Massachusetts Lawn Mower Tax: Use Tax and Farm Exemption

A lawn mower bought in Massachusetts is taxed at the state’s 6.25% sales tax rate, the same as most tangible personal property.¹ The Massachusetts lawn mower sales tax applies whether you spend $200 on a push model or several thousand on a riding mower, and if you buy out of state and bring the mower home you owe the same 6.25% as use tax. Two narrow paths avoid the tax: buying used from a private individual, or buying for genuine commercial agricultural production.

Buying New From a Massachusetts Retailer

The dealer collects 6.25% on the purchase price at checkout and remits it to the Department of Revenue.² There is no local add-on and no cap.

One line item on the receipt is worth checking. Separately stated delivery charges are generally not taxable, provided the charge reflects actual shipping costs and the delivery happens after the sale.³ Transportation the vendor pays before selling you the mower is part of the sales price and gets taxed.¹ So a separate shipping-to-your-door line is typically exempt, while a bundled all-in price is taxable in full.

Buying Out of State

Driving to New Hampshire does not get you out of the tax. Massachusetts imposes a 6.25% use tax on any tangible personal property purchased out of state and stored or used in Massachusetts.⁴ If you paid another state’s sales tax at a rate below 6.25%, you owe the difference.

Individuals report use tax on their Massachusetts personal income tax return, Form 1 for residents or Form 1-NR/PY for part-year residents. For purchases under $1,000 each, a safe harbor method estimates use tax from income ranges and shields you from additional assessment if audited.⁴ Any single purchase of $1,000 or more must be reported separately, on top of the safe harbor amount. Business equipment goes on Form ST-10 instead of the individual return.

Buying Used From a Private Seller

The rules work in your favor here. Massachusetts exempts casual and isolated sales from sales tax when the seller is not regularly in the business of retail sales.⁵ A neighbor selling an old mower on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or at a yard sale falls squarely inside that exemption. The carve-out does not reach motor vehicles, trailers, boats, or airplanes, but a lawn mower is not on that list.⁶

The seller has to be genuinely casual. A retired homeowner clearing out the shed qualifies. Someone running a side business flipping refurbished equipment does not, and buying from that kind of seller can leave you owing use tax.

The Agricultural Production Exemption

Massachusetts exempts machinery used directly and exclusively in agricultural production. The exemption in Chapter 64H, Section 6(s) covers equipment for growing crops, raising livestock or poultry, commercial fishing, and similar production where the output is sold.⁵ A commercial sod farm harvesting turf for sale, or a nursery maintaining plants grown for retail, can buy a mower tax-free. Replacement parts for qualifying machinery are also covered.

“Directly and exclusively” is where most claims collapse. Mowing your own yard never qualifies, no matter how large the property. A personal vegetable garden does not qualify. Set-aside acreage that produces nothing for market does not qualify. And a landscaping company mowing customers’ lawns does not qualify, because the mower is performing a service rather than producing a product for sale.

Claiming the Exemption With Form ST-12

To buy tax-free under the agricultural exemption, give the seller a completed Form ST-12, the Exempt Use Certificate, at the time of purchase.⁷ The form asks for your tax identification number, the seller’s name, and a description of the equipment, and you check the box for the specific exemption you are claiming. Both parties keep a copy in case of an audit. A false certificate exposes you to back taxes, penalties, and interest.

Landscaping Companies Do Not Get the Exemption

Professional landscapers are the most common source of confusion. Landscaping services themselves are not taxable to the customer.⁸ When a landscaper mows your lawn, spreads mulch, or applies fertilizer, you owe no sales tax on the service charge. But the landscaper is treated as the consumer of the equipment and supplies used to do the work, and owes sales or use tax when buying them. So a lawn care company buying a commercial mower pays the full 6.25% and cannot use the agricultural exemption to escape it.

What Happens If You Skip the Use Tax

Ignoring the use tax on an out-of-state purchase gets more expensive the longer it sits. Massachusetts charges a late payment penalty of 1% of the unpaid tax per month, up to 25%.² Interest accrues at the federal short-term rate plus four percentage points, compounded daily. When the underpayment is substantial, meaning it exceeds both 10% of the tax that should have been reported and $1,000, the state can add a 20% penalty on the underpayment.⁹

On a $3,000 riding mower, the use tax comes to $187.50. That is not a large number, but a few years of unpaid penalties and compounding interest can more than double it. The safe harbor line on your income tax return is designed to make compliance almost effortless for purchases of this size.

1
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64H – Tax on Retail Sales of Certain Tangible Personal Property
2
Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax
3
Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Directive 04-5: Transportation Charges
4
Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Massachusetts Individual Use Tax
5
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64H Section 6
6
Massachusetts Department of Revenue. 830 CMR 64H.6.1 – Casual and Isolated Sales
7
Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Form ST-12 Exempt Use Certificate
8
Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Sales Tax Guide for Landscapers
9
Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Directive 12-7: Section 35A Penalty for Underpayment of Tax Required to Be Shown on Return