Boston, MA — Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder today announced that preliminary revenue collections for August totaled $2.429 billion, $172 million or 6.6% less than actual collections in August 2022, and $18 million or 0.7% below benchmark.^[1]

FY2024 year-to-date collections totaled approximately $5.096 billion, which is $89 million or 1.8% more than collections in the same period of FY2023, but $21 million or 0.4% less than the year-to-date benchmark. “August revenue included decreases relative to August 2022 collections in withholding, non-withheld income, sales and use tax, corporate and business tax, and ’all other’ tax” said Commissioner Snyder. “The decreases in withholding and sales and use tax were due, in part, to typical timing factors in collections. The decrease in ’all other’ tax is mostly due to a decrease in estate tax, a category that tends to fluctuate.”

DOR estimates that roughly $150 million of the year-over-year decrease in August reflects a shift in sales and use and withholding collections between months because of timing, without which August 2023 revenue would be about $22 million or 0.8% less than actual collections in August 2022.

August is one of the smaller months for revenue collections, because neither individual nor business taxpayers make significant estimated payments during the month. Historically, roughly 6.7% of annual revenue, on average, has been received during August.

Given the brief period covered in the report, August and year-to-date results should not be used as a predictor for the rest of the fiscal year.

Details

• Income tax collections for August totaled $1.322 billion, $3 million or 0.2% below benchmark, and $79 million or 5.6% less than August 2022.
• Withholding tax collections for August totaled $1.267 billion, $4 million or 0.3% below benchmark, and $51 million or 3.9% less than August 2022.
• Income tax estimated payments for August totaled $47 million, $3 million or 7.9% above benchmark, but $8 million or 13.8% less than August 2022.
• Income tax returns and bills for August totaled $63 million, $1 million or 1.6% above benchmark, but $20 million or 24.6% less than August 2022.
• Income tax cash refunds for August totaled $55 million in outflows, $4 million or 7.2% above benchmark, but virtually equal to August 2022.
• Sales and use tax collections for August totaled $809 million, $3 million or 0.3% above benchmark, but $16 million or 2.0% less than August 2022.
• Meals tax, a sub-set of sales and use tax, for August totaled $150 million, $3 million or 2.0% above benchmark, but $2 million or 1.5% less than August 2022.
• Corporate and business tax collections for August totaled $60 million, $1 million or 1.3% below benchmark, and $24 million or 28.9% less than August 2022.
• “All other” tax collections for August totaled $238 million, $17 million or 6.6% below benchmark, and $52 million or 18.0% less than August 2022.

August 2023 Tax Collections Summary (in $ millions) Preliminary as of September 6, 2023

[1]

With the recent enactment of the FY2024 budget, monthly revenue benchmarks were developed for the August 2023 through June 2024 period.

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