Press Release  January Revenue Collections Total $3.594 Billion

Boston, MA — Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder today announced that preliminary revenue collections for January totaled $3.594 billion, $268 million or 6.9% less than actual collections in January 2023, and $263 million or 6.8% below benchmark.^[1]

FY2024 year-to-date collections totaled approximately $21.460 billion, which is $212 million or 1.0% less than collections in the same period of FY2023, and $263 million or 1.2% less than the year-to-date benchmark.

“January collections decreased in income tax withholding, non-withheld income tax, corporate and business tax, and ‘all other’ tax in comparison to January 2023,” said Commissioner Snyder. “These decreases were partially offset by an increase in sales and use tax. The decrease in non-withheld income tax was driven by lower income tax estimated and return payments and an unfavorable increase in income tax refunds. The decrease in withholding was mainly due to typical timing factors in collections. The decrease in corporate and business tax was due to an increase in corporate refunds and a decrease in corporate estimated and return payments. The decrease in ‘all other’ tax is mostly attributable to a decrease in estate tax, a category that tends to fluctuate.”

January is a significant month for revenues because many personal income taxpayers are required to make quarterly estimated payments. Historically, roughly 10.2% of annual revenue, on average, has been received during January.

Details:

• Income tax collections for January totaled $2.411 billion, $230 million or 8.7% below benchmark, and $186 million or 7.2% less than January 2023.
• Withholding tax collections for January totaled $1.526 billion, $49 million or 3.1% below benchmark, and $37 million or 2.4% less than January 2023.
• Income tax estimated payments for January totaled $827 million, $165 million or 16.6% below benchmark, and $109 million or 11.6% less than January 2023.
• Income tax returns and bills for January totaled $94 million, $14 million or 13.0% below benchmark, and $29 million or 23.3% less than January 2023.
• Income tax cash refunds for January totaled $36 million in outflows, $1.2 million or 3.3% above benchmark, and $12 million or 47.4% more than January 2023.
• Sales and use tax collections for January totaled $913 million, $8 million or 0.8% below benchmark, but $27 million or 3.1% more than January 2023.
• Corporate and business tax collections for January totaled $98 million, $9 million or 8.1% below benchmark, and $67 million or 40.5% less than January 2023.
• “All other” tax collections for January totaled $172 million, $18 million or 9.2% below benchmark, and $43 million or 19.9% less than January 2023.

January 2024 Tax Collections Summary (in $ millions) Preliminary as of February 5, 2024

Footnotes

[1]

On January 12, 2024, the Secretary of Administration and Finance announced a revised tax revenue estimate of $39.834 billion for FY2024, which includes $1 billion for the 4% income surtax and a $576.8 million reduction in revenue resulting from the Tax Relief Bill. The revised FY2024 revenue benchmark represents July 2023 through December 2023 actual collections and forecasted collections for the months of January 2024 through June 2024.

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