US Tax Information | Payroll Department

The University of Pittsburgh is required to withhold federal, state and local taxes from each pay you receive and remit to the appropriate taxing authority. This section provides an overview of these taxes.

Predoctoral fellowships, training grants, and post doctoral scholar payments are not reported on a Form W-2. The taxation information on this page is not applicable for those payment types. For more information, refer to the year end information for predoctoral fellows, training grant recipients, and post doctoral scholars. Foreign national employees who receive those payment types should also review this additional taxation information.

Foreign Nationals seeking taxation information should refer to the global pay section.

Summary of Tax Rates

2024

Federal Taxes	Current Rate
FICA – Social Security¹	6.20%
FICA – Medicare²	1.45%
Federal Withholding	Based on Form W-4

State Taxes	Current Rate
PA State Income Tax	3.07%
PA State Unemployment Insurance³	0.07%
Washington DC Income Tax	Based on Form D-4
Indiana State Income Tax	Based on form WH-4
Maryland State Income Tax	Based on Form MW 507
New Jersey State Income Tax	Based on Form NJ-W4
Ohio State Income Tax	Based on Form IT-4
Virginia State Income Tax	Based on Form VA-4
West Virginia State Income Tax	Based on Form WV/IT-104
Arizona State Income Tax*	Based on Form A-4
Georgia State Income Tax*	Based on Form G-4
Hawaii State Income Tax	Based on Form HW-4
North Carolina	Based on Form NC-4
South Carolina	Based on Form SC W-4

Local Taxes	Current Rate
Local Earned Income Tax (EIT)	Based on Address
City of Pittsburgh Non-Resident Tax⁴	1.00%
Local Services Tax (LST)	Based on Work Location

^{1 $168,600 cap for 2024; $160,200 cap for 2023; $147,000 cap for 2022; Resets annually

2 No Cap; Resets Annually; Over $200,000 is 2.35%

3 PA SUI Tax increased to 0.07% from 0.06% effective 1/1/23

4 Non-Resident Tax: Non-Immigrants and Out of State Employees

* Only remote employees with fully approved and processed flexible work arrangements will be subject to income tax for these states}

Federal Taxes

Federal Income Tax (FIT)

Faculty, Staff, and Postdoctoral Associate & Research Associate Employees

The amount of federal income tax deducted from your pay is determined by the elections entered on Form W-4. If a Form W-4 is not completed, a marital status of Single or Married Filing Separately and no additional elections will be used by default to calculate federal income tax withholding. Learn how to change your W-4 information at any time by visiting the employee self-service page.

Certain deductions, such as retirement and medical benefits, may reduce the FIT taxable income for an individual. See the pre-tax deductions taxation chart for more information.

Graduate Students with Academic Appointments and Student Employees

Federal Insurance Contributions Act Tax (FICA)

Faculty, Staff, and Postdoctoral Associate & Research Associate Employees

FICA contains two parts: Social Security and Medicare.

The tax rate for social security is 6.2% of taxable wages up to an annual limit of $168,600.00 for tax year 2024.

The tax rate for Medicare is 1.45% of taxable wages up to $200,000. Once your taxable wages exceed $200,000, the tax rate for Medicare is 2.35%. There is no wage limit for Medicare tax.

Certain deductions, such as medical benefits, may reduce the FICA taxable income for an individual. See the pre-tax deductions taxation chart for more information.

You can also read about Social Security and Medicare Taxes through the IRS Website.

Graduate Students with Academic Appointments and Student Employees

FICA contains two parts: Social Security and Medicare. The tax rate for social security is 6.2%. The tax rate for Medicare is 1.45%.

Graduate students with academic appointments and student workers must have the credit load listed in the tables below to be eligible for the FICA tax exemption benefit.

Undergraduate Credit Load:

Term	Part Time	Full Time
Fall/Spring Terms	6+	12+
Summer Term	3+	3+

Graduate Credit Load

Term	Part Time	Full Time
Fall/Spring Term	4.5+	9+
Summer Term	3+	3+

Graduate Students working on dissertations must be registered as graduate student and PeopleSoft must be coded as dissertation student for the FICA exemption to be applied.

^{Please note: Students must be registered for classes appropriately prior by payroll processing established deadlines in order to be eligible for the FICA tax exemption benefit.}

State Taxes

The University of Pittsburgh automatically withholds state income taxes for employees living in Pennsylvania and the states that have reciprocal agreements with Pennsylvania. The District of Columbia and the following states have reciprocal agreements with Pennsylvania: Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.

State income tax will be withheld for Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina and South Carolina for remote employees with fully approved and processed flexible work arrangements. In most cases, employees living in states other than the states listed below will have Pennsylvania state income tax withheld from their pay and may be responsible for remitting the income tax to their state of residence.

State Income Tax (SIT)

The tax rate for Pennsylvania SIT is 3.07% and there is no wage limit. For more information on the Pennsylvania Income Tax, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue website.

Benefit deductions such as medical deductions will reduce state taxable income for faculty, staff, & postdoctoral associates. Retirement deductions are not pre-tax deductions in Pennsylvania. See the pre-tax deductions taxation chart for more information.

Graduate Student Researchers are not subject to Pennsylvania state income tax withholding.

Learn more about the state income tax for other applicable states.

State Unemployment Insurance Tax (SUI)

For faculty, staff, and postdoctoral associate & research associate employees: The tax rate for Pennsylvania SUI is .07% and there is no wage limit.

Local Taxes

Local Earned Income Tax (EIT)

Faculty, Staff, and Postdoctoral Associate & Research Associate Employees

As a Pennsylvania employer, the University of Pittsburgh is required to withhold local earned income tax from wages based on your permanent address and remit the tax to the appropriate tax officer. Each person is required to complete a Residency Certification Form at time of hire and for any address changes attesting to their permanent address. If you do not have a permanent residence in the state of Pennsylvania, the non-resident tax rate where the campus is located will be withheld from wages. For example, an Ohio resident working at the Pittsburgh campus would have the 1% Pittsburgh non-resident rate withheld from wages and remitted to the city of Pittsburgh.

The Local Earned Income tax is comprised of 2 parts – city tax and school district tax based on your permanent residence. If a locality does not impose a city tax or the rate is lower than the non-resident rate where the campus is located, the non-resident rate of the campus will be deducted, not the resident rate of your permanent residence. Learn how to update your address by visiting the employee self-service page.

Find your withholding rates by entering your work and home address in the rate calculator provided by the PA Department of Community and Economic Development.

More information about Pittsburgh Wage and School Tax can be found on the City of Pittsburgh's Department of Finance website.

Graduate Students with Academic Appointments and Student Employees

As a Pennsylvania employer, the University of Pittsburgh is required to withhold local earned income tax from wages based on your permanent address and remit the tax to the appropriate tax officer. For most students, this will be the address where you permanently resided before you went to college. College dormitories, fraternity houses, sorority houses, and off-campus rentals by enrolled college students generally do not qualify as permanent addresses.

Graduate Student Researchers are not subject to Pennsylvania local income tax withholding.

Each person is required to complete a Residency Certification Form at time of hire and for any address changes attesting to their permanent address. If you do not have a permanent residence in the state of Pennsylvania, the non-resident tax rate where the campus is located will be withheld from wages. For example, an Ohio resident working at the Pittsburgh campus would have the 1% Pittsburgh non-resident rate withheld from wages and remitted to the city of Pittsburgh.

The Local Earned Income tax is comprised of 2 parts – city tax and school district tax based on your permanent residence. If a locality does not impose a city tax, or the rate is lower than the non-resident rate where the campus is located, the non-resident rate of the campus will be deducted, not the resident rate of the your permanent residence.

Learn how to update your address by visiting the employee self-service page.

Find your withholding rates by entering your work and home address in the rate calculator provided by the PA State of Community and Economic Development.

More information about Pittsburgh Wage and School Tax can be found on the City of Pittsburgh's Department of Finance website.

Local Services Tax (LST)

As a Pennsylvania employer, the University of Pittsburgh is required to withhold a Local Services Tax (LST). LST is a local tax payable by all individuals who are employed within a taxing jurisdiction imposing the tax. The annual amount of LST is $52 per year. LST is withheld monthly at $4.33 per month or $2.00 per biweekly pay. For more information on LST, read more through the City of Pittsburgh's Department of Finance website.

You may qualify for an exemption for any of the following reasons:

Multiple Employers
Expected total earned income and net profits from all sources within your work municipality will be less than $12,000*
Active Duty Military Exemption
Military Disability Exemption

* If you exceed the $12,000 income exemption, the University is required to withhold a lump sum tax equal to the amount of tax that was not withheld as a result of the exemption and continue withholding the required $4.33 per monthly pay or $2.00 per biweekly pay for the remainder of the calendar year.

Learn how to update your tax information, including Local Services Tax Exemption, by visiting the employee self-service page.