Pennsylvania Nonresident and Part-Year Resident Tax Filing

Last updated May 18, 2026

·Independent Pennsylvania tax education

Pennsylvania taxes nonresidents on PA-source income only, and part-year residents on all income earned during the PA-resident period plus PA-source income from the non-resident period. The hard parts are identifying which income is PA-source, applying the statutory residence test honestly, and coordinating with your home state's credit for tax paid to PA.

Key takeaways

Nonresidents pay PA personal income tax only on PA-source income; part-year residents file as residents for the PA-resident period and as nonresidents for the rest.
PA residency turns on domicile (your permanent home) plus the statutory residence test (an abode in PA plus more than 183 days in PA).
Wages from a PA employer are PA-source, but reciprocal agreements with NJ, OH, MD, VA, WV, and IN may shift the tax to your home state.
Non-wage PA-source income — rental, business, sale of PA real property — is taxable to nonresidents even when wages are covered by reciprocity.
Your home state usually allows a credit for tax paid to PA, preventing true double taxation.

Nonresident vs part-year resident

Two distinct filing statuses for non-residents and former residents:

Nonresident. Domiciled outside Pennsylvania for the entire tax year, and not a statutory PA resident. Pays PA tax only on PA-source income.
Part-year resident. Was a PA resident for a portion of the tax year and a nonresident for the rest. Files as a resident for the PA-resident period and as a nonresident for the remainder, on a single PA-40.

Domicile vs statutory residence (the 183-day rule)

Pennsylvania residency turns on two independent tests. Meeting either test makes you a PA resident:

Domicile. Your true, fixed, permanent home — the place you intend to return to when away. Domicile changes only when you both (a) abandon the prior domicile and (b) establish a new permanent home elsewhere with intent to remain.
Statutory residence. You maintain a permanent abode in PA and spend more than 183 days in PA during the tax year. Meeting both prongs makes you a PA resident regardless of where your domicile is.

Domicile arguments turn on intent and documentation: driver's license, voter registration, vehicle registration, primary banking, where your family lives, where your principal professional activities take place. Statutory residence is more mechanical — count days and check the abode test.

What counts as PA-source income

For a nonresident, PA-source income includes:

Wages earned for services performed in Pennsylvania.
Net profits from a business carried on in PA.
Gain on the sale of PA real property.
Rental or royalty income from PA real property.
Income from a PA pass-through entity (partnership, S corporation, LLC) to the extent of PA-source activity.
PA-source gambling and lottery winnings.

Non-PA-source income — interest, dividends, capital gains on securities, federal pension income — is generally not taxable to a Pennsylvania nonresident.

How to file: PA-40 with apportionment

Both nonresidents and part-year residents file the PA-40, with the apportionment schedule(s) required by the PA-40 instructions for non-resident filers. The PA-40 instructions specify which lines and which schedules require apportionment; tax software and myPATH walk through the apportionment questionnaire when you indicate a non-resident or part-year filing status.

See our PA-40 walkthrough for the general filing flow.

The interaction with reciprocal agreements

If you live in NJ, OH, MD, VA, WV, or IN and your only PA-source income is wages earned in PA, the reciprocal agreement may eliminate the PA-40 filing obligation entirely — your wages are taxed by your home state instead. File REV-419 with your PA employer to stop PA withholding.

If you have non-wage PA-source income on top of reciprocity-covered wages, you still file a PA-40 reporting the non-wage income. See our PA reciprocal income tax agreements guide.

Deductions available to nonresidents

Nonresidents and part-year residents are generally limited to deductions related to PA-source income. Pennsylvania's standard suite of credits — including the Tax Forgiveness Credit on Schedule SP — applies to part-year residents with appropriate proration. The PA-40 instructions detail the apportionment.

Credit for tax paid to PA on your resident return

File the PA-40 first or in parallel so you have the PA tax figure ready when claiming the credit on your home-state return.

