Understanding Township finances starts with a basic distinction: taxes, fees, and utility-style charges are not all the same thing. In Upper Allen Township, residents may encounter real estate taxes, earned income tax, local services tax, real estate transfer tax, stormwater fees, sewer charges, and a wide range of permit and application fees. The Township’s official Financial Documents page publishes budget and fee materials, including the 2026 Budget and Summary and 2026 Fee Schedule.

Upper Allen Township’s real estate tax is one part of a broader property-tax picture that also includes county and school taxes. For Township and County real estate taxes, the elected tax collector states that bills are mailed on or about March 1, with a 2% discount if postmarked by April 30 and the face amount due by June 30. For school real estate taxes, bills are mailed on or about July 1, with a 2% discount if postmarked by August 31 and the face amount due by October 31. Unpaid County/Township taxes after December 31 are turned over to the Cumberland County Tax Claim Bureau for collection

The Township’s most recently indexed adopted budget ordinance and budget summary show the general-purpose real estate tax rate at 1.55 mills, which is $0.155 per $100 of assessed valuation. The 2025 adopted budget materials also show that real estate tax is one of the Township’s major General Fund revenue sources. The Township’s 2024 adopted budget ordinance likewise used 1.55 mills for the general real estate tax.

Upper Allen Township’s elected tax collector is Sharon Shipman. The Township lists the tax office mailing address as 275 Cumberland Parkway, #325, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055, and the office location inside the Township building at 100 Gettysburg Pike. The Township also says the tax office is open to walk-in traffic and provides both an indoor collection box and an outdoor lock box for payments. 

The Township also directs residents elsewhere for some tax-related matters. For example, the Township says property tax/rent rebate forms are through the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, while assessed value and appeal process information is through the Cumberland County Assessment Office. 

Upper Allen Township also receives revenue from earned income tax, which is a local Act 511 tax collected countywide through the Cumberland County Tax Bureau system. The Cumberland County Tax Bureau’s current tax-rate materials list Upper Allen Township (PSD 210603) with a resident earned income tax rate of 1.70% total, broken out as 0.50% municipal and 1.20% school district. The same current materials show a nonresident municipal EIT rate of 1.00% for work performed in Upper Allen Township. 

Upper Allen’s budget materials also identify income tax as one of the Township’s major General Fund revenue sources, along with real estate tax, real estate transfer tax, local services tax, and departmental revenues. 

Upper Allen Township also levies a Local Services Tax. Current Cumberland County Tax Bureau materials show $52.00 as the total Local Services Tax associated with Upper Allen Township. In Township code, Upper Allen states that no less than 25% of the funds derived from the Local Services Tax must be used for emergency services. 

That matters because the Local Services Tax is not just a general background number. It is one of the Township’s identified local enabling taxes and is tied by ordinance, at least in part, to emergency-service support. 

Upper Allen Township’s budget materials identify real estate transfer tax as another local enabling tax that helps support the General Fund. In other words, Township revenue does not come only from annual property taxes. It also comes from transaction-based sources like transfer tax, as well as earned income tax and local services tax.

Upper Allen Township’s stormwater utility fee is separate from ordinary real estate taxes. The Township’s Stormwater Authority page explains that the fee is based on the amount of impervious surface on a property, such as buildings and parking areas. The page says that one ERU (Equivalent Residential Unit) was based on an average single-family lot with 4,206 square feet of impervious coverage, and that one ERU is valued at $66 per year, or $16.50 per quarter. 

The Township also publishes a stormwater utility fee credit manual. That manual explains that eligible property owners may apply for credits to reduce stormwater charges, but credits are applied to the impervious-area calculation, not directly as a flat-dollar discount to any parcel regardless of conditions. The manual also states minimum ERU floors for credit eligibility and says applicants must be in good standing on stormwater and certain sewer-related obligations.  

The 2025 fee schedule confirms that the stormwater utility fee is charged per ERU per quarter, but notes that the amount is set “by resolution of the Township Authority,” which reinforces that this fee operates through a separate stormwater authority framework rather than as part of the ordinary real estate tax millage.

Upper Allen Township also charges sewer rental and sewer-related fees separately from ordinary taxes. In the indexed 2025 Township fee schedule, the residential sewer rental is listed as $99.50 per dwelling unit per quarter. The same schedule also lists tapping and capacity-related fees, including a $965 collection portion and $1,840 capacity portion per EDU, plus certain special district reimbursement components. 

The fee schedule also lists nonresidential sewer charges, late-payment terms, sewer inspection escrows, connection inspection fees, and on-lot sewage disposal permit and administrative fees. That is important for a public-facing page because it shows that “Township costs” are not all bundled into one tax bill; some are billed and administered through separate utility and regulatory systems.

Upper Allen Township publishes a broad fee schedule that covers many day-to-day municipal charges. In the indexed schedule, examples include a $40 zoning permit fee, $40 sign permit fee for the zoning portion, $600 applications for special exceptions and variances before the Zoning Hearing Board, and a drainage/stormwater management plan charge of $25 review/processing plus a $750 engineer escrow, along with additional review costs where applicable. 

The fee schedule also includes charges for document copies, police reports, room rentals, returned checks, duplicate tax bills, tax certifications, inspections, and engineering/staff time. In other words, a “fees” page for residents should not be limited to permits alone; Upper Allen’s official schedule is much broader than that.

The Township’s Financial Documents center lists annual budgets, annual financial reports, and fee schedules. The latest detailed budget summary that was clearly retrievable in public search results is the 2025 budget summary, which states that the 2025 Upper Allen Township Budget includes $30,452,120 in budgeted expenditures split over fourteen funds. That summary says the budget funds municipal operations including public safety, capital infrastructure, sewer operations, and other Township functions. The same page also shows that the Township’s document center now lists a 2026 Budget and Summary as an official public document. 

For the 2025 General Fund, the indexed summary states that revenue was budgeted at $11,958,286 and expenditures at $14,237,967. It identifies the main revenue sources as 1.55 mills of real estate tax, income tax, property transfer tax, Local Services Tax, and departmental revenues. 

A straightforward public explanation would be this: Upper Allen Township funding comes from a mix of taxes, fees, and utility-style charges. Property owners may pay Township/county/school real estate taxes, while workers may pay earned income tax and local services tax. Separate systems exist for stormwater and sewer billing. On top of that, applicants, developers, businesses, and residents may encounter permit, inspection, and application fees depending on the activity involved.

• Real estate taxes are only one part of the picture. Upper Allen also relies on earned income tax, Local Services Tax, real estate transfer tax, and departmental revenues.
  
  

• Stormwater is a separate utility-style fee system, based on impervious area, not just a line on the ordinary tax bill.
  
  

• Sewer charges are also separate, with their own rental, tapping, inspection, and related fees.
  
  

• The Township publishes official materials through its Financial Documents page, including the 2026 Budget and Summary and 2026 Fee Schedule.