Sales tax
Massachusetts Sales Tax in 2026: The 6.25% Rate, Meals Tax, Clothing Rule and MassTaxConnect
Massachusetts sales tax 2026: the 6.25% rate, the 7% local meals tax, the $175 clothing rule, MassTaxConnect registration, filing by the 30th and advance payments.
Edited by Sumeet YadavFounder & editor, MSMETOOLS · fact-checked against official sources
Contents (12)
- 1. The 6.25% rate and the one local add-on
- 2. The meals tax: what counts as a meal
- 3. The clothing rule: $175 per item
- 4. What else is taxable, and what's exempt
- 5. Worked examples in dollars
- 6. Registering in MassTaxConnect
- 7. Filing frequency, due dates and penalties
- 8. Advance payments for larger businesses
- 9. Out-of-state sellers and marketplaces
- 10. The August sales tax holiday
- 11. Common mistakes and how to fix them
- 12. What to do next
If you run a shop, restaurant or online store that sells to Massachusetts customers, this guide covers the 2026 rules you'll use every day. That means the flat 6.25% rate, the local meals tax that pushes restaurant bills to 7% in most larger towns, the $175 clothing rule, how to register and file in MassTaxConnect, and the advance payments larger businesses owe each month. It's written from the Department of Revenue's (DOR) own guides and the Division of Local Services data as of October 2026.
Quick answer
The Massachusetts sales tax rate is 6.25% statewide, with no county or city sales taxes on goods. Restaurant meals are 7% in the 272 cities and towns, including Boston, that add the 0.75% local meals excise, and 6.25% elsewhere.
Clothing is exempt up to $175 per item; only the excess is taxed
Groceries are exempt; meals, including hot food and sandwiches from stores, are taxed
Register, file and pay in MassTaxConnect; returns are due by the 30th day after the end of the period
Businesses with more than $150,000 of the tax last year make an advance payment by the 25th
Remote sellers collect once Massachusetts sales pass more than $100,000 in a year
The 6.25% rate and the one local add-on
Massachusetts has one of the simplest sales tax structures in the country. The state sales tax under Chapter 64H and the matching use tax under Chapter 64I are both 6.25%, and cities and towns can't add a general sales tax. A laptop costs the same in tax in Boston, Springfield, Pittsfield and Provincetown.
The exception is restaurant meals. Since 2009, Chapter 64L has let each city or town adopt a local option meals excise of 0.75% of a vendor's gross receipts from meals. Where it's adopted, the total tax on meals is 7%. A town's vote takes effect on the first day of the calendar quarter that begins at least 30 days after it accepts the excise.
Most of the state now charges it. The Division of Local Services' local options table, current as of October 9, 2026, lists 272 of the state's 351 cities and towns with the meals excise. Boston, Cambridge and Brookline adopted it from the first possible date, October 1, 2009. Brockton followed in 2010, and the newest adopters keep coming: Boylston's took effect on July 1, 2026. If you open a restaurant, check your town in the DOR table before you set up your point-of-sale system, because the local tax applies to where the meal is sold.
| Where and what | Rate in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Goods anywhere in Massachusetts | 6.25% |
| Restaurant meals in a town with the local option (Boston, Cambridge and 272 in total) | 7% |
| Restaurant meals in a town without it | 6.25% |
| Use tax on untaxed purchases | 6.25% |
| Clothing up to $175 per item | Exempt |
Will the meals rate rise? Governor Healey's Municipal Empowerment Act would let towns raise the local meals excise from 0.75% to 1%. The bill was refiled in January 2025 and, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association, its revenue sections were still awaiting House action in May 2026. As of October 2026 it hasn't become law, so 0.75% remains the ceiling. Watch for it if you run a restaurant.
The meals tax: what counts as a meal
The meals tax isn't a separate tax with a separate rate; it's the 6.25% sales tax applied to meals, plus the local excise where adopted. What matters is the definition of a meal, which DOR sets out in its meals guide and in regulation 830 CMR 64H.6.5.
Restaurants charge tax on all food and drink they sell, whether eaten in or taken out. Catering, food trucks, coffee shops and bars are treated the same way. Vending, fast food and takeout don't escape the tax just because there's no seating.
