On this page we are describing the sales taxes in the State of Massachusetts, we aim to educate you on the differences that occur throughout the state so you get a better understanding of it in regards to whether you may have:

  • Have taken a Massachusetts job in the are
  • Applied for a Massachusetts school
  • Opened a Massachusetts bank account in the state of Massachusetts
  • People who may be unable to find their Social Security Card or have lost it.

What is the lowest and highest sales tax in Massachusetts?

In the map of Massachusetts is pictured below there are a total of 14 counties that are within the state. You can go directly to the page and see which area has the highest and lowest sales tax in your county of choice.

Barnstable Berkshire Bristol Dukes Essex Franklin Hampden Hampshire Middlesex Nantucket Norfolk Plymouth Suffolk Worcester
The state sales tax for businesses and so forth is a standard rate of 6.25% which allows the local government to be able to collect up to another 0% on top of this:

  • the average sales tax for the entirety of Massachusetts is 6.25%,
  • In all County and cities the sales tax rates is equal and this equates to 6.25% sales tax,
  • This is a brief overview, and we suggest that you go directly to the page if you wish to get a clearer image of the different ranges of sale tax in a particular county. Please note that the ones that have an asterisk means they are below the usual county level of sales tax.

    How to calculate your own sales tax in the state of Massachusetts.

    So, what does this mean for you, if you are looking into how much sales tax you are going to charged dependant on what sort of county you are residing or working out of. You can go ahead and use a sales tax calculator which will give you a section that is exampled below.

     

    $
    -or- Specify Sales Tax Rate
    -or- Specify ZIP Code
    %

     

    You do need to know the purchase ZIP code and purchase amount in order to get an accurate figure. For an example we will use the amount of $500 and see what the ranges could be from the city with the highest population.

    In Boston, MA with the sales tax of 6.25% would mean that your $500 purchase would incur a $31.25 sales tax, taking the total amount to $531.25.

    The sales tax calculator makes it as easy as it can be to find out what sort of sales tax you will be charged by simply adding the amount and the ZIP code. Though there might be some purchases that are exempt from sales taxes or have some special leniency which do need to be taken into consideration.

    City Sales Tax Rate Zip-code Population
    Boston 6.25% 2108, 2109, 2110, 2111, 2112, 2113, 2114, 2115, 2116, 2117, 2118, 2123, 2127, 2128, 2133, 2163, 2196, 2199, 2201, 2203, 2205, 2210, 2215, 2217, 2222 135047
    Worcester 6.25% 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604, 1605, 1606, 1607, 1608, 1609, 1610, 1613, 1655 127725
    Springfield 6.25% 1101, 1103, 1104, 1105, 1107, 1108, 1109, 1111, 1115, 1118, 1119, 1128, 1129, 1138, 1139, 1144, 1152, 1199 97088
    Lowell 6.25% 1850, 1851, 1852, 1853, 1854 77383
    Quincy 6.25% 2169, 2170, 2171, 2269 75336
    Cambridge 6.25% 2138, 2139, 2140, 2141, 2142, 2238 72747
    Brockton 6.25% 2301, 2302, 2303, 2304, 2305 70280
    Lynn 6.25% 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1910 66485
    New Bedford 6.25% 2740, 2741, 2742, 2744, 2745, 2746 65449
    Fall River 6.25% 2720, 2721, 2723, 2724 62912
    Lawrence 6.25% 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843 56341
    Dorchester 6.25% 2121, 2122, 2125 56001
    Somerville 6.25% 2143, 2144, 2145 55377
    Framingham 6.25% 1701, 1702, 1703, 1704 51223

    Haverhill

    6.25% 1830, 1831, 1832, 1835 49282

    Malden

    6.25% 2148 47104

    Plymouth

    6.25% 2360, 2361, 2362 45235

    Waltham

    6.25% 2451, 2452, 2453, 2454 44806

    Medford

    6.25% 2155 44783

    Peabody

    6.25% 1960, 1961 43688

    Chicopee

    6.25% 1013, 1014, 1020, 1021, 1022 43461

    Methuen

    6.25% 1844 40836

    Taunton

    6.25% 2780 39589

    Revere

    6.25% 2151 38954

    Brookline

    6.25% 2445, 2446 37451

    Pittsfield

    6.25% 1201, 1202, 1203 37188

    Arlington

    6.25% 2474, 2476 36658

    Attleboro

    6.25% 2703 36164

    Leominster

    6.25% 1453 34034

    Woburn

    6.25% 1801, 1888 33608

    Dorchester Center

    6.25% 2124 33570

    Westfield

    6.25% 1085 32344

    Salem

    6.25% 1970, 1971 32194

    Marlborough

    6.25% 1752 31660

    Beverly

    6.25% 1915 31324

    Shrewsbury

    6.25% 1545, 1546 30759

    Braintree

    6.25% 2184, 2185 30406

    Everett

    6.25% 2149 30367

    Andover

    6.25% 1810, 1812, 1899, 5501 30346

    Fitchburg

    6.25% 1420 28652

    Natick

    6.25% 1760 28611

    Lexington

    6.25% 2420, 2421 28385

    Brighton

    6.25% 2135 27370

    Holyoke

    6.25% 1040, 1041 27313

    Franklin

    6.25% 2038 27220

    Jamaica Plain

    6.25% 2130 27060

    Billerica

    6.25% 1821, 1822 26961

    Randolph

    6.25% 2368 26599

    Dracut

    6.25% 1826 26388

    Watertown

    6.25% 2471, 2472, 2477 26221

    Why do I need to collect sales tax in Massachusetts?

    You will need to collect sales tax if you have any sort of nexus there, and what this means is that if you have assets that are physical or economic then you need to do this.

    Physical meaning having a tangible activity or some sort of presence in any of the states of Massachusetts, economic nexus is simply passing the states’ economic threshold for total revenue, or the maximum number of transactions that can occur in the period of time within the state.

    Two easy ways to see if you have either a physical or economic nexus in any of the counties is the following:
    Physical:

    • Tangible personal property
    • Business assets or property
    • Own, renting properties
    • Made more than $500,000 in a service or content delivery in the state

    Economic:

    • Made more than $100,000 in sales annually
    • More than 200 transactions in the last calendar year

    How do I get a sales tax permit?

    The main way to go about this is to register online at the Massachusetts Business Gateway. Follow the steps that are presented to you and ensure that you have the following to hand to use as information:

    • Business identification information
    • Business entity
    • Location/s that you will be conducting this from
    • Date you will start collecting Massachusetts sales tax from a business/property
    • NAICS Code (North American Industry Classification System.)

    What is the best way to file sales taxes?

    Before you think of doing anything else there are three things that we recommend that you do in order to make this process as easy and smooth as possible.

    First of all, find out how much tax you owe (remember the sales tax calculator we mentioned before) so that you know how much you need to pay the state at the end. Second is get onto the Massachusetts Department Of Taxation ready to submit them, and third have the money ready so you can make the payment straight away.

    There are two main options as well to filing and paying your Massachusetts sales tax, these are:

    • Filing online. This is where merchants are required to file all of their sales taxes through the department of taxation in the state of Massachusetts, you can also pay your taxes on this platform, so it is one to keep close to you for future reference.
    • Filing by mail. Simply fill out the form UST-1, but this is not the recommended way of filing your taxes due to the possibilities of them getting lost in the post and then it could mean that you are subject to late fees if they are not filed within the allotted time.

    We hope this document was able to allow you to feel more confident when it comes to sales tax in the state of Massachusetts depending on where you operate out of.