Pennsylvania taxes compensation at a flat 3.07% with no standard deduction and no personal exemption, so the first dollar is taxed like the last. Tips are fully taxable and neither federal deduction reduces the bill. One thing to watch: Pennsylvania taxes 401(k) contributions as you make them, so that money lowers your federal tax but not your state tax. Low earners may qualify for Pennsylvania tax forgiveness, which this calculator does not include.
What it means on a real paycheck
Take a single filer earning $50,000 a year, $8,000 of it in tips. Against the same person with no tips to declare, the federal deduction is worth $960.
In Pennsylvania it is worth nothing extra. The state bill is identical either way, so $960 is the whole of it.
How Pennsylvania works out the tax
Pennsylvania charges a flat 3.07%. It builds your income its own way rather than starting from your federal adjusted gross income.