The Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Return (REV-1500): Who Files It, Where It Goes, and the 5% Discount
The Pennsylvania inheritance tax return is form REV-1500. Two things about it catch people out, and both are avoidable.
It is filed with the county, not with Harrisburg
The return is filed in duplicate with the Register of Wills of the county where the person lived — not sent to the Department of Revenue directly.
That is the rule when the person was a Pennsylvania resident at death. If they lived elsewhere but owned property here — the retired parent who moved south and kept the house — it is a different form, the REV-1737-A, and that one does go directly to the Department of Revenue in Harrisburg. Filing it with the county will get it returned, and the nine-month clock does not stop while that happens.
For Lehigh Valley families that means Lehigh County in Allentown or Northampton County in Easton.
The 5% discount, precisely
This page is where we set out the discount in full, because it is stated loosely almost everywhere else.
Pay within three months of the date of death and you receive a discount of 5% of the tax paid, or of the tax ultimately due, whichever is less. That qualifier is the part competitors routinely drop, and it matters: overpaying early does not earn you a bigger discount.
In practice this means making a sensible estimated payment early, not waiting until the figures are final. Most estates are nowhere near settled at three months, and that is not a reason to miss it.
Who files when there is no executor
If there is no will and no personal representative has been appointed, the obligation falls on the person who receives the property. Assets that pass outside the estate — joint accounts, beneficiary designations — still have to be reported, and the recipient is the one who has to do it.
This is how people end up with a tax obligation they never knew existed, months after receiving money they assumed was simply theirs.
The nine-month deadline
The return and any balance are due nine months after death. Interest runs after that.
See also our guide to the Pennsylvania inheritance tax and to reducing the bill.
Talk it through
Most of what worries people here comes down to two questions: how much, and by when. Both are usually answerable quickly once someone has seen the actual assets.
Joseph F. Leeson III trained and practiced as a CPA before he practiced law — four years in tax accounting at an international public accounting firm and a large financial corporation. He holds a JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and an MBA in accounting from DeSales University, and was named to MSN’s Legal Powerlist: 2026’s Most Respected Lawyers.
This page explains general principles of Pennsylvania law and is not legal advice for your situation. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. Please speak to us before acting on anything here.