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News  September Revenue Collections Total $2.740 Billion

Revenue collections are $26 million above the monthly benchmark, $11 million below year-to-date benchmark
10/05/2016
  • Massachusetts Department of Revenue

Nicole St. Peter Mac Dermott
(617) 626-2805
stpetermacdn@dor.state.ma.us

(Boston, MA) – Massachusetts Department of Revenue Commissioner Michael J. Heffernan today announced that preliminary revenue collections for September totaled $2.740 billion, which is $189 million or 7.4% more than September 2015.

“Three months into the Fiscal Year, we continue to see lower-than-expected collections in sales tax and estimated payments. The sales tax collections reflect an adverse trend that began early in calendar year 2016,” said Commissioner Heffernan. “Withholding rebounded from several months of lower-than-expected growth, although some of the recovery from last month reflects one-time events.” 

  • September 2016 revenues of $2.740 billion were $189 million more than September 2015, and $26 million or 1.0% above the monthly benchmark 
  • Income tax collections were $11 million below the monthly benchmark 
  • Withholding collections were $70 million above the monthly benchmark 
  • Corporate and business taxes were $43 million above the monthly benchmark 
  • Sales and use tax collections were $18 million below the monthly benchmark 
  • For the first three months of the Fiscal Year, total revenues are 3.9% greater than the same period last year, and $11 million or 0.2% below the year-to-date benchmark. Adjusting for one-time events, year-to-date revenue collections are $71 million or 1.1% below benchmark

September is one of the larger tax collection months with quarterly estimated payments due for most individuals and businesses.

  • Income tax collections for September were $1.499 billion, which is $70 million or 4.9% more than a year ago and $11 million below the monthly benchmark.
  • Withholding collections for September totaled $967 million, up $126 million or 14.9% from last September and $70 million above the monthly benchmark, mainly due to one-time business tax events that DOR does not expect to continue into future months. 
  • Income tax payments with returns or tax bills for September totaled $37 million, down $4 million or 9.6% from last September and meeting the monthly benchmark. 
  • Income tax estimated payments totaled $526 million for September, $56 million or 9.7% less than a year ago and $85 million below the monthly benchmark. 
  • Income cash refunds in September totaled $30 million in outflows, which is a favorable $5 million less than last September and $4 million below the monthly benchmark. 
  • Corporate and business tax collections for the month totaled $510 million, up $76 million or 17.5% from last September and $43 million above the monthly benchmark. 
  • Sales and use tax collections for September totaled $526 million, an increase of $28 million or 5.6% from last September and $18 million below the monthly benchmark. 
  • Other tax collections for September totaled $204 million, up $15 million over last September and $13 million above the monthly benchmark.

September 2016 Tax Collection Summary (in $ millions) Preliminary as of October 5, 2016

  • Massachusetts Department of Revenue  

    The Massachusetts Department of Revenue manages state taxes and child support. We also help cities and towns manage their finances.

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