The Massachusetts sales tax is a flat 6.25% charged on most retail sales of tangible personal property and certain services, applied uniformly across the state with no county or city add-on.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64H – Tax on Retail Sales of Certain Tangible Personal Property Groceries, clothing priced under $175, and prescription medications are exempt. Businesses collect the tax at the register and remit it to the Department of Revenue through MassTaxConnect; individuals who buy taxable goods from out-of-state sellers without paying tax owe a companion use tax at the same 6.25% rate.
One Rate, Statewide
A purchase in Boston is taxed the same as one in the Berkshires. Massachusetts does not permit cities or counties to layer their own sales tax on top of the state rate, which keeps the math simple whether you’re shopping or running a register.
The one exception is restaurant meals. Cities and towns can adopt an optional 0.75% local excise on prepared food, which brings the total tax on a restaurant meal to 7% in municipalities that have opted in.2Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Local Option Excise Taxes This local meals option does not apply to general retail goods.
What’s Exempt
Clothing Under $175
Most clothing and footwear for everyday human wear is exempt up to $175 per item.3General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64H Section 6 When a garment costs more, only the amount above $175 is taxed. A $200 coat is taxed on the $25 over the threshold, producing roughly $1.56 in tax.4Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Each item in a transaction is evaluated on its own. A $150 shirt and a $200 jacket in the same purchase means tax applies only to $25 of the jacket.
Specialty athletic footwear like cleats and gear designed primarily for sports rather than general wear does not qualify.3General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64H Section 6
Groceries
Food products intended for home consumption are exempt: produce, dairy, meat, eggs, bread, cereals, and similar staples.5Mass.gov. Massachusetts General Laws c.64H 6 – Exemptions Prepared meals sold by restaurants are not exempt; those are taxed at 6.25%, or 7% where the local meals excise has been adopted.
Prescription Medicine and Medical Devices
Prescription medications are exempt, as are oxygen, blood products, and certain medical devices prescribed by a physician.6Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Letter Ruling 82-98 – Medicine and Medical Devices; Reagents Used in Research
Nonprofit Purchases
Organizations recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) can obtain a Certificate of Exemption (Form ST-2) from the Department of Revenue and present a Sales Tax Exempt Purchaser Certificate (Form ST-5) at the register.7Massachusetts Department of Revenue. AP 101 – Organizations Exempt From Sales Tax The purchase must be made with the organization’s funds and used for its exempt purposes. Certificates are valid for ten years.
What’s Taxable That People Don’t Expect
Prewritten software is taxed no matter how it’s delivered. A boxed copy, a download, and a browser-based subscription are all subject to the 6.25% rate when the primary purpose of the transaction is using the software.8Massachusetts Department of Revenue. 830 CMR 64H.1.3 – Computer Industry Services and Products That includes cloud-based software-as-a-service. The Department of Revenue applies an “object of the transaction” test: if what you’re buying is really access to software, the charge is taxable, even when the vendor labels it a cloud service.9Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Letter Ruling 12-8 – Cloud Computing When software access is merely incidental to a nontaxable service, the transaction escapes the tax.
Telecommunications services are also subject to the sales tax, and computer hardware and peripherals are taxed as tangible personal property.8Massachusetts Department of Revenue. 830 CMR 64H.1.3 – Computer Industry Services and Products
Cars and Trailers
Buying a car or trailer triggers the same 6.25% rate whether the seller is a dealer or a private party. In private sales, the tax is calculated on the sale price or the vehicle’s clean trade-in book value, whichever is higher, so writing a lower number on the bill of sale doesn’t reduce what’s owed.10Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Motor Vehicle and Trailer Sales and Use Tax Trade-ins at a Massachusetts dealer reduce the taxable amount before the 6.25% is applied.11Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Directive 02-4 – Calculation of Trade-in Allowance on Purchase of a Motor Vehicle Tax is due by the 20th of the month following the purchase.
A vehicle bought out of state and brought into Massachusetts within six months for permanent use owes the 6.25% use tax. Massachusetts credits any sales tax paid to the other state, so you owe only the difference. If the other state’s rate was 6.25% or higher and it allows a reciprocal credit, you owe nothing more.10Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Motor Vehicle and Trailer Sales and Use Tax
The Annual Sales Tax Holiday
Once a year, usually on a weekend in August, Massachusetts exempts individual items priced at $2,500 or less from the 6.25% tax. You can buy multiple qualifying items in one transaction; as long as each item is $2,500 or under, the whole purchase is tax-free regardless of the combined total.12Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Massachusetts Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions
An item priced above $2,500 gets no partial break; the full price is taxed. Clothing has its own rule during the holiday: garments priced at $2,500 or less are entirely tax-free instead of following the usual $175 threshold, and clothing over $2,500 is taxed on the amount above $175 rather than the full price.12Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Massachusetts Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions The 2025 holiday fell on August 9–10.
Use Tax on Purchases from Elsewhere
The use tax fills the gap when you buy something without paying Massachusetts sales tax but then store, use, or consume it here. It runs at the same 6.25% rate and sits in its own chapter of state law.13General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 64I – Tax On The Storage, Use Or Other Consumption Of Certain Tangible Personal Property Large online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay are now required to collect Massachusetts tax once they exceed $100,000 in sales in the prior year, so most e-commerce purchases already include tax at checkout.14Massachusetts Department of Revenue. 830 CMR 64H.1.9 – Remote Retailers and Marketplace Facilitators The use tax still applies to purchases from smaller out-of-state sellers below that threshold, out-of-state flea markets, and foreign websites.
Individuals report use tax on their annual Massachusetts income tax return. Businesses report it through MassTaxConnect with their regular sales tax filings. Tax paid to another state on the same item credits against what Massachusetts is owed; you pay only the difference, if any.15General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64I Section 2 – Imposition; Rate; Payment
Registering as a Seller
Before collecting sales tax, a business must register through MassTaxConnect.16Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Register Your Business with MassTaxConnect You’ll need a Social Security number if you’re a sole proprietor with no employees, or an Employer Identification Number for every other structure and for sole proprietors with employees. You’ll also enter the business’s legal name, physical address, and a description of what it does so the system can assign the correct tax classification.
Once approved, you receive a Sales and Use Tax Registration Certificate (Form ST-1) for each location. Display it at the place of business.4Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax
Filing Frequency and Deadlines
The Department of Revenue assigns your filing schedule based on how much tax you expect to owe each year.17Massachusetts Department of Revenue. 830 CMR 62C.16.2 – Sales and Use Tax Returns and Payments
- Annual: estimated liability of $100 or less per year. Return and payment due by January 20 of the following year.
- Quarterly: liability above $100 but not more than $1,200 per year. Due by the 20th of the month after each quarter closes.
- Monthly: liability above $1,200 per year. Due by the 20th of the following month.
All returns and payments run through MassTaxConnect.
Penalties for Late or Incorrect Filing
Late filing and late payment each carry a penalty of 1% of the unpaid tax per month or fraction of a month, and each is capped at 25%. Both can accrue at the same time. Interest runs on top at the federal short-term rate plus 4%, compounded daily.18Massachusetts Department of Revenue. 830 CMR 62C.33.1 – Interest, Penalties, and Application of Payments
A business that substantially understates its liability, meaning by more than 10% of the amount owed or more than $1,000, whichever is greater, faces an additional 20% penalty on the underpayment.4Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Filing electronically in the wrong format can trigger a separate $100 penalty per incorrect submission. The 20th of the month is the date to protect.