Boston, MA — Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder today announced that preliminary revenue collections for November totaled $2.253 billion, $131 million or 5.5% less than actual collections in November 2022, and $274 million or 10.9% below benchmark.^[1]

FY2024 year-to-date collections totaled approximately $14.097 billion, which is $146 million or 1.0% more than collections in the same period of FY2023, but $627 million or 4.3% less than the year-to-date benchmark.

“November collections decreased in non-withheld income, sales and use tax, corporate and business tax, and ‘all other’ tax in comparison to November 2022,” said Commissioner Snyder. “These decreases were partially offset by an increase in withholding. The decrease in non-withheld income tax was driven primarily by an unexpected increase in income tax refunds. The decrease in sales and use tax was mainly due to a decline in regular sales tax. The decrease in ‘all other’ tax is mostly attributable to a decrease in estate tax, which tends to fluctuate.”

In general, November is among the smaller months for revenue collection because neither individual nor business taxpayers make significant estimated payments during the month.

Historically, roughly 6.5% of annual revenue, on average, has been received during November.

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

Details:

• Income tax collections for November totaled $1.248 billion, $143 million or 10.3% below benchmark, and $45 million or 3.5% less than November 2022.
• Withholding tax collections for November totaled $1.367 billion, $22 million or 1.6% above benchmark, and $111 million or 8.8% more than November 2022.
• Income tax estimated payments for November totaled $44 million, $17 million or 27.6% below benchmark, and $15 million or 25.9% less than November 2022.
• Income tax returns and bills for November totaled $72 million, $7 million or 10.9% above benchmark, and $6 million or 9.1% more than November 2022.
• Income tax cash refunds for November totaled $235 million in outflows, $155 million or 195.4% above benchmark, and $147 million or 167.1% more than November 2022.
• Sales and use tax collections for November totaled $767 million, $53 million or 6.5% below benchmark, and $14 million or 1.8% less than November 2022.
• Corporate and business tax collections for November totaled $55 million, $31 million or 35.8% below benchmark, and $27 million or 32.8% less than November 2022.
• “All other” tax collections for November totaled $182 million, $47 million or 20.6% below benchmark, and $45 million or 19.8% less than November 2022.

November 2023 Tax Collections Summary (in $ millions) Preliminary as of December 5, 2023

[1]

With the enactment of the FY2024 budget, monthly revenue benchmarks were developed for the August 2023 through June 2024 period. The benchmarks included in this press release do not include the impact of the tax relief bill enacted on October 4, 2023; the tax relief bill impacts are expected to affect revenues beginning in December 2023 or January 2024.

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