Massachusetts law about estate taxation

Laws, regulations, web and print sources on estate tax law.

If you are unable to find the information you are looking for, or if you have a specific question, please contact our law librarians for assistance.

Best bet

Estate tax, Mass. Dept. of Revenue.
If you’re responsible for the estate of someone who died, you may need to file an estate tax return. If the gross estate is worth less than the filing threshold, you don't need to file a return or pay an estate tax. Massachusetts estate tax returns are required if the gross estate, plus adjusted taxable gifts, computed using the Internal Revenue Code in effect on December 31, 2000, exceeds the filling threshold as follows:

• For decedents dying on or after 01/01/2016 with a gross estate of more than $1,000,000 
• For decedents dying on or after 01/01/2023 with a gross estate of more than $2,000,000
• The tax applies to the entire estate, not just the amount above the exemption

Massachusetts laws

MGL c. 65C Massachusetts estate tax

• Recent amendment: § 2A(g): "The estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2023 shall not be required to pay any tax under subsections (a) and (b) if the value of the federal taxable estate is not more than $2,000,000."

  The new law amended the estate tax by providing a credit of up to $99,600, thereby eliminating the tax for estates valued at $2 million or less and reducing the tax for estates valued at more than $2 million.

Federal laws

Internal Revenue Code in effect as of December 31, 2000 
MGL c. 65C, § 2A specifies "all references... in this chapter to the Internal Revenue Code, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, shall be to the Code as in effect on December 31, 2000." A copy of this document is available in Westlaw. You can also submit a request for a copy.

26 USC 2001-2210 (current version): Estate tax

Federal regulations

26 CFR Pt. 20 Estate tax

Web sources

Frequently asked questions on estate taxes (federal), IRS. 
Information for businesses and the self employed.  The filing threshold for 2022 is $12,060,000.

Massachusetts Estate Tax Guide, Mass. Department of Revenue.
The "adjusted taxable estate" used in determining the allowable credit for state death taxes in the table is the federal taxable estate (total federal gross estate minus allowable federal deductions) less $60,000. The rate ranges from 0.8% to 16%.

Print sources

Income taxation of trusts and estates, Tax Management, loose-leaf.

Official MASSTAX guide, West Pub. Co., annual.
Volume 4: Estate/inheritance tax.

Preparing fiduciary income, gift and estate tax returns, 3rd ed., MCLE, 2022.

Preparing fiduciary income tax returns, federal and state, Matthew Bender, loose-leaf. (eBook available with library card)

Taxation (Mass. practice, volume 4), West Group, annual. 
Chapter 9: Estate tax.

Last updated:	February 24, 2025