L&I refund request information sheet – Philadelphia, PA

The L&I refund request information sheet is a two-page City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) document that explains which permit, license and property certification fees may be refunded and how to request the refund through the Department of Revenue.

The sheet works in two stages. L&I must first authorize the refund of a fee. Only then does the Department of Revenue process the refund petition. The petition itself is a separate form, the General Refund Petition, which you file with the 'License and Permits' refund type selected.

According to the sheet, fees that may be refunded include:

• cancelled or abandoned permits, where only part of the permit fee may be refunded and a processing fee is subtracted;
• duplicate payments made in error;
• permit or license fee overcharges.

The sheet also lists fees that are not refundable, such as filing fees, reinspection fees and fees for revoked or suspended permits and licenses. It does not apply to Development Impact Tax (DIT) collected through the eCLIPSE portal, because DIT refunds are authorized solely by the Department of Revenue. The sheet covers L&I fees only and says nothing about real estate or property tax bills.

The permit or license holder, or their authorized agent, files the refund petition that this sheet describes. Use it if you paid an L&I fee and think part of it should come back, for example because a permit was cancelled or abandoned, you paid the same fee twice by mistake, or you were overcharged for a permit or license.

Check the exclusions before you file. The sheet says these fees are non-refundable:

• filing fees, including those for permit amendments;
• cancelled permits whose associated fee is at or below the threshold printed on the sheet;
• fees for accelerated review completed in 5 business days, and accelerated surcharges;
• license and property certification fees, except duplicate payments and overcharges;
• reinspection fees;
• revoked or suspended permits and licenses.

Do not use this sheet for Development Impact Tax (DIT) collected through the eCLIPSE portal. Those refunds are authorized solely by the Department of Revenue.

All refund petitions must be filed within 3 years of the payment date. The exception is a cancelled permit: the petition for it must be submitted within 18 months of permit issuance.

After you submit, the Department of Revenue will authorize a refund or issue a rejection letter within 8 weeks of submission. The sheet says to allow additional time if the petition goes by postal mail. Any outstanding taxes and liens are deducted from the refund amount.

If the outcome is not in your favor, you have the right to appeal to the Tax Review Board within 90 days of the date of the Department of Revenue's decision letter.

You submit the refund petition, not the information sheet, to the Philadelphia Department of Revenue by email or by postal mail.

• Email: send the completed General Refund Petition, with the 'License and Permits' refund type selected, to [email protected].
• Postal mail: Philadelphia Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 1137, Philadelphia PA 19102. Allow additional processing time for mailed petitions.

L&I must authorize the refund before the Department of Revenue processes the petition. For questions about refund status, contact the Department of Revenue at [email protected] or 215-686-6574, 6575, 6578. The sheet names no other channel. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.