Do I need a sales tax permit in Pennsylvania?

Every business that maintains a place of business in Pennsylvania and sells or leases taxable goods or services must apply to the Department of Revenue for a license before it begins business. Pennsylvania calls the registration a Pennsylvania Sales Tax License. For a seller outside Pennsylvania, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales in the preceding 12-month calendar period. Pennsylvania's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

Sales tax permit · Pennsylvania

How to Get a Pennsylvania Sales Tax License

The short answer. In Pennsylvania, the registration a business must hold before it makes sales subject to Pennsylvania sales tax is a Pennsylvania Sales Tax License, issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Pennsylvania charges no fee for the Sales Tax License.

Pennsylvania Sales Tax License at a Glance

What Pennsylvania calls it	Pennsylvania Sales Tax License
Issued by	Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
How to apply	Not confirmed
Fee	Free
Security deposit or bond	May be required
Expires	Renewed every 5 years
Several locations	One covers all locations (see Locations)
Local sales tax	Covered by the state registration
Threshold for sellers outside the state	$100,000 in sales

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 29, 2026. See the sources.

Who Needs a Pennsylvania Sales Tax License

Every business that maintains a place of business in Pennsylvania and sells or leases taxable goods or services must apply to the Department of Revenue for a license before it begins business.

For a seller outside Pennsylvania, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales in the preceding 12-month calendar period. Pennsylvania's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

How to Apply

You apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Go to Pennsylvania's registration page.

Pennsylvania requires your registration to be displayed at the place of business.

What It Costs

Pennsylvania charges no fee for the Sales Tax License.

Pennsylvania may require security, such as a bond or deposit. The Department may require a bond from a seller that is not authorized to do business in Pennsylvania or has no established place of business there, or from a seller that has filed or paid more than 30 days late three or more times in 12 months.

Does It Expire?

The Sales Tax License is renewed every 5 years. The Department renews the license automatically every five years as long as you have filed every required return and paid your taxes.

More Than One Location

One registration covers all of a business's locations in Pennsylvania. The license is issued for your principal place of business, and you display a copy of it at each additional location.

Local Sales Taxes in Pennsylvania

Allegheny County and the City of Philadelphia add their own local sales tax, which you report and pay to the Department of Revenue along with the state tax.

More for Pennsylvania Businesses

Pennsylvania resale certificate, for buying inventory for resale.
Sales tax nexus checker, to see which other states your sales may require you to register in.
Pennsylvania LLC guide, for forming and running an LLC in the state.
LLC guide for eBay sellers in Pennsylvania, for selling only through a marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Every business that maintains a place of business in Pennsylvania and sells or leases taxable goods or services must apply to the Department of Revenue for a license before it begins business. Pennsylvania calls the registration a Pennsylvania Sales Tax License. For a seller outside Pennsylvania, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales in the preceding 12-month calendar period. Pennsylvania's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.
: Pennsylvania charges no fee for the Sales Tax License. Pennsylvania may require security, such as a bond or deposit. The Department may require a bond from a seller that is not authorized to do business in Pennsylvania or has no established place of business there, or from a seller that has filed or paid more than 30 days late three or more times in 12 months.
: The Sales Tax License is renewed every 5 years. The Department renews the license automatically every five years as long as you have filed every required return and paid your taxes.
: One registration covers all of a business's locations in Pennsylvania. The license is issued for your principal place of business, and you display a copy of it at each additional location.
: Allegheny County and the City of Philadelphia add their own local sales tax, which you report and pay to the Department of Revenue along with the state tax.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's law and tax agency say about the registration a business holds before it makes taxable sales, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you whether your own business must register: that turns on what you sell, where you sell it from, and how much you sell into the state, and fees, security rules and thresholds change between our reviews. Confirm your own position with the tax agency named on this page before you start selling.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Pennsylvania sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

palegis.us/statutes/unconsolidated/law-information/view-statute?txtType=PDF&SessYr=1971&SessInd=0&ActNum=0002.&chpt=2&subchpt=000.Tax Reform Code of 1971 (72 P.S.), Article II, sections 201, 208, 248.1, 277 (Pennsylvania General Assembly PDF)
pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/061/chapter34/s34.1.html61 Pa. Code 34.1 Registration
pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/061/chapter60/s60.16.html61 Pa. Code 60.16 Local sales, use and hotel occupancy tax
pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/revenue/documents/formsandpublications/formsforbusinesses/sut/documents/rev-717.pdfREV-717 Retailer's Information Guide (02-26)
pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-types-and-information/sales-use-and-hotel-occupancy-taxPennsylvania Department of Revenue, Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax

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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.