Pennsylvania registration and tax info

• Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (DOR) - withholding tax
• Pennsylvania Unemployment Contribution (UC) Fund - unemployment tax
• Various local agencies - local taxes

Register for both withholding tax and unemployment

It could take a few weeks to obtain your account numbers and company-specific unemployment rate—keep this timeframe in mind when planning your first payroll for this state.

1. Learn what you'll need to get started on this agency site.
2. When you're ready to register, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click Enter. 
3. Scroll below the sign-in area, and click Register.
4. Read the e-signature agreement, and click I agree.
5. Complete all remaining prompts.

If you're not immediately issued a company-specific unemployment tax rate, you can enter the "new employer rate" from this article while you wait to receive it. Make sure to update Gusto with the correct unemployment tax rate once you get your official rate statement from the agency.

Enter the tax account information in Gusto

Once a valid Pennsylvania work address has been added in Gusto for one or more employee(s), you can add your tax account information:

1. Click the Taxes & compliance section and select Tax setup.
2. Scroll to the "Pennsylvania Tax Setup" headline and select Manage taxes.
3. Enter your withholding account number, unemployment account number, and unemployment rate.
   
   • If you need to update a pre-existing rate: Follow the steps in this article. 
   • If you need to update your account number: Contact us from the Help or Priority support section of your account—there may be tax implications if taxes have already been paid or filed to an incorrect account number.

Parkland school district local services tax (LST)

If you live in the Parkland School District and will be paying a local services tax (LST) to this agency, you'll need register your business. Townships in this county include North and South Whitehall and Upper Macungie.

1. Register your business (New Employer Registration) to receive an account number.
   • You can register via mail, fax, or email to the contact information listed on the registration form.
   • The agency will then mail a letter with a 10-digit account number.
2. Enter the last 5 digits of your account number in Gusto.
   • If you're unsure of your account number, call the agency at (610)-351-5577.

City of Philadelphia Tax

If you do not yet have a tax account number or will be paying an employee in Philadelphia for the first time, you will need to register with the City of Philadelphia tax center online. You should receive your number instantly after registering online.

City of Pittsburgh Tax

If you do not yet have a City ID or will be paying an employee who will be working in Pittsburgh or who is a resident of Pittsburgh for the first time, you must register your business with the City of Pittsburgh and select the option for Payroll Expense Tax (ET-1) and Local Services Tax (LS-1). You should receive your number 1-2 days after registering.

You will also need to register for Earned Income Tax with Jordan Tax Service. You can register online here—you'll need to enter your account number in the Taxes & compliance section of Gusto (the agency refers to this number as the "EIN" or "Registration ID").

City of Scranton Payroll Preparation Tax (PPT)

Every person or business having an office, factory, workshop, branch, warehouse, or other place of business—including banks, schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and trade associations—who work in all, or part of the city, and has not previously registered, is required to register to pay this tax. 

Scranton Payroll Preparation Tax details:

• The tax went into effect January 1—if your company was liable at the beginning of the year, you’ll need to complete first quarter filings (Q1 2022) for payrolls from January 1 through March 31, 2022, on your own. Learn how to complete these filings below.
• The 2022 withholding rate is 0.2787% for businesses who pay workers to perform services in the City of Scranton.
• Payroll expense includes all compensation earned by an employee or a self-employed individual. 
  • Compensation is defined as salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, net earnings and incentive payments based on profit or otherwise, along with fees, tips and any other form of payment for services rendered, and whether in cash or in property.
• For questions, check out Scranton’s FAQs and answers. 

Next steps

In August of 2022, Gusto will be able to withhold the tax and start paying the contributions on behalf of the company. Here’s what to do next:

Step one: Register for the Scranton Payroll Preparation Tax (PPT) with the Berkheimer tax agency (HAB)

Register your business with Scranton’s  tax collector—Berkheimer tax innovations (HAB). If you have questions, contact the agency directly at (610) 599-3140.

Step two: Confirm you’ve registered for the Payroll Preparation Tax (HAB-PPT) in Gusto by Aug 23 

If for any reason you do not want Gusto to file or pay your Q2 2022 taxes and beyond, or if you already paid this tax outside of Gusto, contact us from the Help or Priority support section of your account.

Otherwise, confirm you’ve registered for the “HAB-PPT” in Gusto by following the steps below:

1. Click the Taxes & compliance section and select Tax setup.
2. Scroll to the “Pennsylvania Tax Setup” headline and select Manage taxes.
3. Next to “Registered with HAB-PPT?” click edit. 
4. Select Yes, I have already registered.
   • You won’t need to enter a unique HAB-PPT number because we’ll use your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) to pay the tax.
   • To confirm you’ve registered for the HAB-PPT tax, or to get additional registration instructions, contact the Berkheimer Tax Administrator at (610) 599-3140.
5. Click Save.

