Massachusetts taxes wages at a flat 5% until roughly $1.08 million, at which point a voter-approved surtax nearly doubles the rate on everything above.
| Gross pay | — |
| Federal income tax | — |
| Social Security6.2% up to $184,500 | — |
| Medicare1.45%, no cap | — |
| State income tax | — |
| 401(k) contribution | — |
| Health and HSA | — |
Useful if you are comparing a job that pays monthly against one that pays every two weeks, or working out what a raise is worth per paycheck.
| Pay schedule | Gross | Take-home |
|---|
The Massachusetts constitution long required a flat income tax, and the rate has sat at 5% for years. In 2022 voters approved a constitutional amendment adding a 4-point surtax on income above $1 million, indexed for inflation and now applying above roughly $1,083,150.
The result is effectively two brackets: 5% and 9%. For the overwhelming majority of wage earners only the first applies. But the surtax is assessed on total annual income, not just wages, which means a one-off event — selling a business, a large equity vest, selling a long-held property — can push an ordinary earner over the line for a single year.
Massachusetts offers no standard deduction. Instead there is a personal exemption of $4,400 for a single filer and $8,800 for a couple, plus $1,000 per dependent.
Those figures are larger than the equivalents in most flat-tax states without a deduction, so the effective rate at modest incomes sits a little below 5%. Massachusetts also allows deductions for commuter costs, rent up to a cap, and student loan interest — an unusually specific set that is worth checking rather than assuming the flat rate is the whole story.
This is a Massachusetts peculiarity that catches people out. Short-term capital gains — assets held a year or less — are taxed at 8.5% rather than the 5% that applies to wages and long-term gains.
If you trade actively, this is a materially worse regime than the flat rate suggests. It does not affect a normal paycheck, but it changes the arithmetic on a brokerage account considerably.
Massachusetts runs a Paid Family and Medical Leave programme funded partly by an employee payroll deduction, withheld as a small percentage of eligible wages. Employers above a size threshold contribute an additional share.
It is a payroll contribution rather than an income tax, so it sits outside this calculator, but it is a visible line on a Massachusetts pay stub and part of why your actual net will land slightly below the figure shown.
Living in New Hampshire and working in Massachusetts is common and the tax consequence is unambiguous: Massachusetts taxes income earned within its borders regardless of where you live, and New Hampshire offers no credit because it levies no income tax to credit against.
Days genuinely worked from your New Hampshire home are generally not Massachusetts-source income, which makes accurate records of where you physically worked worth keeping.
A 4-point surtax on income above roughly $1,083,150, approved by voters in 2022, bringing the rate on that portion to 9%. It applies to total income for the year, so a one-time sale or large vest can trigger it.
No. It offers personal exemptions of $4,400 single or $8,800 joint, plus $1,000 per dependent, and several specific deductions including rent and commuter costs.
Massachusetts taxes short-term capital gains at 8.5% rather than the 5% applied to wages and long-term gains.
Massachusetts tax on income earned in Massachusetts. New Hampshire adds nothing but gives no credit either. Remote days worked from home in New Hampshire are generally outside Massachusetts's reach.