Stores are different. A store is any business that doesn't mainly sell meals, such as a supermarket, convenience store or bakery. Food sold by stores is generally exempt, but certain items are taxable as meals even there:
- Hot or heated prepared food, including rotisserie chicken, hot soup and heated entrées
- Sandwiches, whether made to order or prepackaged
- Poured drinks such as a cup of coffee or a fountain soda
- Food sold as a combination that's reasonably considered a meal
- Refrigerated single-portion entrées if the store provides a microwave for customers
- Unpackaged bakery items, unless sold in units of six or more to take away
- Anything sold in the store's restaurant section
Food sold by a Massachusetts store
| Item | Taxed as a meal? |
|---|---|
Hot rotisserie chicken, hot soup | Yes |
Sandwich, made to order or prepackaged | Yes |
Cup of coffee or fountain soda | Yes |
Cold sliced deli meat or cheese | No |
Frozen entrée | No |
Unopened 2-liter bottle of soda | No |
Six or more unpackaged pastries to go | No |
Hot rotisserie chicken, hot soup
- Taxed as a meal?
Yes
Sandwich, made to order or prepackaged
- Taxed as a meal?
Yes
Cup of coffee or fountain soda
- Taxed as a meal?
Yes
Cold sliced deli meat or cheese
- Taxed as a meal?
No
Frozen entrée
- Taxed as a meal?
No
Unopened 2-liter bottle of soda
- Taxed as a meal?
No
Six or more unpackaged pastries to go
- Taxed as a meal?
No
Plenty stays exempt. Cold deli meats and cheeses, whole unheated cooked chicken or fish, frozen entrées and soda in an unopened original container of at least 26 fluid ounces aren't meals. DOR's own example: a customer buying a pizza and a two-liter bottle of soda to go pays tax on the pizza but not the soda.
Since the July 2024 period, restaurants and other meal sellers report on a Meals, Food and Beverage (MFB) account in MassTaxConnect, which replaced the older meals tax (MLS) account. A business with several locations now has one MFB account and files a single return covering all of them.
The clothing rule: $175 per item
Massachusetts doesn't tax clothing and footwear for everyday use, up to $175 per item. If a single item costs more than $175, tax applies only to the amount above $175. DOR's example is a $200 suit, which carries $1.56 of tax: 6.25% of the $25 excess.
The limit applies to each item, not to the total. A customer who buys four $150 sweaters spends $600 and pays no tax, while a customer who buys one $600 coat pays tax on $425, or $26.56. You can't combine items to push them under the line, and you can't split a suit sold as a unit into separate jacket and trousers if it's normally sold together.
The exemption doesn't cover clothing or footwear made for athletic or protective use and not normally worn otherwise, such as cleats, ski boots, hard hats or safety glasses. Accessories such as jewelry, watches, handbags and wallets are taxable in full. Costumes and fabric are treated under their own rules, so check DOR's guidance if they're a big part of your sales.
What else is taxable, and what's exempt
The sales tax applies to retail sales of tangible personal property and a narrow set of services. Furniture, electronics, appliances, tools, cosmetics, toys, prewritten software and most other goods are taxable. Telecommunications services are taxable. Most services, such as legal, accounting, consulting, repairs labor, haircuts and cleaning, aren't, though the business pays tax on the supplies it uses.
Groceries are exempt, along with prescription medicines, newspapers and magazines, home heating fuel and residential utilities, and the clothing allowance above. Sales for resale are exempt when the buyer gives you a completed Form ST-4 resale certificate. Exempt organizations present their own certificate, and you can check sales tax registrations with DOR's online verification tool.
Use tax
If you buy taxable goods for use in Massachusetts and the seller doesn't charge Massachusetts tax, you owe 6.25% use tax. Businesses usually meet this on equipment, supplies and software bought from out-of-state sellers. Unlike sales tax, which the seller collects, use tax is generally paid directly to DOR by the buyer. Registered businesses report it through MassTaxConnect; individuals report it on their income tax return.
Worked examples in dollars
A Boston restaurant. A table orders $120 of food and drink. Boston has the local excise, so tax is 7%: $8.40, of which $7.50 is state tax and $0.90 is local. The same meal in a town that hasn't adopted the excise would carry $7.50.
A Worcester clothing shop. A customer buys a $95 pair of jeans, a $160 jacket and $240 boots. The jeans and jacket are under $175 and exempt. On the boots, tax applies to the $65 over the limit: $4.06. Total tax on $495 of clothing: $4.06.
A supermarket in Springfield. A shopper buys $150 of groceries, a $9 hot rotisserie chicken and a $3 cup of coffee. The groceries are exempt. The chicken and coffee are meals, so they're taxed at 6.25% plus the local excise if Springfield has adopted it. Check the DOR table before you program the till.
A Connecticut online seller. A Hartford seller's Massachusetts sales reach $110,000 in September 2026. It crossed more than $100,000 during the current year, so it must start collecting on the first day of the month beginning two months after the month it crossed: December 1, 2026.
