Massachusetts does not allow a general local sales tax. The statewide rate is a flat 6.25% on retail goods, and that number does not change from one city or town to the next. Where local sales tax in Massachusetts actually shows up is in three narrower categories: restaurant meals, hotel and short-term rental stays, and adult-use marijuana. A town can add its own charge in each of those, and the combined bill can climb well above 6.25%.
Why the Rate Is the Same Everywhere for Regular Shopping
Every retail sale of tangible personal property in Massachusetts is taxed at 6.25% under M.G.L. c. 64H.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64H Section 2 No municipality has authority to add a percentage onto that rate for general goods. A laptop, a sofa, or a set of tires costs the same tax in Boston as it does in Pittsfield. That uniformity sets Massachusetts apart from states where combined rates swing several points between neighboring towns.
The same 6.25% applies as a use tax if you buy something out of state and bring it in for use here, under M.G.L. c. 64I.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64I Section 2
Local Meals Tax
Restaurant food is the most common place a shopper sees a local charge. Any city or town may vote under M.G.L. c. 64L to add a 0.75% surcharge on meals sold within its borders.3General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64L Section 2 Most communities have adopted it. In those towns, the tax on a restaurant check runs 7% instead of 6.25%.
The surcharge only reaches prepared food. Groceries bought for home cooking stay exempt.4Mass.gov. Sales Tax on Meals The line sits at preparation: a deli sandwich or a rotisserie chicken from a store’s hot counter counts as a taxable meal, while the raw ingredients on the shelf next to it do not.
Local Lodging Taxes
Lodging is where local charges stack the highest. The state imposes a 5.7% room occupancy excise on hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, and short-term rentals.5Mass.gov. Room Occupancy Excise Tax On top of that, M.G.L. c. 64G, §3A lets cities and towns add a local excise of up to 6%. Boston has a higher ceiling of 6.5%.6General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64G Section 3A
Six cities also charge a 2.75% convention center financing fee: Boston, Cambridge, Worcester, Springfield, West Springfield, and Chicopee.7General Court of Massachusetts. Acts of 1997 Chapter 152 A Boston hotel guest can see a combined lodging rate near 14.95% once the 5.7% state excise, the 6.5% local excise, and the 2.75% convention fee are added together.
Short-Term Rentals
Since July 2019, towns that have adopted the local room excise may also vote to impose a community impact fee of up to 3% on professionally managed short-term rentals. A unit is professionally managed when the operator runs two or more short-term rental units in the same municipality and the property is not inside a dwelling that includes the operator’s primary residence.5Mass.gov. Room Occupancy Excise Tax Towns may separately vote to extend the fee to two-family and three-family dwellings that do include the operator’s residence. In a convention-center city, the combined burden on a short-term rental booking can approach 18%.
Local Marijuana Tax
Adult-use cannabis carries the heaviest local layer. Three taxes stack on each retail sale:
- The standard 6.25% sales tax.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64H Section 2
- A 10.75% state marijuana excise under M.G.L. c. 64N, §2.8General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64N Section 2
- A local option excise of up to 3% if the host community has adopted it under M.G.L. c. 64N, §3.9General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64N Section 3
In a town that has adopted the full 3%, the combined rate hits 20%. A $50 purchase brings $10 in taxes. Most host communities adopt the full 3%.
What Local Taxes Cannot Touch
The statewide exemptions apply everywhere in Massachusetts and cannot be overridden by local option taxes.
Food bought for home consumption is exempt.4Mass.gov. Sales Tax on Meals10Mass.gov. 3.103 Exemption for Clothing11Cornell Law Institute. 830 CMR 64H.1.8 – Sales Tax Holiday The clothing exemption does not cover athletic gear or protective clothing meant only for sports or occupational use.
Prescription medications, insulin, and insulin needles are exempt, along with a range of prescribed medical devices such as hearing aids, eyeglasses, prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs, crutches, and home medical equipment like hospital beds and kidney dialysis machines.12General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64H Section 6 Newspapers and magazines are also exempt.13Mass.gov. 3.106 Exemption for Newspapers and Magazines
Online Purchases
After the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Massachusetts requires out-of-state sellers to collect and remit the 6.25% sales tax once their Massachusetts sales exceed $100,000 in a calendar year. The state does not use a separate transaction-count threshold.14Mass.gov. Remote Seller and Marketplace Facilitator FAQs The same rule applies to marketplace facilitators like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy, which collect on behalf of their third-party sellers once the platform crosses the threshold. For most online orders, the tax now shows up at checkout, so a shopper rarely has to track and pay use tax personally. There is no local add-on at the online checkout either; the rate is the flat 6.25%.