Is clothing taxable in Pennsylvania?

Generally not. REV-717 says clothing is nontaxable except formal day or evening apparel, certain fur articles, and sporting goods and clothing normally worn when engaged in sports. Accessories are listed one by one: belts, scarves and everyday headwear are nontaxable, while umbrellas, handkerchiefs and accessories and ornamental wear are taxable. Confirm with the Department of Revenue; this is not tax advice.

What is the Pennsylvania sales tax rate, and are there local taxes?

The state rate is 6 percent. The Department says a 1 percent local tax is added in Allegheny County and a 2 percent local tax in Philadelphia, so 7 percent and 8 percent there. Confirm any other address with the Department.

When does an out-of-state seller have to register in Pennsylvania?

The Department's online retailer page sets the economic presence line at 100,000 dollars in annual Pennsylvania gross sales across all channels, measured by calendar year, with no transaction count. REV-717 says a license is required of out-of-state retailers with more than 100,000 dollars of gross sales into the state in the previous calendar year. (The online retailer page words the line as at least in one place and greater than in another, so confirm the exact edge.) Confirm your own position with the Department; this is not tax advice.

Does shipping get taxed on an exempt shirt?

REV-717 says tax is collected on the full purchase price without deduction for shipping, handling or delivery, but it does not say how that applies to an exempt item. The sources read for this page do not settle it, so ask the Department before you advertise either way.

Pennsylvania's clothing exemption and a buy-X-get-Y apparel offer

Pennsylvania charges a 6 percent state sales tax and exempts most clothing, which makes it an easy state to sell a shirt in and a tricky one to sell a shirt with a gift in. The Department of Revenue's retailer guide generally treats clothing as nontaxable except three groups, formal day or evening apparel, fur, and sporting goods and clothing worn for sports, and then goes item by item through accessories: a belt or a scarf is nontaxable, an umbrella or a handkerchief is taxable. For a Shopify store that runs a buy-X-get-Y offer, the choice of the second product decides which line of the guide it falls under. This page sets out the lines the Department publishes, the local rates, the remote seller test, and an offer plan that pairs everyday clothing with everyday clothing.

Updated October 10, 2026 · 11 sourced facts

Aerial view of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in Philadelphia, with container stacks, blue cranes at the berth and a green-towered bridge crossing the Delaware River toward the city — Photo: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons

Shipping into the state

Pennsylvania has 44,743 square miles of land, and PhilaPort, its container port in Philadelphia, reports 889,268 TEUs for 2025, more than six in ten of its imports refrigerated. The tax question that follows a parcel is narrower: REV-717 taxes the full purchase price including shipping and handling, and it does not say how shipping on an exempt shirt is treated, so a free shipping banner on an apparel order is a question for the Department, not an assumption.

Source: PhilaPort: PhilaPort Closes 2025 With Record Container Volume (Jan. 13, 2026)

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Retailers' Information Guide, REV-717 (SU) 02-26

Source: U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010)

A buy-X-get-Y apparel offer built from exempt items

Before you pick the pair
List what you would pair and check each item against REV-717. A shirt is everyday clothing and generally nontaxable; a cap is headwear for everyday wear and nontaxable; a belt or a scarf is nontaxable. Keep the pair inside the nontaxable list so the whole order stays untaxed.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Retailers' Information Guide, REV-717 (SU) 02-26
When you choose the second product
Avoid items the guides name as taxable: umbrellas, handkerchiefs, backpacks, jewelry, gloves made for sports, swimming suits and anything sold as formal wear. A cheap taxable gift on an otherwise exempt order is the easy mistake in a buy-X-get-Y offer.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Retailers' Information Guide, REV-717 (SU) 02-26
Before you add a sports line
REV-717 carves out sporting goods and clothing normally worn when engaged in sports. If your catalog mixes athleisure and gym wear, sort each product by how the guide would class it, and ask the Department about borderline pieces before you promise the offer in a banner.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Retailers' Information Guide, REV-717 (SU) 02-26
When you write the shipping line
Do not tell shoppers that shipping on exempt clothing is untaxed unless the Department confirms it. REV-717 collects tax on the full purchase price including shipping, handling and delivery, and does not address shipping on an exempt item.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Retailers' Information Guide, REV-717 (SU) 02-26
As Pennsylvania sales grow
Track gross sales into the state by calendar year across every channel, taxable and nontaxable. The Department's line is 100,000 dollars, and a store whose offer lifts volume can reach it before it expects to.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Online Retailers