Try it — a $120 restaurant bill in Boston
Registering in MassTaxConnect
Every vendor engaged in business in Massachusetts must register with DOR before making taxable sales, and registration is done online in MassTaxConnect. The same system is where you file returns, make payments, update your business details and print your registration certificate.
Getting set up to collect Massachusetts sales tax
- 1
Form your business
LLC registration guideRegister your LLC or corporation with the Secretary of the Commonwealth if you're using one, and get a federal EIN. A Massachusetts LLC's filing fee is $500.
- 2
Create a MassTaxConnect login
MassTaxConnectRegister the business and add the account types you need: sales and use tax for goods, Meals, Food and Beverage (MFB) for meals, and withholding if you'll have employees.
- 3
Get your certificate and filing frequency
DOR issues a certificate for each location and assigns monthly, quarterly or annual filing based on the tax you expect to collect. Display the certificate where you sell.
- 4
Program meals and clothing correctly
Set the local meals excise for your town if it applies, and set clothing to tax only the amount above $175 per item.
- 5
Collect resale and exemption certificates
Take Form ST-4 from customers buying for resale and keep it on file.
Filing frequency, due dates and penalties
DOR assigns your filing frequency when you register, based on how much sales and use tax you'll collect in a year, and reviews it as your business grows.
If you expect to collect $100 or less a year, you file annually. Between $101 to $1,200, you file quarterly. At $1,201 or more, you file monthly, which covers most shops and almost every restaurant.
Whatever your frequency, the return is due on or before the 30th day after the end of the period it covers. A monthly filer's September return is due October 30, and a quarterly filer's July-to-September return is due the same day. Some older guidance and many third-party sites still say the 20th; DOR's current guide says the 30th. All sales and use tax vendors must file and pay electronically for periods since January 1, 2022.
You must file a return for every period, even when no tax is due. Late filing costs 1% of the balance due per month, up to 25%, and late payment carries its own penalty plus interest.
Advance payments for larger businesses
Massachusetts makes bigger vendors pay part of each month's tax early. If your cumulative Massachusetts liability for a tax type was more than $150,000 in the previous calendar year, you must make an advance payment by the 25th of the month for each monthly period. The test counts all state and local tax for that type, including the local meals excise, but not use tax you owe on your own purchases. Sales tax and meals tax are tested separately, so a restaurant with a retail shop checks each one on its own. Multiple locations of a single business are added together.
The advance payment must be at least the lesser of two amounts: the tax you actually collected from the 1st to the 21st of the month, or 80% of the previous month's total liability. The rest is due with the return by the 30th day after the month ends. Underpay and you face a penalty of 5% of the shortfall unless you show reasonable cause; you can self-assess it on the return. Quarterly and annual filers never make advance payments, even if they somehow pass the threshold.
Here's a worked month. A Cambridge restaurant group owed $260,000 of meals tax last year, so it's in the program. Its September 2026 liability was $24,000. In October it collects $17,500 from October 1 to 21. Its advance payment, due October 25, must be at least the lesser of $17,500 and 80% of $24,000 ($19,200), so it pays $17,500. If October's total comes to $25,000, it pays the remaining $7,500 with the return by November 30.
A monthly filer's last quarter of 2026
October 25
Advance payment for October (if over $150,000 last year)
October 30
September returns due; Q3 returns due for quarterly filers
November 30
October returns due
December 30
November returns due
January 30, 2027
December and Q4 returns due, and annual returns for the year
Out-of-state sellers and marketplaces
Remote sellers with no physical presence in Massachusetts must register and collect once their Massachusetts sales exceed more than $100,000 in a calendar year. Unlike most states, Massachusetts has no transaction-count test: 1,000 small orders totaling $40,000 don't trigger collection.
Timing depends on when you cross the line. If your sales passed more than $100,000 before November 1 of last year, you should have started collecting on January 1. If you crossed after November 1 last year, or cross during the current year, you start on the first day of the month beginning two months after the month you crossed. Remote sellers file monthly, by the 30th day after each month.
Marketplace facilitators such as Amazon and Etsy are subject to the same threshold and collect tax on the sales they facilitate. If all your Massachusetts sales go through a collecting marketplace, those sales are covered; your own website sales are your responsibility.
The August sales tax holiday
Massachusetts holds a permanent two-day sales tax holiday each August. In 2026 it was Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, 2026. Most retail items priced at $2,500 or less and bought for personal use were exempt. Meals, motor vehicles, motorboats, alcohol, tobacco, gas, electricity, steam and telecommunications services were excluded, and purchases by businesses, or by individuals for business use, stayed taxable.
