As tax season ramps up, elected officials and advocates are highlighting a new state tax credit that can put hundreds of dollars into the pockets of working families this year.
Close to 1 million Pennsylvanians will qualify for the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit in 2026. The new credit was signed into law as part of the state budget late last year.
The Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit was modeled on the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, often described as one of the country’s largest anti-poverty programs.
“This targeted credit will reduce the tax burden on working Pennsylvanians, some of whom pay [state] income taxes while living below the poverty level,” Kristie Weiland Stagno, who runs the Free Tax Prep Coalition at local anti-hunger organization Just Harvest, said in a statement.
The coalition, led by United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania and Just Harvest, operates free tax prep sites in Allegheny, Westmoreland, Fayette, Washington, and Greene counties.
Taxpayers who qualify for the federal credit will automatically qualify for the state credit, which is 10 percent of the federal credit. The maximum state credit is $805; the exact amount a person will receive is based on income and number of dependents.
However, because the state credit came about so late in 2025 due to the late state budget agreement last year, the Pennsylvania Income Tax Return PA-40 form does not include any reference to the credit.
People who are eligible will still receive the money as part of their refund, along with a letter explaining why, Weiland Stagno said.
At a tour of the volunteer tax assistance site at the Just Harvest offices in Pittsburgh’s South Side on Tuesday afternoon, state Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-West View and state Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Brighton Heights, both said they often refer constituent calls to the free tax assistance available through Just Harvest and United Way and other similar programs.
State Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, said some legislators wanted to increase the amount of the state credit above the 10 percent of the federal credit, but they had to balance that with the revenue lost to the state.
“That’s been the challenge. That was our challenge this past year,” Costa said.
Still, he said the credit benefiting close to 1 million people is “significant.”
The South Side site gets funding from both United Way and the IRS; tax preparers are trained volunteers.
Free tax preparation also connects people to other benefits for which they might qualify.
“It’s not just taxes. Taxes connect to so much else,” said Dan McCarthy, an organizer for Just Harvest.
To make an appointment for free tax assistance, click here or call United Way’s 2-1-1 helpline. To be eligible, you must earn less than $50,000 as an individual, or less than $70,000 for a household of more than one person.