Press Release  May Revenue Collections Total $2.706 Billion

Boston, MA — Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder today announced that preliminary revenue collections for May totaled $2.706 billion, $236 million or 9.5% more than actual collections in May 2022, and $169 million or 6.7% above benchmark.^[1] May 2023 revenue collections were impacted by the elective pass-through entity (PTE) excise. After adjusting for DOR’s estimate of the net impact of PTE excise^[2], May 2023 collections are $291 million or 11.5% above actual collections in May 2022, and $219 million or 8.4% more than benchmark.

FY2023 year-to-date collections through May totaled approximately $35.026 billion, which is $1.936 billion or 5.2% less than collections in the same period of FY2022, and $999 million or 2.8% below the updated year-to-date benchmark.^[3] After adjusting for DOR’s estimate of the net impact of PTE excise^[2], FY2023 year-to-date collections are $113 million or 0.3% below actual collections in the same period of FY2022, and $619 million or 1.7% less than the updated year-to-date benchmark.

“May revenue collections were above monthly benchmarks and above collections from the same period last year,” said Commissioner Snyder. “May revenue included increases in most major tax types relative to May 2022 collections, including increases in withholding, sales and use tax, and ‘all other’ tax. The increase in withholding is likely related to strong labor market conditions. The increase in sales and use tax is in part due to meals tax. The increase in ’all other’ tax is partially attributable to estate tax, a category that tends to fluctuate.”

Historically, May is a mid-size month for collections, ranking seventh of 12 months in seven of the last 10 years. Net revenue collections in May are influenced by the individual tax filing season, which generates both inflows and refund outflows during the month. Estimated payments from individuals and businesses are not significant in May.

Details: 

• Income tax collections for May totaled $1.532 billion, $61 million or 4.1% above benchmark, and $106 million or 7.5% more than May 2022.
• Withholding tax collections for May totaled $1.381 billion, $9 million or 0.7% above benchmark, and $91 million or 7.0% more than May 2022.
• Income tax estimated payments for May totaled $72 million, $50 million or 229.0% above benchmark, and $36 million or 103.2% more than May 2022.
• Income tax returns and bills for May totaled $281 million, $35 million or 14.2% above benchmark, and $27 million or 10.7% more than May 2022.
• Income tax cash refunds for May totaled $202 million in outflows, $34 million or 20.0% above benchmark, and $48 million or 31.1% more than May 2022.
• Sales and use tax collections for May totaled $820 million, $34 million or 4.3% above benchmark, and $38 million or 4.9% more than May 2022.
• Meals tax, a sub-set of sales and use tax, for May totaled $143 million, $22 million or 18.4% above benchmark, and $23 million or 18.7% more than May 2022.
• Corporate and business tax collections for May totaled $81 million, $16 million or 25.2% above benchmark, and $9 million or 12.3% more than May 2022. 
• “All other” tax collections for May totaled $273 million, $58 million or 27.2% above benchmark, and $82 million or 42.8% more than May 2022.

May 2023 Tax Collections Summary (in $ millions) Preliminary as of June 05, 2023

Footnotes

[1]

Benchmarks are updated for the months of March 2023 through June 2023 based on the revised FY2023 revenue estimate of $39.768 billion .They are available on DOR’s website at https://www.mass.gov/lists/year-to-date-and-monthly-tax-collection-benchmark-ranges#fy-2023-.

[2]

DOR’s estimate of the net impact of PTE excise is based on a limited number of PTE member returns received as of April 2023. This estimate will be revised sometime after October 16, 2023 when returns for extension filers are due.

[3]

On March 3, 2023, DOR announced that preliminary year-to-date collections through February were $999 million above the year-to-date original benchmark. Through May, year-to-date state tax collections are $583 million below original FY23 year-to-date benchmark.

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