Boston, MA — Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder today announced that preliminary revenue collections for February 2022 totaled $1.801 billion, which is $74 million or 3.9% less than actual collections in February 2021, and $293 million or 19.4% more than benchmark.¹ February 2022 revenue collections were impacted by the recently enacted elective pass-through entity (PTE) excise. As described in the January 2022 revenue press release, most of the impact on collections associated with the PTE excise is temporary. After adjusting for PTE excise payments received in the month of February, February 2022 collections are $94 million or 5.0% below actual collections in February 2021, but $291 million or 19.5% more than the benchmark.

FY2022 year-to-date collections totaled approximately $23.673 billion, which is $4.145 billion or 21.2% more than collections in the same period of FY2021, and $1.742 billion or 7.9% more than year-to-date benchmark. FY2022 year-to-date collections were also impacted by the PTE excise. After adjusting for PTE excise payments, FY2022 year-to-date collections are $2.887 billion or 14.8% more than collections in the same period of FY2021 and $1.083 billion or 5.1% more than the year-to-date benchmark.

“Withholding is the primary source of the decrease in February 2022 collections in comparison to February 2021” said Commissioner Snyder. “The decrease in withholding is related to the timing of the receipt of withholding payments: certain payments that were received in February 2021 were captured in January this year. Income tax refunds were the main contributor to the above benchmark performance for the month. However, this favorability may be temporary as refund activity will likely increase as the tax season progresses.”

February has historically been the lowest month for revenue, contributing less than 6% of annual collections. Neither individual nor business taxpayers are required to make estimated payments during the month.

Given the brief period covered in the report and the impact of PTE excise payments, February and year-to-date results should not be used as predictors for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Details:

• Income tax collections for February were $903 million, $183 million or 25.4% above benchmark, but $159 million or 15.0% less than February 2021. After adjusting for PTE excise payments, income tax collections for February 2022 are $180 million or 25.7% above benchmark, but $179 million or 16.9% less than February 2021.
• Withholding tax collections for February totaled $1.216 billion, $17 million or 1.4% below benchmark, and $101 million or 7.6% less than February 2021.
• Income tax estimated payments totaled $39 million for February, $12 million or 46.3% more than benchmark, and $20 million or 103.0% more than February 2021.
• Income tax returns and bills totaled $52 million for February, $0.1 million or 0.2% less than benchmark, and $4 million or 7.1% less than February 2021.
• Income tax cash refunds in February totaled $405 million in outflows, $188 million or 31.7% below benchmark, but $75 million or 22.6% more than February 2021.
• Sales and use tax collections for February totaled $603 million, $55 million or 10.0% above benchmark, and $37 million or 6.6% more than February 2021.
• Meals tax collections, a sub-set of sales and use tax, totaled $75 million, $3 million or 4.3% above benchmark, and $10 million or 14.7% more than February 2021.
• Corporate and business tax collections for the month totaled $48 million, $23 million or 90.1% above benchmark, and $11 million or 28.2% more than February 2021.
• “All other” tax collections for February totaled $247 million, $33 million or 15.2% above benchmark, and $38 million or 17.9% more than February 2021.

February 2022 Tax Collections Summary (in $ millions) Preliminary as of March 3, 2022

¹ With the enactment of the FY2022 budget, monthly revenue benchmarks were developed for the August 2021 through June 2022 period only. In December 2021, monthly benchmarks from December 2021 through June 2022 were further modified to reflect the impact of the recently enacted pass-through entity tax and the impact of taxation of non-residents. On January 14, 2022, the Secretary of Administration and Finance announced a revised tax revenue estimate of $35.9 billion for FY2022, an increase of $1.5 billion from the prior estimate of $34.4 billion. This revision is based on recent revenue performance and improved economic data. The revised FY2022 benchmark estimate of $35.9 billion represents July 2021 through December 2021 actual collections, adjusted for PTE excise collections, and forecasted collections for the months of January 2022 through June 2022.

###