Is There Tax on Clothes in Massachusetts? The $175 Rule and Exemptions

In Massachusetts, there is no sales tax on clothes priced at $175 or less per item. The state’s 6.25% sales tax applies only to the portion of a clothing item’s price above $175. A $225 jacket, for instance, is taxed on the $50 over the threshold, which works out to about $3.13.¹

How the $175 Threshold Works

The exemption applies to each item separately, not to your total purchase. Buy three pairs of pants at $150 each and you pay no tax at all, even though you spent $450. Buy one pair at $200 and you pay 6.25% on the $25 above $175 for that pair.²

A few concrete examples:

A $175 dress: no tax.
A $200 suit: $1.56 in tax (6.25% of $25).
A $500 winter coat: $20.31 in tax (6.25% of $325).

What Clothing Is Exempt

Massachusetts reads “clothing” broadly. The exemption covers everyday shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, jackets, rainwear, neckwear, and scarves; shoes, boots, sneakers, sandals, slippers, shoelaces, and innersoles; socks, garters, and hosiery; bathing suits; belts, suspenders, hats, caps, earmuffs, and gloves; jogging bras, leotards, tights, tennis clothing, and ski pants; and sewing materials such as buttons, zippers, thread, yarn, and fabric that become part of clothing.²

Some categories surprise shoppers. Halloween costumes, children’s novelty costumes, choir robes, and clerical vestments all qualify. Uniforms of every stripe are covered too: band, camping, fire, nurse, police, waiter and waitress, gym, and work uniforms. Each item still has to sit at or below $175 to be fully exempt.

What Gets Taxed No Matter the Price

Two categories are taxable at the full 6.25% regardless of what they cost: items primarily designed for athletic activity, and items primarily designed for protective use that aren’t normally worn outside those activities.¹ The test looks at how the item is designed, not how you use it. Sneakers and tennis clothing are exempt because people wear them casually. Shin guards and football helmets are not.

Taxable from the first dollar:

Protective gear: bicycle, motorcycle, and sports helmets; shin guards; knee and elbow pads; chest protectors; protective masks.
Specialized athletic equipment: wetsuits, ski boots, weight-lifting belts, athletic pads.
Accessories the state does not classify as clothing: jewelry, watches, watchbands, handbags, and umbrellas.²

The handbag and jewelry rule catches people. Even something you wear every day, like a ring or a watch, is taxable.

Alterations and Tailoring

Standard alterations are not taxed. Hemming pants, taking in a waist, adjusting sleeves, and similar fitting work are treated as personal services, whether the tailor sold you the garment or not.³

The exception is work substantial enough to change the garment’s form or shape. That can be treated as “fabrication,” which is taxable. Redesigning a dress into something structurally different is on that side of the line; typical tailoring is not.³

Online Orders, Shipping, and Use Tax

The $175 rule applies the same way whether you shop in a store or online. Most major retailers and marketplace platforms already collect Massachusetts sales tax at checkout with the clothing exemption built in.⁴

Shipping charges on exempt clothing are not taxed as long as the seller lists them separately on the invoice and the charge reasonably reflects the actual cost of delivery. If shipping is bundled into the product price, it may be treated differently. Look for a separate shipping line on your receipt.

If a smaller out-of-state seller doesn’t collect Massachusetts tax, you owe use tax at 6.25% on any taxable portion. For clothing, that still means you only owe on the amount above $175 per item.⁵ Use tax is reported on your Massachusetts personal income tax return.

The August Sales Tax Holiday

Massachusetts holds a sales tax holiday one weekend each August. During the holiday, the clothing exemption jumps: any clothing item priced at $2,500 or less is completely tax-free, not just the first $175.⁶

A $400 coat that would normally generate $14.06 in tax costs you nothing that weekend. A $2,000 suit that would normally carry $114.06 in tax is fully exempt.

If a clothing item costs more than $2,500 during the holiday, the ordinary rules snap back: the first $175 is exempt and every dollar above $175 is taxed at 6.25%. Online orders qualify as long as you place the order and pay during the holiday weekend in Eastern time. Layaway purchases do not qualify. Meals, motor vehicles, tobacco, and alcohol are never included, regardless of price.

Returns and Getting Your Sales Tax Back

If you return a partially taxable clothing item, the retailer must refund the full sales tax you paid. The deadline is strict: the return has to happen within 90 days of purchase. After that, the retailer has no obligation to refund the tax even if they take the item back and refund the price.⁷

Restocking or handling fees are allowed on the returned merchandise, but the sales tax itself must be refunded in full and separately. Return a $300 jacket to a store that keeps a $30 restocking fee and you should get $270 for the jacket plus the entire $7.81 in sales tax that was originally charged on the $125 above $175.⁷

1
Mass.gov. Massachusetts General Laws c64H – 6
2
Mass.gov. Sales and Use Tax
3
Mass.gov. Letter Ruling 89-12: Garment Alterations
4
Mass.gov. 830 CMR 64H.1.9: Remote Retailers and Marketplace Facilitators
5
Mass.gov. Massachusetts Individual Use Tax
6
Mass.gov. Massachusetts Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions
7
Mass.gov. Letter Ruling 09-4: Refund of Sales Tax on Returned Merchandise