Mass. DOR Reports $2.493 Billion for Revenue Collected in August

Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder today announced that preliminary revenue collections for August totaled $2.493 billion, which is $529 million or 26.9% more than actual collections in August 2020, and $10 million or 0.4% more than benchmark.[1]

FY2022 year-to-date collections totaled approximately $4.745 billion, which is $639 million or 15.6% more than collections in the same period of FY2021, and $10 million or 0.2% more than year-to-date benchmark.

“August collections were slightly above monthly and year-to-date benchmarks and above collections from the same period last year,” said Commissioner Snyder. “August revenue included increases in all major tax types relative to August 2020 collections, including increases in withholding, regular sales, meals tax, and “all other tax”. The increase in withholding is likely related to improvement in labor market conditions. The increase in regular sales tax reflects continued strength in retail sales, and the increase in meals tax reflects the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. The increase in “all other tax” is primarily attributable to estate tax, a category that tends to fluctuate, and room occupancy tax”.

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.

[1] With the recent enactment of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget, monthly revenue benchmarks were developed for August 2021 through June 2022 period only.

Details:

·       Income tax collections for August were $1.430 billion, $2 million or 0.1% above benchmark, and $286 million or 25.0% more than August 2020.

·       Withholding tax collections for August totaled $1.348 billion, $2 million or 0.2% below benchmark, but $229 million or 20.5% more than August 2020.

·       Income tax estimated payments totaled $45 million for August, $4 million or 9.5% more thanbenchmark, and $45 million more than August 2020.

·       Income tax returns and bills totaled $65 million for August, $3 million or 5.1% more than benchmark, and $36 million or 128.1% more than August 2020.

·       Income tax cash refunds in August totaled $28 million in outflows, $3 million or 11.3% above benchmark, and $24 million or 668.5% more than August 2020.

·       Sales and use tax collections for August totaled $714 million, $1 million or 0.2% below benchmark, but $106 million or 17.5% more than August 2020.

·       Meals tax collections, a sub-set of sales and use tax, totaled $122 million, $7 million or 5.7% above benchmark, and $43 million or 55.3% more than August 2020.

·       Corporate and business tax collections for the month totaled $76 million, $2 million or 2.8% above benchmark, and $44 million or 134.9% more than August 2020.

·       “All other” tax collections for August totaled $273 million, $7 million or 2.6% above benchmark, and $92 million or 51.1% more than August 2020.