Massachusetts sales tax holiday (2026)
Aug 8–9
Holiday weekend
$2,500
Per-item price limit
Personal use
Business purchases stay taxable
Excluded
Meals, cars, boats, alcohol, tobacco
Every business that normally makes taxable sales in Massachusetts and is open on those days must take part, including remote sellers on their Massachusetts sales. A sale qualifies only if the customer takes possession or pays in full during the holiday; a deposit or layaway paid earlier doesn't count.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Applying $175 to the whole receipt. The clothing limit is per item. Charging tax on a bag of five $60 shirts, or exempting a $400 coat entirely, are both errors. Set up clothing so tax runs only on each item's excess.
Missing the local meals excise. If your town has adopted it, you owe 0.75% whether or not you charged customers. Check the Division of Local Services table when you open and when your town votes.
Treating store sandwiches as groceries. Sandwiches and poured coffee are meals even in a supermarket.
Filing by the wrong date. Massachusetts returns are due 30 days after the period, not on the 20th like many neighboring states. Paying early is fine; paying late isn't.
Ignoring the advance payment. Restaurants growing past more than $150,000 of meals tax are often caught out in their first year. Review last year's total each January.
What to do next
Register in MassTaxConnect before your first sale, check whether your town charges the local meals excise, and set clothing to the per-item rule. Put the 30th of each month in your calendar, plus the 25th if you're over the advance payment threshold. Use the sales tax calculator to check bills and our how to calculate sales tax guide for tax-inclusive prices. Selling into New York too? Compare the rules in our New York sales tax guide.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.
Frequently asked questions
The Massachusetts sales and use tax rate is 6.25%, and it's the same everywhere in the state because cities and towns can't add a general sales tax. The one local add-on is the optional 0.75% meals excise on restaurant meals, which brings the meals rate to 7% in the 272 cities and towns that have adopted it, including Boston and Cambridge.
Boston's sales tax on goods is 6.25%, the statewide rate. Restaurant meals in Boston are taxed at 7%, because Boston adopted the 0.75% local option meals excise from October 1, 2009. Hotel rooms carry separate state and local room occupancy excises, which aren't sales tax.
Clothing and footwear are exempt up to $175 per item. If one item costs more than $175, only the amount over $175 is taxed: a $200 coat carries $1.56 of tax, which is 6.25% of $25. The limit applies item by item, not to the whole bill. Athletic and protective gear, and accessories such as jewelry and handbags, are taxable in full.
Register online in MassTaxConnect, the Department of Revenue's system for registering, filing and paying. Every vendor doing business in Massachusetts must register before making taxable sales. Restaurants register for a Meals, Food and Beverage (MFB) account, which replaced the old meals tax account from the July 2024 period. DOR assigns your filing frequency when you register.
Returns are due on or before the 30th day after the end of the period they cover, for monthly, quarterly and annual filers alike. Every return must be filed and paid electronically through MassTaxConnect, and you must file even when no tax is due. Businesses with more than more than $150,000 of the tax in the prior year also make an advance payment by the 25th of the month.
The 2026 holiday was Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, 2026. Most retail items priced at $2,500 or less, bought for personal use, were exempt. Meals, cars, boats, alcohol, tobacco, gas, electricity and telecommunications services were excluded, as were business purchases.
Sources & verification
Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 9 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify
- 1.Sales and Use Tax (guide) — Massachusetts Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
- 2.Sales Tax on Meals (guide) — Massachusetts Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
- 3.Local Tax Option Effective Dates & Rates (data current as of 10/09/2026) — Massachusetts DOR, Division of Local Services · accessed 9 October 2026
- 4.Advance Payment Frequently Asked Questions — Massachusetts Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
- 5.830 CMR 62C.16B.1: Advance Payments of Sales and Use Tax and Room Occupancy Excise — Massachusetts Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
- 6.Remote Seller and Marketplace Facilitator FAQs — Massachusetts Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
- 7.Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions — Massachusetts Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
- 8.Municipal Empowerment Act awaits action in House — Massachusetts Municipal Association · accessed 9 October 2026
MSMETOOLS is an independent platform and is not affiliated with any government agency, ministry or department.
Tools for this
Sales Tax Calculator (US)
Calculate sales tax for all US states and cities.
Invoice Generator
Create professional invoices with tax, logo and custom details.
Related guides
Massachusetts Business License 2026: What You NeedRead guide 
New Jersey Sales Tax 2026: 6.625% Rate, UEZ & ClothingRead guide 
Connecticut Sales Tax 2026: 6.35%, Meals 7.35%, LuxuryRead guide 
Maine Sales Tax 2026: 5.5% Rate, 8% Meals, 9% LodgingRead guide Official links open the government site in a new tab.