General Information
for Correct Filing of Tax Returns
For Tax Preparers and Taxpayers
This office
collects wages for South Abington Township and for the Abington Height
School District.
There are 8 municipalities in the Abington Heights School District:
Abington
Twp, Clarks Green, Clarks Summit, Glenburn,
North
Abington Twp, Newton Twp, Ransom Twp and South Abington Twp
Please
don’t assume that a Clarks Summit address means that the tax payer
lives in the Clarks Summit borough.
Please determine
your taxpayer’s proper municipality before completing their tax
returns. A helpful
reference for this is the Lackawanna County Assessor’s Office search
link: http://ao.lackawannacounty.org/agreed.php
Please remember:
For
South Abington Twp Residents,
the entire 1% wage tax is due to this office and only one local tax
return is required.
For
Non-South Abington Twp Residents
but for those who are residents of the Abington Heights School District,
½
of the 1% wage tax is due to this office for the Abington Heights School
District portion of their tax.
The remaining ½% is due to the municipality in which they
reside, or the tax collection agency for their municipality.
Thus, non-South Abington Twp residents who reside in the Abington
Heights School District must file two local tax returns; one to
South Abington Township (for the ½% school district portion of their
taxes) and one to their local municipality/tax collecting agency for its
½%.
W-2s and/or
proper documentation of income and/or losses are required for all tax
returns. A federal or state
W-2 Summary Form is not sufficient because the locality where the local
tax was sent is not shown. Likewise,
W-2s not indicating local income tax (in block 19) are not sufficient.
In the absence of local wages, as stated in block 18, use the
state wages in block 16. DO NOT default to federal wages as listed in block 1.
Checks can be
made payable to “EIT Collector”
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Important Earned
Income Tax Change for 2009
We
realize that local tax issues often take a back seat to federal and
state issues, so you may not have been aware of an important change to
the local earned income/net profits tax that could affect some of you
and your clients.
PA
Act 32 of 2008, which amends Act 511 of 1965 (the “Local Tax Enabling
Act”), changes the way business losses are treated.
In the past, taxpayers filing a local earned income tax return
were permitted to deduct a loss from an unincorporated business (for
which services are rendered) against earned income (such as wages). This
offset was allowed based on the PA Supreme Court decision in the
O’Reilly vs. Fox Chapel School District case, decided March 16, 1989.
Alternatively, a taxpayer could not offset losses from one business
against profits from another, as decided in the Aronson vs. City of
Pittsburgh case (Pa. Cmwlth. 1985).
Effective
with tax year 2009, pursuant to PA Act 32, business losses cannot be
used to offset earned income. A loss from one business, however, can
be used to offset net profits from another business. This is an
important change that should be taken into account when advising
taxpayers about estimated payments, etc. The 2009 Township of South
Abington and Abington Heights School District tax returns will be
modified to reflect this change. Be sure to check any tax preparation
software to make sure this change is incorporated. This will eliminate
incorrectly filed tax returns being returned for corrections.
Please
see examples below, which are taken from the “Frequently Asked
Questions” section of the PA Governor’s
Center
for Local Government Services webpage on Act 32:
·
If a taxpayer has a $40,000 net loss from a business selling
garden supplies and $20,000 of earned income from his job at the local
grocery store, the business loss may not be used to offset his earnings
and so taxes will be due on the full $20,000 of earned income.
·
If a taxpayer has a net loss of $30,000 from a business
selling garden supplies and a net profit of $50,000 from a business
selling used cars, and earned income of $60,000 from his job as an
accountant, the taxpayer’s local income tax liability will be based on
$20,000 of net profits and $60,000 of earned income because the taxpayer
can offset one business loss against the second business profit.
·
If a taxpayer has a net loss of $50,000 from his garden supply
business, a profit of $30,000 from his used car business and income of
$60,000 from his job as an accountant, the taxpayer’s local income tax
liability will be based on $60,000 of earned income. The loss from the
first business may be used to offset the gain from the second but the
net loss from the combined businesses cannot be used to offset earned
income.
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TAX RETURN FORMS TO DOWNLOAD
SOUTH ABINGTON TOWNSHIP RESIDENTS
Please note that the
first download is for South Abington Residents ONLY.
This form includes your
South Abington Township Wage Tax Information
RESIDENTS OF OTHER MUNICIPALITIES
*****
Please use this form to file for
your Local Services Tax Exemption.
Click
Here to See Reasons for Exemption
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Real Estate Taxes
|
Scott Thorpe
South Abington Township
Real Estate Tax Collector
|
In Lackawanna County, the basis for real estate tax is assessed
valuation. Each property within the county is assessed by the Lackawanna
County Tax Assessor's Office. This rate is reviewed each year and is
subject to change.
There are three separate taxes levied every year on each property
within the county. The Lackawanna County tax, the SOUTH ABINGTON
TOWNSHIP tax and the Abington Heights School District tax.
According to Pennsylvania law, the County Commissioners, the Township
Supervisors and the School District Board of Directors each have
independent authority to set the rate of taxation for properties within
their boundaries. This rate is expressed in millage (a mill is
equivalent to $1 of tax for each $1,000 of assessed valuation).