Common scenarios — move, telecommute, student

Mid-year move into PA. Part-year resident. File PA-40 reporting all income from the move date forward as PA resident income, plus any PA-source income before the move.
Mid-year move out of PA. Part-year resident. Mirror image — PA resident for the pre-move period, nonresident for the rest.
Full-time telecommuter living in PA for a non-PA employer. PA resident (or domiciliary). All wages are PA taxable, even though the employer is elsewhere.
Full-time telecommuter living in NJ for a PA employer. Reciprocity covers the wages — file REV-419 with the PA employer; report wages to NJ.
Out-of-state college student attending school in PA. Domicile typically remains the home state. PA-source wages (campus job, internship in PA) are filed as nonresident; PA treats students as nonresident if domicile is elsewhere.

Best practices

Document your domicile clearly — driver's license, voter registration, primary home address, and where your principal banking and professional ties are kept.
Track days spent in PA carefully if you're close to the 183-day statutory residence threshold.
Separate PA-source from non-PA-source income before starting the return — the apportionment computation depends on it.
Coordinate the PA filing with your home state's credit for tax paid to PA to avoid double taxation.
If you move into or out of PA mid-year, save dated proof of the move (lease, closing statement, utility setup) for the statutory residence test.

Common mistakes

Assuming a reciprocal agreement covers all PA-source income — it covers wages only.
Missing PA-source rental income, gain on PA real estate, or pass-through business income from a PA entity.
Failing to file a PA-40 as a part-year resident after moving into or out of PA mid-year.
Treating the 183-day statutory residence threshold as a hard count without distinguishing partial days.
Forgetting the home state's credit for tax paid to PA, ending up paying tax twice on the same income.

Official Pennsylvania sources

PA Personal Income Tax
PA personal income tax rules, forms, and instructions.
PA Department of Revenue — PA-40 forms and instructions
Official PA-40 individual income tax return forms, schedules, and instructions.
PA reciprocal income tax agreements
Pennsylvania's reciprocal personal income tax agreements with New Jersey, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Indiana.
PA Form REV-419 — Employee's Nonwithholding Application
Form an employee files with a PA employer to stop PA withholding under a reciprocal agreement.
myPATH — PA Department of Revenue online portal
File and pay PA taxes online, manage business accounts, check refund status.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between a nonresident and a part-year resident?

A nonresident is someone whose domicile is outside Pennsylvania for the entire tax year and who does not meet the statutory residence test. A part-year resident was a PA resident for part of the tax year and a nonresident for the rest. Part-year residents file as residents for the period of PA residence and as nonresidents for the rest, on the same PA-40.

How do I know if I'm a PA resident?

PA residency turns on two tests: domicile and statutory residence. Domicile is your true, fixed, permanent home — the place you intend to return to. Statutory residence applies if you maintain an abode in PA and spend more than 183 days in PA during the tax year. Meeting either test makes you a PA resident.

I work in PA but live in NJ. Do I have to file a PA-40?

Under the PA-NJ reciprocal agreement, your wages are taxed by NJ, not PA — and if your only PA-source income is wages covered by reciprocity, you generally do not file a PA-40. If you have other PA-source income (rentals, business, gain on PA property sale), you do file a PA nonresident return for that income.

I sold a rental property in PA but live elsewhere. Do I file a PA return?

Yes. Gain on the sale of PA real property is PA-source income for a nonresident. File a PA-40 reporting the gain on the appropriate schedule. Your home state will generally allow a credit for the PA tax paid.

I moved to PA mid-year. How do I file?

File a PA-40 as a part-year resident. Report all income earned during the PA-resident period as a PA resident, and PA-source income earned during the non-PA period as a nonresident. Use the apportionment instructions in the PA-40 instructions.

Next read

PA Reciprocal Tax Agreements

If your wages are covered by a reciprocal agreement, the nonresident rules apply only to your other PA-source income. Understanding both rules together is essential.

SEO Quality Rating

How we currently rate this article. Updated as the content evolves.

Target keyword: pa nonresident tax filing
Search intent: The user is a nonresident or part-year resident of Pennsylvania and needs to file PA income tax correctly.

Content depth8/10

Internal linking8/10

Local relevance10/10

E-E-A-T7/10

Overall SEO readiness9/10

Explanation

Covers nonresident vs part-year resident, the PA-source income rule, Schedule NRH apportionment, domicile vs statutory residence, and the interaction with reciprocal agreements.

Suggested improvements

Add expert review from a PA-licensed CPA handling multistate filings.
Add worked examples for partial-year and nonresident scenarios.
Add a downloadable PA nonresident checklist.

Back to pa.tax