Massachusetts Paycheck Calculator (2026)

Massachusetts taxes wages at a flat 5%, and since 2023 adds a 4% surtax on income above an inflation-indexed threshold ($1,083,150 for 2026), so the top rate on very high earners is 9%. There is no standard deduction; a $4,400 personal exemption ($8,800 joint) is the main relief, along with a rent deduction of up to $4,000 and a deduction for the employee's own Social Security and Medicare taxes up to $2,000. Short-term capital gains are taxed at 8.5%, well above the wage rate.

Paid Family and Medical Leave shows up on every stub. The employee share is 0.46% of wages up to the Social Security wage base ($184,500), and employers with 25 or more workers pay an additional 0.42% themselves. This calculator includes the 0.46% in the state total. There are no city or town income taxes in Massachusetts.

The state has no reciprocity agreements, which is a sore point on the New Hampshire border: Granite State residents who commute into Massachusetts owe Massachusetts tax on those wages even though their own state taxes nothing, and Massachusetts continued to tax many of them during remote work. Sales tax is 6.25% statewide with no local additions, and clothing under $175 and groceries are exempt.