Revenue Dept.: Pa. collected $3.8B in tax revenue in December

The state ended 2021 on a high note, collecting $3.8 billion in tax revenue in December, which was $464.3 million, or 13.7 percent, ahead of projections, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue announced Monday.

With Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s last budget address just about a month away, the state has collected $22.6 billion for the fiscal year that ends on June 30. That’s 7 percent ahead of projections, the Revenue Department said in a statement.

Here’s a look at some key tax collection metrics, based on data the Revenue Department made available on Monday.

Sales Tax: The state collected $1.2 billion in sales taxes for December, which was $101.9 million ahead of estimates. The state’s year-to-date sales tax collections total $7.0 billion. That’s $409.1 million, or 6.2 percent, more than anticipated, state data indicated.

Personal Income Tax: Income tax collections in December totaled $1.3 billion, or $59.5 million above the state’s estimate. That brought year-to-date PIT collections to $6.9 billion, which is $308.0 million, or 4.7 percent, above estimate, state date showed.

Corporate Taxes: The state collected $913.4 million in corporate taxes last month. That was $577.2 million, or 30.7 percent, above estimate, according to data released Monday.

Inheritance Taxes: The state collected $143.2 million in December, which $24.9 million above estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $755.1 million. Year-to-date collections were $50.2 million, or 7.1 percent, above estimate, the Revenue Department said.

Realty Transfer Taxes: The state collected $91.6 million in realty transfer taxes in December, which $24.5 million above estimate. That brought the fiscal-year total to $403.1 million, which is $44.0 million, or 12.2 percent, more than anticipated, the Revenue Department said in its statement.