Massachusetts Paycheck & Income Tax Calculator

How Massachusetts income tax works

Massachusetts applies a flat 5% to most income. There is no standard deduction — the only relief for a typical wage earner is a personal exemption of $4,400, or $8,800 for a married couple filing jointly.

A single filer on $75,000 is therefore taxed on $70,600 and pays $3,530 in state income tax. Two employee-funded premiums also come out of the paycheck, and both are included in the breakdown above.

The absence of a standard deduction is what makes Massachusetts feel heavier than its 5% headline suggests. Neighboring states shelter far more before their rates apply — Virginia takes $9,680 off, New York $8,000, Connecticut a $15,000 exemption. Massachusetts shelters $4,400, so a larger share of your salary meets the rate.

No Massachusetts city or town levies an income tax, so unlike Ohio, Michigan or Pennsylvania there is no municipal layer to add.

The millionaire’s surtax

Massachusetts spent decades with a genuinely flat income tax, constitutionally required to be uniform. That changed in 2022, when voters approved a constitutional amendment adding a 4% surtax on taxable income above a threshold — commonly called the millionaire’s tax.

For 2026 the threshold is $1,107,750, and it is indexed to inflation, so it moves every year. Above that line the combined rate is 9%.

Two things are widely misunderstood about it. First, the surtax applies only to the amount above the threshold, not to your whole income — someone on $1.2 million pays 5% on the first $1,107,750 and 9% on the remaining $92,250, not 9% on everything. Second, it catches one-off events, not just high salaries. Selling a business or a long-held property can push a normally ordinary income over the line for a single year, which is why the surtax affects far more people occasionally than it does annually.

Note also that Tax Foundation’s 2026 table gives the threshold as $1,083,150. That is the 2025 figure; the Department of Revenue’s own 2026 guidance gives $1,107,750.

The paid-leave premium on your payslip

Massachusetts runs a state paid family and medical leave program, and employees fund part of it directly.

For 2026 the employee share is 0.46% of eligible wages — 0.28% toward medical leave and 0.18% toward family leave — applied up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500. On a $75,000 salary that is about $345 a year.

Employers with 25 or more covered individuals pay an additional share on top; smaller employers are not required to, but still withhold the employee portion.

It is a modest figure, but it is real and it appears on every Massachusetts payslip. A take-home estimate that leaves it out is optimistic by roughly the cost of a month’s utilities.

Take-home pay at every salary in Massachusetts

After federal tax, the flat 5% state tax, FICA and the PFML employee premium. With no local income tax, these figures hold anywhere in the state — Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Cambridge alike.

What lands in your account each payday

On $75,000 a year in Massachusetts, filing single, split across the pay schedules employers actually use.

Short-term gains are taxed at 8.5%

Massachusetts does something few states do: it taxes short-term capital gains at a different, higher rate than everything else.

Gains on assets held a year or less are taxed at 8.5%, against the ordinary 5% that applies to wages and to long-term gains. That is a meaningful gap, and it is a state-level distinction with no federal parallel in structure — federally, short-term gains are simply taxed as ordinary income.

For anyone trading actively, or holding equity compensation that vests and is sold quickly, this changes the arithmetic materially. Holding an asset past the one-year mark cuts the Massachusetts rate by more than a third, on top of the federal long-term rate benefit.

Interest and dividends are taxed at the ordinary 5%. The calculator above models wage income only and does not apply any of these rates.

Dates that matter for the 2026 tax year

Massachusetts returns (Form 1) are due on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday in April, rather than April 15 — one of only two states that shifts the deadline for a state holiday. In practice that gives Massachusetts filers a day or two more than the rest of the country.

Estimated payments, if required, fall quarterly in April, June, September and the following January.

Questions people ask

What is the Massachusetts income tax rate for 2026?

A flat 5% on most income, plus a 4% surtax on taxable income above $1,107,750, giving a combined 9% at the top. The surtax threshold is indexed and rises each year.

Does Massachusetts have a standard deduction?

No. Massachusetts allows a personal exemption of $4,400 for a single filer and $8,800 filing jointly, and no standard deduction at all. That means most of a Massachusetts salary is exposed to the 5% rate.

What is the PFML deduction on my Massachusetts payslip?

The employee share of the Paid Family and Medical Leave premium — 0.46% of eligible wages for 2026, split as 0.28% for medical leave and 0.18% for family leave. It applies up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500, so about $345 a year on a $75,000 salary. It is included in the figures above.

What is the millionaire's surtax?

A 4% additional tax on taxable income above $1,107,750 for 2026, approved by voters in 2022 as a constitutional amendment. It applies to the amount above the threshold only, not to your whole income, and the threshold is adjusted for inflation annually.

Does Boston charge a local income tax?

No. No Massachusetts city or town levies an income tax, so where you live in the state does not change your income tax bill.

Are short-term capital gains taxed differently?

Yes. Massachusetts taxes short-term capital gains at 8.5% rather than the ordinary 5% rate. Long-term gains are taxed at 5%. This calculator models wage income only.

Is my data sent anywhere?

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser. There is no account, and the salary you type is never sent to a server or stored. It never leaves your device.