Massachusetts Sales Tax: 6.25% Rate, Meals and Clothing

Massachusetts has one statewide sales tax rate, and its exemptions for food, medicine and clothing are what shoppers notice most. The local layers are narrow: a local option on restaurant meals and a separate excise on hotel rooms.

This guide sets out the 6.25% rate, the meals tax and its local option, what is taxable or exempt, a worked table of our own examples, use tax, rules for remote sellers and the annual sales tax holiday. It uses the Department of Revenue's guides and pages and the Division of Local Services, read on 2 and 3 November 2026.

The 6.25% State Rate

The Department of Revenue's Sales and Use Tax guide says the Massachusetts sales tax is 6.25% of the sales price or rental charge of tangible personal property (including gas, electricity and steam) and telecommunications services sold or rented in Massachusetts. The buyer pays the tax to the vendor at the time of purchase, and the vendor sends it to the state. For motor vehicle and trailer sales, the buyer pays the tax directly to Massachusetts. The guide also says cable television and Internet access are exempt from the sales tax.

The Department's pages describe no general local sales tax on top of the 6.25%. The local layers it describes are on meals, hotel rooms and short-term rentals, and marijuana, and the first two are covered below.

Meals Tax and the Local Option

Restaurant meals carry the same 6.25% rate. The Department's meals guide defines a meal as any food or beverage prepared for immediate human consumption and provided by a restaurant or restaurant part of a store, and says this includes takeout and to-go items. Any store that contains a restaurant part must charge sales tax on those meals, while groceries are generally exempt.

A city or town may adopt a local option meals excise of 0.75% on restaurant meals sourced there. It is charged in addition to the state tax, so the effective rate is 7% in a city or town that adopted it. It generally starts on the first day of the calendar quarter following 30 days after acceptance, or a later quarter chosen by the town. The Department keeps a list of cities and towns that have accepted it; we did not copy that list, so check it for your town.

The sales tax guide also lists a few meal-like exemptions, including baked goods sold in units of 6 or more for takeout and snacks or candy sold through a vending machine or honor snack tray for less than $3.50.

Hotel Rooms and Short-Term Rentals

Rooms are a separate excise rather than part of the 6.25% sales tax. The Department's tax rates page puts the state room occupancy excise at 5.7%, and the Division of Local Services says cities and towns may add a local room occupancy excise of up to 6% (6.5% for Boston). Cities and towns that have adopted the local excise may also vote an additional community impact fee of up to 3% on short-term rentals. The Department's tax rates page lists further area charges, such as convention center financing and the Cape Cod and Islands water protection fund.

What Is Taxable and What Is Exempt

The Department's guide lists these general rules, with the exceptions it notes:

• Food: food for human consumption is exempt, other than meals sold by a restaurant. Vitamins, food supplements and weight-loss aids are listed as taxable.
• Clothing: clothing costing $175 or less per item is exempt. For an item over $175, tax applies only to the amount over $175, per item, whatever the total bill. Apparel designed solely for athletic or protective use is taxable.
• Medicine: prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications sold on prescription are exempt. Nonprescription medicine is listed as taxable.
• Services: services such as legal and medical services, haircuts and car repairs are generally not taxed, but items sold along with a service are taxable and must be itemized.
• Shipping: shipping and transportation services are generally exempt, subject to the guide's conditions.

Worked Examples (Our Arithmetic)

This table is our own calculation from the rates and rules above: the 6.25% state rate, the 0.75% local meals option, the $175 clothing threshold and the use tax difference rule, which assumes the other-state credit applies. Real receipts can differ by rounding and by items that fall outside these simplified cases.

Use Tax on Out-of-State and Online Purchases

The Department describes the use tax as 6.25% on out-of-state or out-of-country purchases of tangible personal property used, stored or consumed in Massachusetts on which no Massachusetts sales tax (or less than 6.25%) was paid. A taxable item brought into the state within 6 months of an out-of-state purchase is generally subject to it.

Individuals may report and pay use tax on their personal income tax return, and individual use tax on most items is due by April 15 of the year after the purchase. Motor vehicles, trailers, boats, recreational off-highway vehicles and snowmobiles are different: use tax on them is due by the 20th day of the month after the purchase. A safe harbor method gives an estimated amount for items under $1,000, and use tax on any purchase of $1,000 or more must be added to the safe harbor amount. If you paid less than 6.25% sales tax to another state, the Individual Use Tax page says you owe the difference. The Department's Sales and Use Tax guide adds that credit for tax paid to another state is granted only if that state has a reciprocal agreement with Massachusetts, which it says covers most states but not all, so call the Department about a specific state. No credit is allowed for foreign sales tax or VAT, or for a local tax paid to a city, town or county.

Online and Out-of-State Sellers

The Department says a remote seller must register as a vendor, collect tax on its Massachusetts sales and remit it to the Department when its Massachusetts sales in either the prior or current calendar year exceed $100,000. Marketplaces must collect on behalf of third-party sellers once the marketplace's total Massachusetts sales, including facilitated sales, exceed $100,000 in a calendar year. These requirements apply from October 1, 2019. Where an online seller did not collect Massachusetts tax, the use tax above applies.

The Sales Tax Holiday

Massachusetts has an annual sales tax holiday. The regulation says it falls on a two-day weekend designated by the general court by joint resolution no later than June 15, and if the legislature does not act the Commissioner of Revenue designates a two-day August weekend by July 1. The 2026 holiday was Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, and has passed. We found no 2027 dates, since they depend on that year's resolution or designation.

Under the Department's FAQ, retail items bought for personal use qualified if each item cost $2,500 or less. Meals, motor vehicles, motorboats, telecommunications services, gas, steam, electricity, tobacco products, marijuana products and alcoholic beverages did not qualify. If an item cost more than $2,500, the whole price was taxable. Online orders paid for on the holiday qualified even if delivery came later.

Official Sources

• Massachusetts DOR: Sales and Use Tax guide
• Massachusetts DOR: Sales Tax on Meals guide
• Massachusetts DOR: Tax Rates
• Massachusetts DOR Division of Local Services: Local Option Excise Taxes
• Massachusetts DOR: Individual Use Tax
• Massachusetts DOR: Remote Seller and Marketplace Facilitator FAQs
• Massachusetts DOR: Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions
• Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance: Tax Expenditure Budget, Exempt Products/Services (FY2027)
• 830 CMR 64H.1.8: Sales Tax Holiday