Taxpayers who have filed and pre-paid the Use and Occupancy (U&O) tax can get a refund for the period their businesses were forced to close during the COVID-19 health emergency. U&O tax is normally due on the 25th day of each month for anyone whose business uses or occupies real estate in Philadelphia.

Persons subject to the Tax include  landlords, tenants, or sub-tenants who use the Philadelphia property for business purposes. Receiving a refund is a two-step process:

• First, file an amendment to your annual or monthly return.
• Then, complete and submit a refund petition.

Landlords who get a refund on behalf of their tenants must reimburse the amount received back to their tenants.

We’re encouraging taxpayers who pre-paid the Tax to wait until they can file one amended return to cover the entire period of forced closure. With limited staff processing refunds due to the City’s closure, returns may take longer to process. The average turnaround time for refunds is currently six to eight weeks.

To learn how to calculate your U&O Tax refund, please see our COVID-19 guidance page. It includes easy-to-use formulas for each filing type. Once you have calculated your refund amount, you will need to submit a refund petition. Read the Philadelphia Department of Revenue’s U&O guidance document for further details.

We realize closure orders affected different businesses in different ways. If you have a question about a U&O Tax refund and your specific situation, please email revenuetaxadvisers@phila.gov.