Press Release  October Revenue Collections Total $2.558 Billion

(Boston) — Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder today announced that preliminary revenue collections for October totaled $2.558 billion, $196 million or 8.3% more than actual collections in October 2022, but $186 million or 6.8% below benchmark.¹

FY2024 year-to-date collections totaled approximately $11.843 billion, which is $276 million or 2.4% more than collections in the same period of FY2023, but $355 million or 2.9% less than the year-to-date benchmark.

"October collections increased in non-withheld income and sales and use tax in comparison to October 2022,” said Commissioner Snyder. “These increases were partially offset by decreases in withholding, corporate and business tax, and ‘all other’ tax. The increase in non-withheld income tax was driven primarily by a favorable decrease in income tax refunds. The increase in sales and use tax was due to increases in meals tax and motor vehicle sales tax, partially offset by a decrease in regular sales tax. The decrease in ‘all other’ tax is mostly attributable to a decrease in estate tax, which tends to fluctuate.”

In general, October is among the lower months for revenue collection, because neither individual nor business taxpayers make significant estimated payments during the month.

Historically, roughly 6.5% of annual revenue, on average, has been received during October.

Given the brief period covered in the report, October and year-to-date results should not be used as a predictor for the rest of the fiscal year.

Details:

• Income tax collections for October totaled $1.455 billion, $74 million or 4.8% below benchmark, but $225 million or 18.3% more than October 2022.
• Withholding tax collections for October totaled $1.326 billion, $133 million or 9.1% below benchmark, and $36 million or 2.7% less than October 2022.
• Income tax estimated payments for October totaled $78 million, $5 million or 5.6% below benchmark, but $1 million or 1.9% more than October 2022.
• Income tax returns and bills for October totaled $233 million, $105 million or 31.0% below benchmark, and $66 million or 22.2% less than October 2022.
• Income tax cash refunds for October totaled $182 million in outflows, $168 million or 48.0% below benchmark, and $326 million or 64.2% less than October 2022.
• Sales and use tax collections for October totaled $836 million, $43 million or 4.9% below benchmark, but $27 million or 3.3% more than October 2022.
• Corporate and business tax collections for October totaled $59 million, $17 million or 21.8% below benchmark, and $9 million or 12.5% less than October 2022.
• “All other” tax collections for October totaled $208 million, $52 million or 20.1% below benchmark, and $48 million or 18.6% less than October 2022.

October 2023 Tax Collections Summary (in $ millions) Preliminary as of November 3, 2023

Footnotes

1

With the enactment of the FY2024 budget, monthly revenue benchmarks were developed for the August 2023 through June 2024 period. The benchmarks included in this press release do not include the impact of the tax relief bill enacted on October 4, 2023; the tax relief bill impacts are expected to affect revenues beginning in December 2023 or January 2024.

###