ from federal requirements. You generally must file a 2025 PA return if PA gross taxable income exceeded $33 or if you incurred a qualifying loss, even if no federal return is required.

Sources and how this page was made

This guide explains the official sources listed below in plain language. Displayed amounts, limits, percentages, and timing rules come from that material.

• Official form: 2025 Pennsylvania Income Tax Return (PA-40)

• Official form instructions: 2025 Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax Return Instructions (PA-40 IN)