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Questions merchants ask

Is clothing taxable in Pennsylvania?: Generally not. REV-717 says clothing is nontaxable except formal day or evening apparel, certain fur articles, and sporting goods and clothing normally worn when engaged in sports. Accessories are listed one by one: belts, scarves and everyday headwear are nontaxable, while umbrellas, handkerchiefs and accessories and ornamental wear are taxable. Confirm with the Department of Revenue; this is not tax advice.
What is the Pennsylvania sales tax rate, and are there local taxes?: The state rate is 6 percent. The Department says a 1 percent local tax is added in Allegheny County and a 2 percent local tax in Philadelphia, so 7 percent and 8 percent there. Confirm any other address with the Department.
When does an out-of-state seller have to register in Pennsylvania?: The Department's online retailer page sets the economic presence line at 100,000 dollars in annual Pennsylvania gross sales across all channels, measured by calendar year, with no transaction count. REV-717 says a license is required of out-of-state retailers with more than 100,000 dollars of gross sales into the state in the previous calendar year. (The online retailer page words the line as at least in one place and greater than in another, so confirm the exact edge.) Confirm your own position with the Department; this is not tax advice.
Does shipping get taxed on an exempt shirt?: REV-717 says tax is collected on the full purchase price without deduction for shipping, handling or delivery, but it does not say how that applies to an exempt item. The sources read for this page do not settle it, so ask the Department before you advertise either way.

Cities in Pennsylvania

PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia's 2 percent sales tax now follows the delivery address, and the Flower Show runs March 12 to 21, 2027. Dates and an offer plan for Shopify stores.
PittsburghAnthrocon lists July 1 to 4, 2027, and downtown festivals fill June and July. A live-offers plan for Pittsburgh Shopify stores, from the dates posted so far.

Facts and sources

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue says the state sales tax rate is 6 percent, that a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and that a 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia, which makes the totals 7 percent and 8 percent.
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax (accessed October 10, 2026)
REV-717 says clothing is generally nontaxable except formal day or evening apparel, articles of real, imitation or synthetic fur where the fur is more than three times the value of the next most valuable component material, and sporting goods and clothing normally worn or used when engaged in sports.
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Retailers' Information Guide, REV-717 (SU) 02-26 (accessed October 10, 2026)
REV-717's clothing list marks belts and suspenders, neckwear and ties, scarves for headwear and neckwear, headwear for everyday wear, boots and shoes designed for everyday wear, rainwear and imprinted T-shirts as nontaxable.
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Retailers' Information Guide, REV-717 (SU) 02-26 (accessed October 10, 2026)
REV-717's clothing list marks accessories and ornamental wear, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, tuxedos, prom dresses, bridal apparel and accessories, costumes, graduation caps and gowns, swimming suits, biking clothing, safety clothing and helmets as taxable.
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Retailers' Information Guide, REV-717 (SU) 02-26 (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Pennsylvania Business One-Stop guide for clothing stores and boutiques says a seller does not need to collect sales tax on everyday ordinary wearing apparel, and that items such as backpacks, jewelry and formal wear are subject to sales tax.
Pennsylvania Business One-Stop Hub: Business Licensing Reference Guides, Clothing Stores and Boutiques (revised Apr. 4, 2025) (accessed October 10, 2026)
REV-717 says sales tax is to be collected on the full purchase price without any deduction on account of the cost of labor, shipping, handling, delivery or installation, and the guide does not break out shipping on an item that is itself exempt.
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Retailers' Information Guide, REV-717 (SU) 02-26 (accessed October 10, 2026)
REV-717 says a sales tax license is required of out-of-state retailers who make more than 100,000 dollars of gross sales into Pennsylvania in the previous calendar year.
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Retailers' Information Guide, REV-717 (SU) 02-26 (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department's online retailer page sets the economic presence line at at least 100,000 dollars of annual Pennsylvania gross sales, counts the gross amount on all channels including taxable and nontaxable sales, measures the threshold by calendar year, and applies no minimum number of transactions.
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Online Retailers (accessed October 10, 2026)
PhilaPort reports that it handled a record 889,268 twenty-foot equivalent units in calendar year 2025, a 6 percent increase over 2024 and 39 percent above its 2020 volume.
PhilaPort: PhilaPort Closes 2025 With Record Container Volume (Jan. 13, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
PhilaPort says 64 percent of its containerized imports in 2025 were refrigerated, which it presents as the port's role as an East Coast hub for perishable goods and cold-chain cargo.
PhilaPort: PhilaPort Closes 2025 With Record Container Volume (Jan. 13, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Pennsylvania has 44,743 square miles of land area and 46,054 square miles in total.
U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010) (accessed October 10, 2026)

Not tax advice. Confirm current rules with the state revenue department before you rely on a date or an exemption.

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