Massachusetts Income Tax Rate History
Massachusetts's top marginal income tax rate rose from 5.00% in 2021 to 9.00% in 2026, a rise of 4.00%. The rate moved 1 time in 6 years.
6 sourced years, 2 of them from Massachusetts's own revenue department and the rest from Tax Foundation's dated annual editions. Nothing is interpolated. How the two differ.
Massachusetts against the national median
One marker per sourced year. Lines join the points to show direction; no value between markers is implied.
Year by year
| Year | Top rate | Structure | Change | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5.00% | flat | — | As of 1 January | Tax Foundationprov. |
| 2022 | 5.00% | flat | — | As of 1 January | Tax Foundationprov. |
| 2023 | 9.00% | graduated | +4.00% | As of 1 January | Tax Foundationprov. |
| 2024 | 9.00% | graduated | — | As of 1 January | Tax Foundationprov. |
| 2025 | 9.00% | graduated | — | Enacted for the year | Massachusetts Department of Revenue |
| 2026 | 9.00% | graduated | — | Enacted for the year | Massachusetts Department of Revenue |
Every change
- 2023: raise of 4.00% — 5.00% to 9.00%.
What was behind the changes
The 4% surtax on income above an indexed threshold took effect in 2023, taking the top marginal rate from 5% to 9%. It reaches total taxable income, so it is part of the top marginal rate on ordinary income.
The top marginal rate shown includes this state's surtax on ordinary income, so every year in the series is measured the same way.
Massachusetts's bracket schedule is a single 5% rate, so its own record calls the structure flat. This series counts the 4% surtax as a second rate, the way Tax Foundation does, so Massachusetts reads as graduated from 2023 — the year the surtax began. Without that, the series showed Massachusetts converting TO a flat tax in 2025, which is the opposite of what happened.
What this page does not tell you
This is the top marginal rate, not anyone's bill. Only the rate is carried back; Massachusetts's brackets, standard deduction and exemptions for years before 2025 are not in this dataset. A cut in the top rate can sit alongside a higher bill for most filers.
Only the top marginal rate is carried back. Brackets, deductions and exemptions for years before 2025 are not in this dataset.
Years before 2025 are Tax Foundation's 1 January snapshot; 2025 and 2026 are the rate enacted for the whole year, from the state's own source. Where the two disagree the record carries both figures.
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