Updated October 24, 2026. Quick answer: Line 25 of the Pennsylvania PA-40 is where an individual reports use tax on taxable purchases where the seller did not charge sales tax. The booklet provides a Use Tax Worksheet, and the amount from it goes on this line. If there is none, the booklet says to enter zero.
What this line does
The form’s line 25 reads “USE TAX. Due on internet, mail order, or out-of-state purchases. See the instructions.”. It is printed on the second page of the form. The booklet’s heading is “LINE 25. USE TAX”, and it opens with this sentence: “Certain unpaid use tax liabilities from tax year 2025 may be reported and paid using Line 25 of the PA 40.”
This page is one stop on Pennsylvania Form PA-40 line by line. For the federal return’s other taxes, see Form 1040 lines 22, 23 and 24.
Who it applies to
The booklet limits who reports here: “Only individual consumers should report use tax on Line 25.” It also says “Individuals and businesses with Pennsylvania sales tax licenses should report use tax on their sales tax returns.”
What the instructions say
| Line | What the form says |
|---|---|
| Form label | “USE TAX. Due on internet, mail order, or out-of-state purchases. See the instructions.” |
| Who reports here | “Only individual consumers should report use tax on Line 25.” |
| Not for these | “This method cannot be used for purchases pursuant to a DOR Notice of Potential Use Tax Due such as motor vehicles, watercraft, boats, ATV’s, snowmobiles, imports to the United States via US Customs, cigarettes, or business purchases.” |
| What use tax is | “Use tax is the counterpart of sales tax and applies to taxable purchases made over the Internet, through toll-free numbers, from mail order catalogs, and from out-of-state locations, or any other occasion where sales tax was not charged and collected by the seller.” |
| Who remits it | “you are personally responsible for remitting the use tax directly to the PA Department of Revenue.” |
| The rate | “The use tax rate is the same as the sales tax rate: 6 percent state tax, plus an additional 1 percent local tax for items purchased or used in Allegheny County and 2 percent local tax for Philadelphia.” |
| Taxable items | “Examples of taxable items include the following: antiques, paintings, appliances, books, digital products, stationery, computers” |
| Taxable services | “Examples of taxable services include lawn care, pest control, self-storage, building cleaning, and maintenance services such as housekeeping services.” |
| Records | “You may use actual receipts or purchase records to calculate use tax due.” |
| The worksheet | “The Use Tax Worksheet on the previous page is included for your convenience to help make your calculations.” |
| Purchases of $1,000 or more | “you must use this worksheet to calculate use tax due on individual purchases of $1,000 or more.” |
| Zero | “If you do not have a use tax liability or used form PA-1 to report and pay use tax, you must enter zero on Line 25.” |
| Assessment | “The department reserves the right to assess additional use tax due if and when it discovers evidence that the use tax liability reported on the PA-40 is less than the actual liability.” |
| Licensed sellers | “Individuals and businesses with Pennsylvania sales tax licenses should report use tax on their sales tax returns.” |
| More detail | “For detailed information on use tax reporting responsibilities and options” |
The figures the form prints
The rates sit inside one running sentence: “The use tax rate is the same as the sales tax rate: 6 percent state tax, plus an additional 1 percent local tax for items purchased or used in Allegheny County and 2 percent local tax for Philadelphia.”
The Use Tax Worksheet and the estimate table that follow it are printed in the booklet on the page before this instruction. Their amounts are not reproduced here, so read them on your own copy.
Where the result goes next
The worksheet’s last step says where the total goes: “Total use tax liability. Add Lines 5 and 6, then subtract Line 7 and enter the amount here and on Line 25 of your PA-40”. The form’s line 26 then reads “If the total of Line 12 and Line 25 is more than Line 24”, so the Line 25 figure is part of that comparison. The resident credit that also feeds line 24 is covered on line 22 of the PA-40. For the state’s treatment of other income, see whether Pennsylvania taxes pensions and Pennsylvania retirement taxes.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads 2025 PA Personal Income Tax Return Instructions (PA-40 IN), Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, and 2025 Form PA-40, Pennsylvania Income Tax Return, Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, for tax year 2025, the current files the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue served on 2026-10-24. Check the edition printed on your own form and use that edition’s line numbers.
Common mistakes
- Leaving the line empty when no use tax applies. The booklet says “you must enter zero on Line 25.”
- Using the line for a vehicle or boat purchase. The booklet says “This method cannot be used for purchases pursuant to a DOR Notice of Potential Use Tax Due”
- Skipping the worksheet on a large purchase. The booklet says “you must use this worksheet to calculate use tax due on individual purchases of $1,000 or more.”
Related: Form 1040 lines 22, 23 and 24, whether Pennsylvania taxes pensions, and Pennsylvania retirement taxes.
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Answer againSources
- 2025 PA Personal Income Tax Return Instructions (PA-40 IN), Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: www.pa.gov
- 2025 Form PA-40, Pennsylvania Income Tax Return, Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: www.pa.gov
- Related official page (not quoted): Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, personal income tax forms and publications: www.pa.gov
Read from the state revenue documents linked above on October 24, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer or the state revenue department is the right place to confirm anything consequential.