Massachusetts has a flat 5.00 percent individual income tax rate, with a 4 percent surtax on income over $1 million (adjusted for inflation), resulting in a top rate of 9.00 percent. Massachusetts has a flat 8.00 percent corporate income tax rate, a 6.25 percent state sales tax rate, and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 6.25 percent. Massachusetts has a 1.00 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value. Massachusetts has an estate tax. Massachusetts’s gas tax is 27.56 cents per gallon, and its cigarette excise tax is $3.51 per pack of 20 cigarettes.
Massachusetts raises tax revenue primarily through individual income taxes (34.3 percent of total state and local tax revenue), property taxes (33.1 percent), and general sales taxes (14.6 percent). Massachusetts collects $9,076 in state and local tax collections per capita, carries $13,400 in state and local debt per capita, and has a 76 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. Massachusetts’s tax system ranks 43rd overall on the 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and Massachusetts is no exception. Use the tabs below to compare Massachusetts taxes with other states and to see how Massachusetts raises tax revenue. You can also browse our tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2026: How Does Your State Compare?
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The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
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Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
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Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
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Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for nearly a quarter of combined state and local tax collections.
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Forty-four states levy a corporate income tax, with top rates ranging from a 2 percent flat rate in North Carolina to an 11.5 percent top marginal rate in New Jersey. Four states—Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania—reduced their corporate income tax rates effective January 1, 2026.
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Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments. While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, property taxes are largely rooted in the benefit principle of taxation: the people paying the property tax bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services.
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The state EV taxation landscape reflects the evolving transportation sector and the pressing need to address both fiscal gaps in road funding and environmental concerns.
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Any move to repeal the cap or enhance the deduction would disproportionately benefit higher earners, making the tax code more regressive.
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Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments and generate a significant share of state and local revenues.
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If the policy goal of taxing cigarettes is to encourage cessation, vapor taxation must be considered a part of that policy design.
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As more and more states move away from throwback or throwout rules, those states that still impose these rules are becoming less attractive for businesses, which are incentivized to relocate their sales activities to non-throwback states.
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California pumps out the highest state gas tax rate of 77.9 cents per gallon (cpg), followed by Illinois (66.5 cpg) and Pennsylvania (62.2 cpg).
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A bill introduced in the Massachusetts House, (H. 74) would expand funding for community media programming by imposing a new tax on the gross revenues of digital streaming service providers. The sentiment is understandable, but the proposed solution leaves much to be desired.
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However well-intended they may be, sales tax holidays remain the same as they always have been—ineffective and inefficient.
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Compare the latest 2023 sales tax rates as of July 1st. Sales tax rate differentials can induce consumers to shop across borders or buy products online.
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Taxes are the single most expensive ingredient in beer, costing more than the labor and raw materials combined.
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