Pennsylvania Sales Tax Filing Frequency Change

Effective June 1, 2011, businesses that reported sales, use and hotel occupancy tax of $25,000 or more - or if no return was filed, the tax that should have been reported was $25,000 or more - for the third quarter of 2010, are now required to file returns and remit payments on a semi-monthly basis, pursuant to Act 48 of 2009.

The department is requesting the first pre-payment on June 20, 2011.  The pre-payment should equal the sales tax collected from June 1 to June 15, or, if the calculation of the sales tax collected for the first half of the month creates an undue administrative burden on your business, you may remit a payment equal to 55 percent of the tax due from June 2010.

Thereafter, monthly pre-payments should equal either the sales tax collected from the first through the 15th of the month or 50 percent of the liability from the same month of the previous year. The due date for a return supporting the pre-payment is extended to the 20th of the month following the prepayment.

For example, on June 20, 2011, the May 2011 return and payment are due.  A separate payment transaction for the June 2011 pre-payment should also be filed on June 20, 2011.  On July 20, 2011, the June 2011 return is due, reporting the full liability for June 2011 along with the remaining payment (the full June 2011 liability minus the amount pre-paid on or before June 20, 2011).

Note that separate payments should be remitted for the current month’s pre-payment and the previous month's tax due.