The Massachusetts unemployment tax rate for 2026 runs from 0.94% to 14.37% for employers with an established experience rating, 2.42% for new employers, and 6.08% for new construction employers. Every rate applies to the first $15,000 each employee earns in the calendar year. Schedule E is the active statewide schedule for 2026, set under Chapter 9 of the Acts of 2021.
Once a worker’s wages cross $15,000, no further unemployment contributions are owed on that person for the rest of the year, regardless of how much more they earn.
What Your Rate Depends On
The Department of Unemployment Assistance assigns each experience-rated employer an individual rate using the reserve ratio method. The state keeps a virtual account for your business: contributions paid in, minus benefits charged out to your former employees. That balance is divided by your three-year average taxable payroll to produce a reserve percentage.
A high positive reserve percentage means you’ve paid in far more than your former workers have collected, and your rate drops accordingly. A negative reserve percentage means benefits paid out have exceeded your contributions, which pushes the rate up sharply. Under Schedule E, an employer with a reserve percentage of 17.0% or above pays 0.94%. An employer with a negative reserve of 23.0% or more pays 14.37%.
Until you’ve contributed for at least 12 consecutive months and qualify for individual experience rating, you pay the flat new-employer rate. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 151A, Section 14, a standard new employer receives the rate corresponding to the 10.5%-but-less-than-11.0% positive reserve line on the active schedule, which is 2.42% under Schedule E. A new construction employer instead pays the average rate of all construction-classified employers statewide. Because construction generates more claims from seasonal layoffs and project-based work, that average runs higher: 6.08% for 2026.
Where Schedule E Sits Among Schedules A Through G
The rate at any given reserve percentage depends on which of seven statewide schedules, labeled A through G, is in effect. The DUA sets the active schedule each year by calculating the reserve percentage of the entire Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund as of September 30. A healthy fund triggers a lower schedule and lower rates across the board. A strained fund triggers a higher one.
Schedule A is the lightest, with rates from 0.56% to 8.62%. Schedule G is the heaviest, from 1.21% to 18.55%. Schedule E, in effect for 2026, sits in the middle.
Voluntary Contributions to Lower Next Year’s Rate
If you’re experience-rated and current on all quarterly reports and payments, you can make a voluntary contribution to boost your reserve percentage and qualify for a lower rate the following year. New employers, government employers, and employers already at the lowest rate on the active schedule aren’t eligible.
The DUA’s online portal shows each eligible employer the available lower rates and the exact voluntary contribution amount needed to reach each one. The window is generally 30 days from the date on your rate notice, and payments must be made by ACH debit through the portal.
The $15,000 Wage Base
Massachusetts caps the taxable wage base at $15,000 per employee per calendar year. The figure is written into the statute and has been in effect since January 1, 2015. It applies uniformly regardless of industry, employer size, or the employee’s total compensation. An employer with a worker earning $150,000 owes unemployment contributions on the same $15,000 as an employer whose worker earns $20,000.
Assessments Layered on Top of the Base Rate
Your contribution rate from the schedule isn’t the whole bill. Two additional assessments apply to most Massachusetts employers, and both are calculated on the same $15,000 wage base.
Employer Medical Assistance Contribution
The EMAC funds subsidized healthcare programs for low-income residents. It applies to employers with six or more employees in a given quarter. The rate is tiered by how long you’ve been in the system:
- Years 1 through 3: exempt
- Year 4: 0.12%
- Year 5: 0.24%
- Year 6 and beyond: 0.34%
At the top tier, EMAC adds $51 per employee per year on top of your regular unemployment contribution.
Workforce Training Fund Contribution
Chapter 151A, Section 14L authorizes a separate workforce training contribution paid by employers. It funds training grants administered through the Workforce Training Fund Program. The rate is small compared to the base UI contribution, but it adds to the total quarterly obligation.
Nonprofit and Government Employers Have a Choice
Organizations described under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and government employers don’t have to pay quarterly contributions the way private employers do. When first subject to unemployment insurance law, they choose between two methods:
- Contributory method: quarterly contributions based on the applicable rate schedule, the same as a for-profit employer. This is the default if no election is made.
- Reimbursable method: no quarterly payments. Instead, when a former employee files for and receives benefits, the DUA bills the employer monthly for the actual cost, due within 30 days.
The reimbursable method can save money for organizations with very low turnover, but a single large layoff can generate a bill well above what quarterly contributions would have been. Once selected, a method stays in effect for at least two calendar years. Nonprofits wanting to switch must notify the DUA by December 1 of the year before the change takes effect.
How FUTA Fits With Your State Rate
On top of state contributions, Massachusetts employers owe federal unemployment tax under FUTA. The federal rate is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of each employee’s wages. Employers who pay their state unemployment taxes in full and on time receive a credit of up to 5.4%, dropping the effective FUTA rate to 0.6%, or $42 per employee per year.
That credit shrinks if a state borrows from the federal government to cover its unemployment fund and doesn’t repay within two years. Employers in those “credit reduction states” lose part of the 5.4% credit. Massachusetts is not currently a credit reduction state, so employers here receive the full credit and owe the minimum 0.6% effective federal rate.
When You Inherit Another Employer’s Rate
If you acquire another business, you may inherit its experience rating along with the assets. When the acquisition includes substantially all of the predecessor’s assets so that the original business can no longer operate, the experience rating transfers in full. When only a distinct, separable piece of the business changes hands, the experience transfers proportionally based on the payroll tied to that piece.
Federal law also prohibits “SUTA dumping,” where a high-rated employer creates a shell company or buys a small business solely to access a lower rate. Massachusetts must penalize employers caught in these schemes as a condition of receiving federal unemployment program funding.