Do You Qualify for Philadelphia's Income Based Wage Tax Refund Program?
Philadelphia has an income-based Wage Tax refund program for people who have Philly taxes taken out of their pay and who file PA State tax returns and qualify for PA’s Special Tax Forgiveness.
If you qualified for PA’s Special Tax Forgiveness, that means that you can get back most of the Philly tax that was withheld from your pay last year.
To qualify, your total eligibility income must generally be below these limits:
| # of Children | Unmarried | Married |
| 0 | $8,750 | $15,250 |
| 1 | $18,250 | $24,750 |
| 2 | $27,750 | $34,250 |
| 3 | $37,250 | $43,750 |
| 4 | $46,750 | $53,250 |
| 5 | $56,250 | $62,750 |
| 6 | $65,750 | $72,250 |
According to the Philly Department of Revenue, Philadelphia employers are required to give an income-based Wage Tax refund petition to their employees by February 1st of each year.
If you didn’t get a form from your Philly employer, you can download one on Philly Rev’s website. They also have the option to file the refund claim online: https://www.phila.gov/services/payments-assistance-taxes/taxes/refunds/wage-tax-refunds/.
There is free help to get your federal and PA tax returns done (including your PA Special Tax Forgiveness form). Use these links to find the free VITA sites that work best for you! https://www.cwfphilly.org/, https://www.getyourrefund.org/en, and https://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/.
After you get your PA state tax return filed, if you apply for a Philly income-based Wage Tax refund and get denied, or if you just have trouble applying, contact us to see if we can help! Visit https://philalegal.org/get-legal-help to apply for help or call our intake at 215-981-3800 between 9:30 am and 12 pm Monday through Thursday.
