City Tax Refund › Philadelphia
Philadelphia Wage Tax refund for non-residents: the petition, worked out
Mark the days your employer required you to work outside Philadelphia. Get the refund petition lines for both half-years, the employer's table and the dates and locations list to upload.
Mark the days
Every workday starts as a day in the city. Pick a kind of day, then tap days. Weekends stay off.
Repeat a weekly pattern
Every
Holidays and leave you already marked stay as they are.
Lines to copy onto the form
Log of days out
Show the log
Your saved claims
Saved in this browser as you tap.
Earlier copies (0)
Only required days count
Philadelphia uses a "requirement of employment" test. A non-resident is exempt from the Wage Tax for the days the employer requires the job to be done outside Philadelphia. The petition is blunt about the rest: "A nonresident who works remotely for the sake of his or her convenience is not exempt from the Wage Tax, even with the employer's authorization."
So mark home days two ways: Home, required counts on line 2D; Home, my choice stays a Philadelphia day. Residents of Philadelphia can't claim days outside.
How the petition works
Column A is January 1 to June 30 and column B is July 1 to December 31. Line 2A is fixed: 181 days (182 in a leap year) and 184 days, or those days times 8 hours. Line 2E is 2D ÷ 2C rounded "to 4 decimal places" of a percent, such as 19.6721%. For line 1, we suggest using the year-to-date gross on your last June pay stub for column A and the rest of the W-2 for column B; the petition doesn't say how to split it, so ask the Refund Unit ((215) 686-6574) if unsure.
Non-resident rates from the City's Wage Tax rate table: 3.44% for all of 2023 and 2024; 3.44% to June 30, 2025 and 3.43% from July 1, 2025; 3.425% from July 1, 2026. Line 4 of the 2025 petition prints the same ".034400" and ".034300". (Copied as text, that line can lose its 4s and read ".03400"; the printed page and the rate table agree.)
Try the 2025 example: Mondays at a client site the employer requires, Fridays at home by choice. Line 2E is 19.6721% and 19.5122%, and the refund is $605.62.
What to send
File on the Philadelphia Tax Center ("Request a Wage Tax refund", no login) or mail the petition to City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 53360, Philadelphia, PA 19105. Include copies of your W-2, the employer certification letter on company letterhead (page 2 of the City's template), the dates and locations list, and a telework agreement if you have one. The letter and the list must match.
The download uses the columns of the City's dates and locations spreadsheet: Date, City, State, Country, Hours Worked, Telework?. Only days outside Philadelphia are listed.
Form arithmetic only, not tax advice.
Questions people ask
Can I get a Philadelphia Wage Tax refund for working from home?
Only for days your employer required you to work outside Philadelphia, and only if you don't live in Philadelphia. The petition says a non-resident who works remotely for the sake of his or her convenience is not exempt, even with the employer's authorization.
Does my employer have to sign?
Yes. The City's template has an employer certification letter that goes on company letterhead, with the four lines of days for each half-year, signed by an authorized official. The Department of Revenue accepts electronic signatures. The dates and locations list must match it.
Can I file the petition online?
Yes. On the Philadelphia Tax Center choose "Request a Wage Tax refund"; you don't need a username or password, and you can upload copies or photos of your documents. Paper petitions go to P.O. Box 53360, Philadelphia, PA 19105.
How far back can I claim?
Any claim for refund must be filed within three years from the date the tax was paid, or due, whichever date is later. Each W-2 needs its own petition.
Should I count days or hours?
Days, unless your workday is longer or shorter than 8 hours. Then the City says you may use hours, but report either days or hours, not both. The petition's totals are 181 days (182 in a leap year) or that times 8 hours for January to June, and 184 days or 1,472 hours for July to December.
Is this the income-based Wage Tax refund?
No. That refund is for people approved for Pennsylvania tax forgiveness (PA Schedule SP) and has its own petition. This page is the salaried petition for days worked outside the city.
Sources: City of Philadelphia 2025 Wage Tax Refund Petition for salary and hourly employees (20251107) and the 2024 and 2023 petitions; the 2025 employer certification and dates and locations template (Version 20260120); the 2023 dates and locations spreadsheet; the Wage Tax rate table; Request a Wage Tax refund.