New PA Craft Beer Tax Goes Into Effect

PENNSYLVANIA - Pennsylvania on Tuesday beings imposing a new use tax on beer that is sold directly from breweries. The tax is calculated by multiplying 25 percent of all retail sales by the local sales tax.

In most Pennsylvania counties, the sales tax is 6 percent, so the tax is 1.5 percent. In Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, the tax is 1.75 percent.

The levy is not a sales tax but a use tax on the brewery’s sales, so you won't see it on your tab. But breweries still could pass on the increase by raising the cost of beer.

Gov. Tom Wolf signed the use tax bill into law in June.