- Massachusetts Department of Revenue
Honorable Chairs and Ranking Minority Members of the Committees on Ways and Means:
Pursuant to Section 6 of Chapter 14 of the General Laws[1], the Department of Revenue (DOR) hereby submits its mid-month tax revenue report for the month of January 2026, the seventh month of fiscal year 2026. The attached table (XLSX) shows January 2026 month-to-date tax revenue collections through January 15, 2026, along with a comparison to the equivalent period in January 2025.
Revenue collections are uneven and usually weighted toward the month-end. The brief period covered in the mid-month report does not provide sufficient data for comparison to prior years. Therefore, mid-month figures should not be used to assess trends or project future revenues.
Context for January Revenues
January is a significant month for revenues because many personal income taxpayers are required to make quarterly estimated payments. January generally produces about 10% of annual revenue, making it the fourth largest revenue month of the year.
Highlights
Total tax collections for the month-to-date period were $2.019 billion,$148 million or 7.9% more than the collections during the same period in January 2025. Mid-month January results show increases in withholding, non-withholding income tax, and sales & use tax, partially offset by decreases in corporate and business tax, and “all other” tax.
- Income tax totaled $1.734 billion, up $134 million or 8.4% versus the same period in January 2025.
- Sales & use tax totaled $164 million, up $36 million or 28.4% versus the same period in January 2025.
- Corporate & business tax totaled $73 million, down $10 million or 12.4% versus the same period in January 2025.
- All other taxes totaled $47 million, down $12 million or 20.6% versus the same period in January 2025.
Details
Total income taxof $1.734 billion for mid-month January is comprised of the following:
- Withholding $933 million, up $60 million versus the same period in January 2025;
- Estimated payments of $800 million, up $119 million versus the same period in January 2025;
- Returns/bills of $44 million, down $23 million versus the same period in January 2025; and
- Refunds of $43 million, up $22 million (unfavorable) versus the same period in January 2025.
Sales & use taxof $164 million is up $36 million versus the same period in January 2025. Typically, only a small proportion of expected regular sales and meals tax remittances is received by the mid-month date. The month-to-date sales and use tax of $164 million is comprised of the following:
- Regular sales tax of $99 million, up $45 million versus the same period in January 2025;
- Meals tax of $22 million, down $3 million versus the same period in January 2025; and
- Motor vehicles sales tax of $43 million, down $6 million versus the same period in January 2025.
Corporate & business tax of $73 million is down $10 million versus the same period in January 2025. The month-to-date decrease is primarily due to decreases in estimated and return payments, partially offset by a decrease (favorable) in refunds.
All other taxes of $47 million, down $12 million versus the same period in January 2025, include a number of tax categories, such as motor fuels, cigarette, estate tax, room occupancy, and deeds.
If you have any questions concerning this report, please contact either me (snyderge@dor.state.ma.us) or Kazim P. Ozyurt, Director of the Office of Tax Analysis (ozyurtk@dor.state.ma.us).
Sincerely,
Geoffrey E. Snyder
Commissioner
Footnotes
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