Pa. General Fund revenue tops forecast with $6.2B in April

• Personal income tax collections were $287M above estimate

• Sales tax revenue exceeded expectations by $84.9M

• Year-to-date General Fund revenue is $39.4B, nearly 1% above projections

Pennsylvania Revenue Secretary Pat Browne announced that $6.2 billion was collected in General Fund revenue in April, $363.2 million (6.2%) above expectations.

Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $39.4 billion, $328.8 million more than anticipated.

“It’s very encouraging to see our revenue collections for this month — especially for personal income tax — well ahead of our projections. April is always an important month for personal income tax because of the tax season filing deadline falling on the 15th,” Browne said in a statement. “Our overall revenue collections for the current fiscal year are also within 1 percent of our original estimate. That’s a testament to the good work our research staff has done to build our forecast and keep us on track.”

April’s sales tax receipts totaled $1.3 billion, which is $84.9 million more than anticipated. Year-to-date sales tax collections total $12.2 billion, $103.7 million above expectations.

Personal income tax (PIT) revenue for the month was $3.5 billion, $287.0 million above estimate. Year-to-date PIT collections are $16.1 billion, which is $191.0 million more than estimated.

April’s corporation tax revenue of $729.3 million was $38.6 million below estimate. Year-to-date corporation tax collections total $6.8 billion, $2.6 million more than expected.

Inheritance tax revenue for April was $146.9 million, $1.5 million above estimate. The year-to-date total of $1.4 billion is $18.8 million above expectations.

April’s realty transfer tax revenue of $51.6 million was $0.5 million below estimate, and brings the fiscal-year total to $475.4 million, $10.7 million more than anticipated.

Other General Fund tax revenue, including cigarette, malt beverage, liquor and gaming taxes, totaled $15.8 million for the month, $15.6 million below estimate. The year-to-date total is $1.1 billion, which is $29.7 million below expectations.

April’s non-tax revenue totaled $417.2 million, $44.4 million more than expected. The year-to-date total of $1.3 billion is $31.8 million above estimate.

The Motor License Fund received $250.9 million for the month, $20.1 million below estimate. Fiscal year-to-date collections for the fund total $2.5 billion, which is $49.9 million more than anticipated.