- Massachusetts Department of Revenue
Media Contact
Nathalie Dailida
(Boston, MA) — Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder today announced that preliminary revenue collections for August totaled $3.148 billion, $360 million or 12.9% more than actual collections in August 2025.
FY2027 year-to-date collections totaled approximately $6.243 billion, which is $760 million or 13.9% more than actual collections in the same period of FY2026.
“August 2026 revenue included increases relative to August 2025 collections in all major tax categories, including withholding, non-withholding income tax, corporate and business tax, sales tax and ‘all other’ tax,” said Commissioner Snyder. “The increase in withholding was driven, in part, by an increase in collections from firms in the professional, scientific and technical services industry and firms in the healthcare and social assistance industry. The increase in non-withholding income tax is driven mostly by estimated and return payments due, in part, to an increase in pass-through entity tax (PTET), and a favorable decrease in refunds. The increase in sales tax is due, in part, to typical fluctuations in monthly collections. The increase in corporate and business tax is due to increases in estimated and return payments, partially offset by an unfavorable increase in refunds. The increase in ‘all other’ tax is mostly due to an increase in estate tax, a category that tends to fluctuate, and rooms tax.”
The reported collections are not being measured against fiscal year 2027 benchmarks, which are expected to be established later this month.
August is typically one of the smaller months for revenue collections because neither individual nor business taxpayers make significant estimated payments during the month. Historically, roughly 6.4% of annual revenue, on average, has been received during August.
Given the brief period covered in the report, August results should not be used as a predictor for the rest of the fiscal year.
Details:
- Income tax collections for August totaled $1.900 billion, $186 million or 10.8% more than August 2025.
- Withholding tax collections for August totaled $1.710 billion, $62 million or 3.7% more than August 2025.
- Income tax estimated payments for August totaled $139 million, $85 million or 157.2% more than August 2025.
- Income tax returns and bills for August totaled $90 million, $24 million or 36.4% more than August 2025.
- Income tax cash refunds for August totaled $40 million in outflows, $15 million or 27.1% less than August 2025.
- Sales and use tax collections for August totaled $852 million, $75 million or 9.7% more than August 2025.
- Corporate and business tax collections for August totaled $70 million, $12 million or 19.8% more than August 2025.
- “All other” tax collections for August totaled $326 million, $87 million or 36.6% more than August 2025.
August 2026 Tax Collections Summary (in $ millions) Preliminary as of September 3, 2026 (XLSX)
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