Bristol Township Tax Plan Could Shift Costs in Bucks County

Bristol Township Tax Plan Could Shift Costs in Bucks County

Bristol Township officials will present a plan to raise the earned income tax to 1 percent while studying property-tax relief for some residents.

Joe Downing
5–7 minutes

Thursday night’s council meeting in Bristol Township is about a tax a lot of residents already pay, just not to Bristol Township. According to a LevittownNow report, the Bristol Township council will hear a proposal to raise the township earned income tax from 0.5 percent to 1 percent for 2027. Township officials say the change could pull more local wage-tax revenue back into the township, while some residents who both live and work in Bristol Township could see part of that offset through lower property taxes. If you follow our Levittown-area coverage or more of our Bucks County news coverage, you know these local tax shifts tend to land far outside the finance column.

Bristol Township could double its earned income tax rate

LevittownNow reported that the current municipal earned income tax is 0.5 percent, and township officials are preparing to pitch a full 1 percent rate during Thursday’s 7 p.m. council meeting at the municipal building on Bath Road. The report said the township is working from a $76.3 million annual budget and has kept its municipal tax rate fairly steady since 2010, while also dropping the old $10 per-capita tax in 2024 and making a small fire-service tax change in 2025.

According to the township’s explanation, as summarized by LevittownNow, the pitch is not built around a fiscal emergency. Officials said Bristol Township is stable now, but rising operating costs and service demands are opening future budget gaps. That is usually how these fights start in Bucks County. A town sees costs climbing for police, roads, snow, equipment, parks, or contract work, and elected officials go looking for a tax mix they think residents will swallow.

LevittownNow also reported that the average homeowner with a property assessed at $20,000 now pays $499.60 a year in township real estate taxes, or about $41.63 a month. As background, that assessed number is not the same as a home’s market value, which is why a house that would sell for far more can still carry a much lower tax assessment in county records maintained through Bucks County government.

As background, Pennsylvania municipalities can rely on both property taxes and local wage taxes under state law, which is one reason tax bills look very different from town to town across Pennsylvania. An earned income tax hits wages, salaries, bonuses, and tips. According to township officials in the LevittownNow report, it does not apply to Social Security, pensions, or other retirement income.

What This Means for Bucks County Residents

According to township officials, about 70 percent of Bristol Township residents would see no increase in their overall local tax burden because they already work in places that charge at least a 1 percent earned income tax. Under Pennsylvania’s system, that local wage tax generally follows the worker first, so if Bristol Township raises its own rate to 1 percent, the township would collect that revenue instead of leaving it with the municipality where the job is located. Officials told LevittownNow that this group also includes residents who work in Philadelphia and already pay that city’s much higher wage tax.

For the other 30 percent of residents, the math gets trickier. LevittownNow reported that the township is studying a millage cut to offset the higher earned income tax for people who both live and work in Bristol Township. Officials are also considering waivers for income-eligible residents, and the report said some retired senior homeowners could actually end up with a lower local tax bill if council pairs the wage-tax hike with property-tax relief.

The countywide backdrop helps explain why Bristol Township thinks now is the time to make this case. LevittownNow noted that Falls Township adopted an earned income tax in 2023, Yardley Borough recently approved one, and Middletown Township moved from 0.5 percent to 1 percent in its 2026 budget. By contrast, the report said nearby Bristol Borough and Lower Makefield Township do not levy a municipal earned income tax. That patchwork is familiar in Bucks County. Two neighboring municipalities can lean on totally different tax structures even when their residents use the same roads and shop at the same stores.

One other point in the township’s presentation deserves a close look. Officials said Bristol Township property owners already face one of the higher total millage rates in Bucks County, but most of that bill goes to the separate Bristol Township School District, not the municipal government. That does not make the council’s proposal painless. It does explain why township leaders think they have room to reshuffle the municipal side of the bill without selling this as a straight tax grab.

Silver Lake in Bristol
Silver Lake in Bristol

Thursday’s Bristol Township meeting is the first public test

LevittownNow reported that residents can submit questions and comments on Facebook ahead of the meeting and speak in person during Thursday night’s council session. That meeting will be the first chance for the public to hear the full pitch in one place, not as rumor, screenshot, or half-remembered tax talk at Wawa.

The idea has been coming for a while. LevittownNow cited Council President Craig Bowen saying in the spring that the township’s goal, if it raised the earned income tax, was to reduce millage as well. That earlier comment suggests council knows exactly where the resistance will come from. People who work inside the township will want to see real numbers, not broad promises about balancing things out later.

There is also a timing issue. Because the proposal is being framed for 2027, council still has room to change the rate, pair it with a different property-tax cut, or walk away if residents hammer it hard enough. In Bucks County, tax proposals often sound cleaner in a slide deck than they do once households start comparing pay stubs, assessed values, and who comes out ahead.

Industrial site in Bucks County
Industrial site in Bucks County

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Bristol Township municipal building, 2501 Bath Road. Residents who want the township’s version of the numbers should watch the presentation and check updates through the township website after the meeting.

Sources and Further Reading

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