Step three: If your company was liable in Q1, complete Q1 2022 filings and payments outside of Gusto. 

The tax went into effect January 1—if your company was liable at the beginning of the year, you’ll need to complete first quarter filings (Q1 2022) for payrolls from January 1 through March 31, 2022, on your own. To do so:

1. Once you’ve registered with the agency, complete the Payroll Preparation Tax Form for Q1 2022.
2. Make checks payable to: HAB-PPT
3. Mail the completed form and check directly to the agency at the address below:
   • Attn: PPT Quarterly Returns
   • PO BOX 20087
   • LEHIGH VALLEY, PA 18002-0087

Should you receive any tax notices about the Scranton Payroll Preparation Tax, report and upload the tax notice in your Gusto account.

Other Pennsylvania local taxes

To determine where you need to pay taxes and register as a new employer:

1. Head to this website.
2. Enter the home and work address of an employee.
3. Click View Information.

The website will return the relevant/applicable taxes and tax collectors in yellow boxes. This includes the phone number, fax number and collector website so that you can contact them about registering with their office.

Enter the tax account information in Gusto

Once a valid local address has been added in Gusto for one or more employee(s), you can add your tax account information:

1. Click the Taxes & compliance section and select Tax setup.
2. Scroll to the "Pennsylvania Tax Setup" headline and select Manage taxes.
3. Enter the applicable account number.

Third party authorization is required or recommended for the below agencies:

• Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (DOR) TPA access is needed for amended returns.
  • Withholding tax
• Pennsylvania UC Fund TPA access is needed for all payments and filings.
  
  • Unemployment tax

Pennsylvania Department of Revenue—withholding tax

Amendments often call for a different filing method than original returns—this agency requires that Gusto have third-party access to your online e-TIDES account in order to submit an amendment on your behalf or help resolve tax issues. 

1. Gusto first needs to request access before you can approve it—you'll be notified when we request the access, and you'll then have to sign in to your agency portal and approve it.
2. Log into your e-TIDES account.
3. Select Enterprise Maintenance.
4. Select Employer Withholding from the drop-down menu and click Next.
5. Click List.
6. Select the account for your company, then click List.
7. Select Administrator Approved Filers, then click Next.
   • You should see a list of enterprises (businesses) that you have administrative privileges for. Once you've selected the enterprise (the company in question), you'll see a list of all filers who have requested access to that account and their current rights (or capabilities).
8. Click the checkboxes to assign the “rights” below to Gusto:
   • View Filing History
   • File Returns
   • File Payments
9. Click Submit.

Once you've completed all the steps above, third-party access has been set up for withholding taxes.

• Important: If there's a prior “Enterprise Administrator” active on the account, it'll block us from filing amendments—see below for instructions on how to change your enterprise administrator on e-TIDES.

If you have questions, contact the e-Business Tax Unit at (717) 783-6277.

Change your Enterprise Administrator on e-TIDES

1. Log into your e-TIDES account.
2. Select Enterprise Maintenance.
3. Select Employer Withholding Tax from the drop-down menu and click Next.
4. Click List.
5. Select the account for your company, then click List.
6. Select Reassign Administrative Functions, then click Next.
7. Select "Steven Johnsen" or "Tomer London" (our account administrators) and click Submit.

If you're unable to complete the steps above for any reason, you may need to fill out the E-Tides Administrative Access Change Request Form (REV-1176). Reach out to the agency at (717) 783-6277 before filling out this form to make sure it's the correct next step for your unique situation.

Pennsylvania UC Fund—unemployment tax

This step is required for all Gusto clients, and gives us the permission to file and pay taxes on your behalf. It only takes a few minutes and is 100% online, follow the instructions below:

1. Visit the PA UC Management System and login using the green box on the right side of the screen.
2. Go to your Employer Profile.
3. Select Manage Representatives.
   • This page should display TPA/representative information.
4. Select Add New Representative to add Gusto:
5. Enter Gusto's identifier: 2272162774
6. Add today's date as the effective date. 
7. Assign the following Service Function: File Quarterly Reports & Adjustments.
8. Click Submit, and then click Ok.
   • You'll be taken to the “Manage Representative” page.
9. Repeat the assigning of a service function two more times, giving Gusto the additional service functions of:
   • Contributions Rate Information
   • Delinquency Account Discrepancies
10. Once all three service functions have been assigned, Gusto will handle the remaining steps needed to finalize the access request.

If you have questions or need assistance, call the UC Employer Contact Center at (866) 403-6163 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. EST. You can also reference this agency guide to help get you started or troubleshoot issues.

