Massachusetts estate tax in 2026
Massachusetts taxes estates above $2,000,000 with the federal credit table of 2000 and a fixed credit of $99,600. Enter the amount subject to Massachusetts estate tax to see the tax for a death in 2026.
- Filing threshold
- $2,000,000
- Fixed credit
- $99,600
- