Here’s a road map of taxes you will encounter as a resident of Centre County. This list covers individual taxes only. There also are various business taxes.

Real estate taxes

School districts, the county and your municipality (either a township or borough) split the proceeds from the annual real estate tax, with your school district getting the biggest share. The county assessor’s office establishes the market value of real estate, and the three tax rates in mills are levied on half of that value.

A mill generates $1 in tax for every $1,000 of taxable value.

For example, a Bellefonte resident with a home valued at $100,000 would multiply total millage (62.23) by half the market value of the home ($50,000) and divide by 1,000 for a total tax bill of $3,111.50.

The tax rates are determined by elected officials of the school district, municipality and county.

Real estate tax bills are mailed in March.

Earned-income tax
A tax on earned income varies from .50 to 2.50 percent, depending on your municipality and school district. For example, taxpayers in Penn Township pay 1.8 percent: 0.5 percent goes to the municipality and 1.3 percent to the Penns Valley Area School District. By comparison, Bellefonte Borough taxpayers pay 1.65 percent: 0.6 percent goes to the municipality and 1.05 goes to the Bellefonte Area School District. File an annual tax return with your township or borough.

Local Services Tax

School districts and municipalities can levy this tax on people who work in the district or municipality. The tax can be as high as $52, with $5 going to the school district and the rest going to the municipality. Anyone earning less than $12,000 is generally exempt from the tax, along with active-duty military personnel and honorably discharged veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability.  

State Taxes
Pennsylvania levies a flat 3.07 percent income tax and a 6 percent sales tax.

The sales tax is placed on most goods and services other than groceries and clothing. The income tax is paid through payroll withholding.

Real estate transfer tax

Real estate transfer taxes add up to 2 percent in all but three Centre County municipalities. The state gets 1 percent and the school district and municipality evenly split the other 1 percent. The rate totals 2.75 percent in Ferguson Township, 2.75 percent in State College and 1.5 percent in Taylor Township.

Per-capita tax

Another nuisance tax is a $5 or $10 per capita tax on each resident age 18 and older in about half of Centre County municipalities and a $10 per capita tax in the Bald Eagle Area and Penns Valley Area school districts.