Massachusetts charges 5% flat + 4% surtax >$1M state income tax. Use the marriage tax calculator pre-loaded with Massachusetts rates.
Open Marriage Tax Calculator →Massachusetts's flat 5% state income tax interacts with federal brackets to create marriage bonuses or penalties that differ from the federal-only effect. Since Massachusetts uses a flat rate, the state tax does not create its own marriage penalty, but it does amplify the federal effect by adding to the total tax burden. This calculator shows the combined federal and Massachusetts state marriage tax impact.
Massachusetts levies a flat 5% state income tax on all taxable income regardless of how much you earn. This makes tax planning straightforward: for every additional dollar you earn, 5 cents goes to Massachusetts. Massachusetts does not impose local income taxes, so the 5% flat rate is the only state-level income tax you owe.
The table below shows what you actually keep at five salary levels in Massachusetts, accounting for federal tax, FICA, and Massachusetts's flat 5% state tax.
See how Massachusetts compares to other Northeast states. Each link takes you to the marriage tax calculator landing page for that state.
For a comprehensive breakdown of Massachusetts’s tax structure, salary comparisons, cost-of-living analysis, and more, visit the full Massachusetts take-home pay page.