How to invoice in Pennsylvania

Your HIC registration number

Under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, contractors who do home improvement work for homeowners register with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office, and the number (it starts with PA) goes on your contracts. Registration applies once your home improvement work passes a yearly dollar threshold, so look up the current figure on the Attorney General’s site before you decide you are exempt.

Putting the number on every invoice and estimate as well is a simple habit that keeps it in front of the customer. In Paylark, choose Pennsylvania as your state and the licence label suggests “PA HIC #”, so the number prints on each invoice for you.

Written contracts and the deposit limit

Pennsylvania requires a written, signed contract for home improvement jobs above a small amount, and a contract that leaves out required terms can be unenforceable against the customer. The Attorney General’s office explains that on contracts over $5,000 you may not ask for more than one-third of the price before the work is complete, plus the cost of special-order materials written into the contract.

That affects how you invoice a big job. Split the price into a deposit that stays within the limit, then bill the rest in stages or at completion. An estimate the customer approves online with a deposit line makes the split clear.

Sales tax on services

Pennsylvania’s state sales tax is 6 percent, and most services are generally not taxed. That is not true of every service: a short list is taxable, including building maintenance and cleaning, lawn care and pest control, and the treatment of materials differs between construction work and the sale of goods.

Because the answer depends on exactly what you do, ask the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue rather than guessing. If tax applies to your work, show it as its own line so the customer sees the subtotal, the tax and the total.

What to put on a Pennsylvania invoice

• Your business name, address, phone and the registration number (PA plus digits) if you do home improvement work.
• The customer’s name and the address where the work was done.
• A unique invoice number, the invoice date and a due date written out.
• Each job or material on its own line, with the deposit already paid shown as a credit.
• Tax on its own line only if it applies to what you sold.
• How to pay, and what happens if the invoice is late.

For late fees, state the terms in the contract or estimate before the job and use the late fee calculator to see what a fee works out to. Do not add a fee the customer never agreed to.

Next steps

Philadelphia adds its own licences and taxes on top of the state rules, covered on the Philadelphia page. To see how an invoice looks to your customer, try the demo, or read the pricing. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Official sources

Check the rules with the people who write them:

• Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: pa.gov/agencies/revenue
• Pennsylvania Attorney General (home improvement registration): attorneygeneral.gov

Rules change and this page is a starting point. Confirm with your state revenue department and licensing board before you rely on it.