If your business has run payroll in PA previously, you can find your Account Number/Licensing Number by:

• Reviewing the coupons or Employer Quarterly Reconciliation that you received from the PA Department of Revenue or;
• Calling the agency at (717) 787-1064.

Heads up: Your withholding account number is different from your employer identification number (EIN) or Revenue ID Number. 

If your business has run payroll in PA previously, you can find your UC Account Number and tax rate by:

• Reviewing the Contribution Rate Notice (Form UC-657), Notice of PA UC Responsibilities (UC-851), or Report for Unemployment Contribution (Form UC-2) received from the PA Department of Labor and Industry, or;
• Calling the agency at (866) 403-6163.

If you do not yet have a company-assigned unemployment rate, you can find the new employer rates for each state in this article—it includes instructions on how to update the rate once you become liable and receive your company-specific agency assigned rate.

Third-party authorization is required or recommended for the below agencies:

• Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (DOR) TPA access is needed for amended returns.
  • Withholding tax
• Pennsylvania UC Fund TPA access is needed for all payments and filings.
  
  • Unemployment tax

Pennsylvania Department of Revenue—withholding tax

Amendments often call for a different filing method than original returns—this agency requires that Gusto have third-party access to your online e-TIDES account in order to submit an amendment on your behalf or help resolve tax issues. 

1. Gusto first needs to request access before you can approve it—you'll be notified when we request the access, and you'll then have to sign in to your agency portal and approve it.
2. Log into your e-TIDES account.
3. Select Enterprise Maintenance.
4. Select Employer Withholding from the drop-down menu and click Next.
5. Click List.
6. Select the account for your company, then click List.
7. Select Administrator Approved Filers, then click Next.
   • You should see a list of enterprises (businesses) that you have administrative privileges for. Once you've selected the enterprise (the company in question), you'll see a list of all filers who have requested access to that account and their current rights (or capabilities).
8. Click the checkboxes to assign the “rights” below to Gusto:
   • View Filing History
   • File Returns
   • File Payments
9. Click Submit.

Once you've completed all the steps above, third-party access has been set up for withholding taxes.

• Important: If there's a prior “Enterprise Administrator” active on the account, it'll block us from filing amendments—see below for instructions on how to change your enterprise administrator on e-TIDES.

If you have questions, contact the e-Business Tax Unit at (717) 783-6277.

Change your Enterprise Administrator on e-TIDES

1. Log into your e-TIDES account.
2. Select Enterprise Maintenance.
3. Select Employer Withholding Tax from the drop-down menu and click Next.
4. Click List.
5. Select the account for your company, then click List.
6. Select Reassign Administrative Functions, then click Next.
7. Select "Steven Johnsen" or "Tomer London" (our account administrators) and click Submit.

If you're unable to complete the steps above for any reason, you may need to fill out the E-Tides Administrative Access Change Request Form (REV-1176). Reach out to the agency at (717) 783-6277 before filling out this form to make sure it's the correct next step for your unique situation.

Pennsylvania UC Fund—unemployment tax

This step is required for all Gusto clients, and gives us the permission to file and pay taxes on your behalf. It only takes a few minutes and is 100% online, follow the instructions below:

1. Visit the PA UC Management System and login using the green box on the right side of the screen.
2. Go to your Employer Profile.
3. Select Manage Representatives.
   • This page should display TPA/representative information.
4. Select Add New Representative to add Gusto:
5. Enter Gusto's identifier: 2272162774
6. Add today's date as the effective date. 
7. Assign the following Service Function: File Quarterly Reports & Adjustments.
8. Click Submit, and then click Ok.
   • You'll be taken to the “Manage Representative” page.
9. Repeat the assigning of a service function two more times, giving Gusto the additional service functions of:
   • Contributions Rate Information
   • Delinquency Account Discrepancies
10. Once all three service functions have been assigned, Gusto will handle the remaining steps needed to finalize the access request.

If you have questions or need assistance, call the UC Employer Contact Center at (866) 403-6163 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. EST. You can also reference this agency guide to help get you started or troubleshoot issues.

Once a valid Pennsylvania work address has been added in Gusto for one or more employee(s), you can add your tax account information:

1. Click the Taxes & compliance section and select Tax setup.
2. Scroll to the “Pennsylvania Tax Setup” headline and select Manage taxes.
3. Enter your withholding account number, unemployment account number, and agency-assigned unemployment rate.
   • If you need to update a rate already entered, follow the steps in this article.
   • If you need to update your account number: Contact us from the Help or Priority support section of your account—there may be tax implications if taxes have already been paid or filed to an incorrect account number.