Massachusetts Sales Tax Calculator

Massachusetts sales tax at a glance

Massachusetts charges 6.25% on taxable goods statewide, and there is no local general sales tax, so Boston, Worcester and the Berkshires charge the same rate on a TV or a lamp. Restaurant meals are taxed at 6.25% under the state meals tax, and a city or town may add a 0.75% local option meals excise, which brings the rate on a restaurant bill to 7% in communities that adopt it.

Three features make Massachusetts different from most states: a partial clothing exemption, a two-day sales tax holiday that covers almost everything, and a use tax "safe harbor" for small out-of-state purchases.

The $175 clothing rule

Clothing priced at $175 or less per item is exempt from Massachusetts sales tax. For an item over $175, tax applies only to the part of the price above $175. So a $300 winter coat is taxed on $125, giving $7.81 of tax, not $18.75.

The threshold applies item by item. A shopping bag with six $150 items has no tax at all, even though the receipt totals $900.

Other exemptions: food and prescriptions

Food for human consumption is exempt, except meals sold by restaurants and similar sellers, which pay the meals tax. Prescription drugs are exempt, and over-the-counter medicines are exempt only when sold on prescription.

The Massachusetts sales tax holiday

Massachusetts holds a sales tax holiday weekend each August. In 2026 it fell on Saturday, August 8, and Sunday, August 9. Most retail items bought for personal use and priced at $2,500 or less are exempt.

The $2,500 limit is per item. If a single item costs more than $2,500, the whole price is taxable, not just the excess. You can buy as many items under the limit as you like, even if the total is over $2,500. These items never qualify:

On a $2,400 laptop, the holiday saves $150.00. On a $2,600 laptop it saves nothing, so if you are near the threshold, check the price after discounts.

• Meals
• Motor vehicles and motorboats
• Telecommunications services
• Gas, steam and electricity
• Tobacco, marijuana products and alcoholic beverages
• Any single item priced over $2,500

Use tax and buying a car out of state

Massachusetts residents report use tax on untaxed out-of-state purchases on Form 1, or Form 1-NR/PY for part-year residents and nonresidents. For individual items under $1,000, you may use the safe harbor method on the return instead of adding up each purchase. Use tax on any item of $1,000 or more must be added to the safe harbor amount.

For vehicles bought out of state, if you paid sales tax of 6.25% or more to the other state, you generally owe nothing more. If you paid less and bring the vehicle into Massachusetts for permanent use within six months, you owe the difference, due by the 20th day of the month after the vehicle enters the state. A car bought for $30,000 in a state that charged 4% would owe about $675 in Massachusetts use tax.

Massachusetts compared with its neighbors

Massachusetts's 6.25% rate is lower than Connecticut's 6.35% and lower than Rhode Island's 7.00%. New Hampshire has a 0% general sales tax, so stores in Nashua and Salem, New Hampshire, charge none.

Buying in New Hampshire does not remove the tax for Massachusetts residents. Taxable items brought back for use in Massachusetts are subject to use tax, reported on Form 1. Clothing at $175 or less per item is exempt either way.

Massachusetts mistakes to avoid

Two Massachusetts thresholds confuse people because they work differently:

• Clothing over $175 is taxed only on the excess, every day of the year.
• Holiday items over $2,500 are taxed on the full price, not the excess.
• Meals are excluded from the holiday, so restaurant bills are taxed as usual that weekend.
• Vehicles never qualify for the holiday; vehicle tax is handled separately at registration.

Reversing Massachusetts tax on meals and goods

Divide by 1.0625 to remove 6.25% tax. A $63.75 restaurant bill in a town without the local meals excise was $60.00 of food and $3.75 of meals tax; in a town with it, divide by 1.07 instead, giving $59.58 of food. For a clothing item over $175, only the excess is taxed, so reverse it differently: a $281.25 coat receipt means $175 untaxed plus $100 taxed, with $6.25 of tax on a $275 coat.

Planning a big purchase around the holiday

Because the $2,500 limit is per item, a household buying several large items can save significantly on holiday weekend. A $1,800 TV, a $2,200 sofa and a $900 mattress bought separately all qualify, saving $306.25. A $2,600 sectional sold as one item would not qualify, and the full $162.50 would be due.