Pennsylvania · Payroll registration
Pennsylvania payroll tax registration, done for you.
Pennsylvania is better than most states at the start and worse than most underneath. One PA-100 on myPATH registers you for both employer withholding and Unemployment Compensation. What it does not touch is the local Earned Income Tax and Local Services Tax layer, which is collected by local collectors rather than by the state.
Pennsylvania employers register for Employer Withholding and Unemployment Compensation in one application, the Pennsylvania Online Business Tax Registration on myPATH. Get a federal EIN from the IRS first. New employers must register for UC within 30 days after covered services are first performed, or risk a penalty of up to $10,000 per assessment.
Regcrest is a private filing service, not a government agency. We can prepare and file this registration for you for $180.
Last updated:
Who you are dealing with
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
- Handles:
- Employer withholding account
- System:
- myPATH
- Form:
- PA-100, the Business Entity Registration, submitted through myPATH
- Phone:
- 717-783-8434 (Customer Experience Center)
Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Office of UC Tax Services
- Handles:
- Unemployment Compensation employer account
- System:
- UCMS
- Form:
- The UC account is created through the same PA-100 when you report payroll or indicate you will have employees, so a separate registration is not normally needed
- Phone:
- 866-403-6163, option 2
Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Office of UC Tax Services, payroll registration
State fee. $0 to the state for the employer tax registrations. Local Earned Income Tax and Local Services Tax are administered by local collectors and are a separate matter from the PA-100.
Our fee. $180 per state, flat. State fees are passed through at cost.
When you have to register
You register before the first Pennsylvania payroll. The PA-100 covers both accounts at once, but only if you report payroll or indicate you will have employees, so an entity registration completed without that flag leaves the UC side unopened.
What comes next
Worth knowing for later: closing is not symmetrical with opening. One PA-100 opens both accounts, but closing takes REV-1706 with Revenue and a separate UC-2B with Labor and Industry.
How long it takes
Pennsylvania does not publish a processing time we could confirm from the agency, so we do not quote one. What we do is register early enough that the account numbers are in hand before the first pay date rather than after it.
What we do
We work out which accounts you need, submit each registration, and hand you the account numbers, rates, and deposit schedules your payroll system asks for. One remote hire. $180 per state, plus state fees at cost. We submit within 2 business days. You keep the client. We never email them.
Hiring in more than one state? State payroll tax registration covers the withholding and unemployment accounts payroll software will not open.
What makes Pennsylvania harder than average
- The local layer is the real Pennsylvania problem. Employers also deal with local Earned Income Tax and Local Services Tax, collected by local collectors rather than by the state. The PA-100 does nothing about them, nothing prompts you, and which collector applies depends on where the employee works and lives.
- One form opens two accounts, and two forms close them. Registration is combined. Closure is not: REV-1706 with Revenue, UC-2B with Labor and Industry. Do not assume the reverse of the registration is the closure.
- Three different numbers, none of them your EIN. Pennsylvania issues an eight digit withholding account number that is separate from your FEIN and from your Revenue ID, and the UC account number is a third one. Payroll software wants specific ones in specific fields.
- The UC account depends on how you answer. It is created through the PA-100 when you report payroll or say you will have employees. Register the entity without that and the withholding side exists while the UC side does not, which surfaces at the first quarterly report.
How Pennsylvania compares
What triggers registration in Pennsylvania is not what triggers it next door. The table sets the thresholds side by side.
Questions and answers
How do I register for payroll tax in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania employers register for Employer Withholding and Unemployment Compensation in one application, the Pennsylvania Online Business Tax Registration on myPATH. Get a federal EIN from the IRS first. New employers must register for UC within 30 days after covered services are first performed, or risk a penalty of up to $10,000 per assessment.
Who has to register as an employer in Pennsylvania?
Every employer providing full- or part-time employment to one or more workers must register for unemployment compensation, within 30 days after covered services are first performed. Employers paying wages subject to Pennsylvania personal income tax withholding also need an Employer Withholding account.
Can someone file my Pennsylvania payroll tax registration for me?
Yes. Regcrest, a private filing service and not a government agency, prepares and files the registration at your direction for $180 per state.
Does one form register me for both Pennsylvania payroll accounts?
Yes. The PA-100 on myPATH covers employer withholding with the Department of Revenue and creates the Unemployment Compensation account with Labor and Industry, provided you report payroll or indicate you will have employees.
What about local taxes?
Pennsylvania employers also deal with local Earned Income Tax and Local Services Tax, and those are handled by local collectors rather than by the state. The PA-100 does not cover them. Tell us where your employees work and live and we will sort out which collector applies.
How long does registration take?
Pennsylvania does not publish a timeline we could verify with the agency, so we will not quote you one. We register far enough ahead that the numbers arrive before your first pay date.
Is my withholding account number my EIN?
No. Pennsylvania issues an eight digit withholding account number distinct from your federal EIN and from your Revenue ID, and the UC account number is different again.
What do you need from me to start?
The legal name and FEIN, entity type, the Pennsylvania work locations, your first payroll date, and the owner or officer details. If you know which municipalities your employees work and live in, that speeds up the local piece.
Also in Pennsylvania
Agency details verified 2026-08-03
Sources
About the provider
Regcrest LLC is a document preparation and filing service based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, founded in 2026. It prepares and files state payroll and sales tax registrations, account closures, and resale certificates on behalf of the businesses that instruct it, and works behind accounting firms, bookkeepers, and payroll providers as well as directly with businesses.
Regcrest LLC is not a CPA firm and not a law firm. It gives no tax or legal advice. It files in all 50 states, and publishes a full page for the 29states it has verified against the agency's own material so far, each one showing the date it was checked. For anything that turns on your specific situation, ask a licensed accountant or attorney.