Frequently Asked Questions

How to Withhold for Your Employees:

If the total LST rate enacted exceeds $10, the tax must be assessed and collected on a prorated basis determined by the number of payroll periods established by an employer for a calendar year. The tax assessed on each employee for a payroll period is calculated by dividing the total rate of the LST by the number of payroll periods established by the employer for the calendar year. When calculating the prorated share, employers are required to round down to the penny. For instance, a $52 tax would be collected at $1 per week for employees paid weekly or at $4.33 per month for taxpayers paid monthly. A $36 tax would be collected at 69 cents a week for employees paid weekly, or at $3 a month for employees that are paid monthly.

If the total LST rate enacted is $10 or less, the tax is to be collected in a lump sum.

You are required to include a list of individual employees and their social security numbers with your quarterly return.

Reporting for Self-Employed Individuals and Employers:

If you report your business earnings as a profit or loss on a Schedule with the Federal or State Governments (i.e. Schedule C or E), the form for individual LST, LST-3, should be filed quarterly if the enacted rate is greater than $10.00. If the enacted rate is $10 or less, the tax should be remitted in a lump sum during the first quarter of employment. Submit the LST-3 for yourself, in addition to the LST-1 for your employees. If you have no employees, indicate “No Employees” on the first quarter form, and submit along with the LST-3. If you are issued a W-2 for business earnings, you should not file the LST-3. In this case, report the Local Services Tax for yourself along with your employees on the LST-1 form.

Low-Income Exemption:

Employers located in an area that has an LST rate that exceeds $10, there is a mandatory income exemption for those whose total earned income and/or net profits are less than $12,000.00 or $15,600 in areas whose rate is greater than $52.00. Please be advised that the same income exemption may not apply for the school district portion of the tax and may result in a reduced refund. Employees must file an annual exemption certificate to receive the exemption request. Employers located in areas not exceeding $10 may or may not have a low-income exemption. If an employee exceeds the low-income exemption, employers are required to withhold a “catch-up” lump sum tax equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld from the employee as a result of the exemption and continue withholding the same amount per pay period that is withheld for other employees. Please be advised that the school district portion may not have an earnings exemption or may be less than the municipal exemption in which this portion of the tax may still be due. If no exemption request is submitted and the employee does not meet the exemption amount by the end of the year, a refund request may be submitted by the taxpayer. The refund form and exemption certificate are available on our website

How can an employer set up an account?

The employer can set up an account 3 ways.

1. Electronically Employer Registration Form
2. Download Employer Registration Form (PDF)& email to eLST@goberk.com
3. Download Employer Registration Form (PDF)& Fax (610) 588-5765 Attn: TAXROLL
4. Call a customer care representative at (610) 599-3139 or Contact Us

The information needed to set up an account is:

• Company name
• Physical address of business location
• Mailing address if different
• Phone #
• Fax #
• E-mail address
• Federal ID

Where can I locate the tax rate for a specific jurisdiction?

If you need information on tax rates, please click here.

How can I find out what jurisdiction my business is located in?

If you need to locate what jurisdiction your business is located in, please click here.

How often is a return filed?

You are required to file a return quarterly. However, some areas may differ from the chart below. Please check the jurisdiction you are filing for and their due dates.

How can I file a return?

There are 3 ways you can file your quarterly return.

1. Electronic Upload – You can use our format and upload your file using our online service
2. Data entry – You can file using our online service
3. You can download an LST-1 form from our website by clicking here.

How should an amended (corrected) return be submitted?

An amended return needs to be submitted in writing and include the reason for the amended return, previous payment information and amended information.

Mail Returns to:

HAB-LST
Berkheimer
PO Box 25156
Lehigh Valley, PA 18002 

Employer Electronic File Upload Questions:

You can obtain a copy of our formats below. If you have any questions, please feel free to call our Customer Care Department at (610) 599-3139 or Contact Us

Employer Local Services Tax File Formats

• Single Employer
• Multiple Employer
• EFW2-PA

How should payments be submitted?

1. You can mail your payment with your LST-1 form to the address listed below.
2. If you are filing online, you will be required to pay online at no extra costs.

Mail payments to:

HAB-LST
Berkheimer
PO Box 25156
Lehigh Valley, PA 18002

How do I close an account?

If you wish to close your account, email the reason why you are closing your account and the effective date of closure to edoc1@goberk.com.

Reminder: forms that are for a time frame when you were in business are still required to be filed.

If you have additional/specific questions that are not addressed above, please click on the link to send an inquiry to our customer care department.