Massachusetts Paycheck Calculator & Income Tax Rates (2026)

Massachusetts applies 2 rates to taxable income — that is, income after the state standard deduction or exemption. Only the slice of income inside each band is taxed at that band's rate.

Massachusetts's effective state rate climbs with income as more of your salary lands in higher bands. The last column shows the state rate on your next dollar at each level.

Massachusetts's joint brackets are the same as single brackets, so the marriage effect here comes from the deduction and the federal side. On $100,000 a joint return keeps $80,150 versus $74,345 for a single filer.

Massachusetts is constitutionally required to tax income at a uniform rate — Article 44 forbids graduated brackets — so the state runs a flat 5% on wages, business income, interest, dividends, and long-term capital gains. That rate is the product of a long glide path: 5.3% in 2011, stepped down in 0.05-point increments through revenue triggers until it reached 5% in 2020. The uniformity rule was amended in November 2022, when voters approved the Fair Share Amendment, a 4% surtax on the portion of taxable income above an inflation-indexed threshold — about $1.08 million for 2025 and slightly higher for 2026. The surtax applies to all income above the line, including one-time gains from selling a business or home, and makes the effective top rate 9%. Short-term capital gains are taxed at a separate 8.5% rate, cut from 12% in 2023, and gains on collectibles at 12%. There are no local income taxes anywhere in the state.

Massachusetts has no standard deduction. Personal exemptions of $4,400 single and $8,800 joint apply, plus $1,000 per dependent and $700 per spouse 65 or older. There is no federal-style itemizing, but Massachusetts allows its own deductions: half of rent paid up to $4,000, up to $2,000 of FICA tax per worker, commuter costs, dependent care, and student loan interest. Credits include an uncapped $440-per-dependent Child and Family Tax Credit and an EITC at 40% of the federal credit.

No Massachusetts city or town levies an income or wage tax; state law does not allow it. Boston, unlike New York or Philadelphia, takes nothing from paychecks beyond the state's 5%. Nonresidents working for Massachusetts employers owe Massachusetts tax only on days physically worked in the state — the pandemic-era rule that taxed New Hampshire residents on remote days ended in 2021.

The sales tax is 6.25% statewide with no local add-ons. Groceries and prescription drugs are exempt, and so is clothing up to $175 per item — a Massachusetts-specific exemption that makes back-to-school shopping cheaper than in Rhode Island or Connecticut. Restaurant meals are taxed at 6.25% plus an optional 0.75% local meals tax that most cities have adopted. New Hampshire's zero sales tax remains a permanent leak for big-ticket purchases along the border.

Property taxes are above average (about 1.1% of market value) but constrained by Proposition 2½, the 1980 law that caps a municipality's levy growth at 2.5% a year plus new construction unless voters approve an override. Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville offer a residential exemption that knocks a sizable share off owner-occupied bills. The Senior Circuit Breaker credit, worth up to roughly $2,800, refunds property tax or a share of rent exceeding 10% of income for those 65 and older.

Social Security is exempt. So are pensions from Massachusetts state and local government, federal civil service and military retirement, and public pensions from other states that reciprocate. Private-sector pensions, 401(k) withdrawals, and annuities are taxed at 5%. Traditional IRA distributions get a partial break: Massachusetts never allowed a deduction for IRA contributions, so withdrawals are tax-free until you have recovered the contributions made from Massachusetts-taxed income — only the earnings are taxed. Taxpayers 65 and older get an additional $700 exemption. A retired MBTA employee pays nothing on her pension; a retired Fidelity manager pays 5% on his 401(k) draws, and a large withdrawal or home sale that crosses the surtax line pays 9% on the excess.

Earners under the surtax line do reasonably well: 5% flat with no local tax is cheaper than New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut for a $200,000 salary. Above the line the calculus flips to 9%, and since tax year 2024 couples who file jointly federally must file jointly in Massachusetts — closing the loophole where each spouse stayed under the threshold. Dual-income couples below the line face no marriage penalty. Retired public employees pay nothing on pensions; retirees on private 401(k)s pay 5%. New Hampshire residents working remotely for Boston employers owe nothing on days worked at home.

The median household income in Massachusetts is $82,000, which is $62,582 a year ($5,215 a month) after all taxes. That is above the national median, reflecting Massachusetts's higher cost of living and correspondingly higher wages. After adjusting for cost of living, the purchasing power of that take-home is equivalent to $53,036 in an average-cost area.

Massachusetts ranks #39 of 50 for raw take-home pay and #46 for cost-adjusted purchasing power at $100,000. The 7-place gap between the two reflects an above-average cost of living that erodes what the take-home actually buys. The best state (Alaska) leaves $79,125; the worst (Oregon) leaves $70,932. Massachusetts is $4,780 behind the leader.

Massachusetts Tax Questions, Answered

Compare Massachusetts with Other Northeast States

Specific Salaries in Massachusetts