Press Release  September Revenue Collections Total $3.992 Billion

Boston, MA — Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder today announced that preliminary revenue collections for September totaled $3.992 billion, which is $848 million or 27.0% more than actual collections in September 2020, and $501 million or 14.3% more than benchmark.¹

FY2022 year-to-date collections totaled approximately $8.751 billion, which is $1.501 billion or 20.7% more than collections in the same period of FY2021, and $525 million or 6.4% more than year-to-date benchmark.

“September collections increased in all major tax types relative to September 2020 collections, including withholding, non-withholding, sales and use tax, corporate and business tax, and ‘all other tax’,” said Commissioner Snyder. “The increase in withholding is likely related to improvements in labor market conditions while the increase in non-withholding tax collections is due to an increase in income estimated payments. The sales and use tax increase reflects continued strength in retail sales and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.”

In general, September is a significant month for revenues because many individuals and corporations are required to make estimated payments. Historically, roughly 10% of annual revenue, on average, has been received during September.

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

Details:

• Income tax collections for September were $2.040 billion, $216 million or 11.8% above benchmark, and $325 million or 19.0% more than September 2020.
• Withholding tax collections for September totaled $1.190 billion, $78 million or 7.0% above benchmark, and $115 million or 10.7% more than September 2020.
• Income tax estimated payments totaled $806 million for September, $114 million or 16.6% more than benchmark, and $208 million or 34.8% more than September 2020.
• Income tax returns and bills totaled $84 million for September, $32 million or 61.7% more than benchmark, and $4 million or 5.1% more than September 2020.
• Income tax cash refunds in September totaled $41 million in outflows, $8 million or 25.6% above benchmark, and $2.5 million or 6.4% more than September 2020.
• Sales and use tax collections for September totaled $695 million, $6 million or 0.9% above benchmark, and $94 million or 15.6% more than September 2020.
• Meals tax collections, a sub-set of sales and use tax, totaled $118 million, $15 million or 14.1% above benchmark, and $28 million or 31.1% more than September 2020.
• Corporate and business tax collections for the month totaled $1.001 billion, $249 million or 33.0% above benchmark, and $379 million or 61.1% more than September 2020.
• “All other” tax collections for September totaled $256 million, $30 million or 13.4% above benchmark, and $49 million or 23.7% more than September 2020.

September 2021 Tax Collections Summary (in $ millions) Preliminary as of October 05, 2021

¹ With the recent enactment of the FY2022 budget, monthly revenue benchmarks were developed for the August 2021 through June 2022 period only.

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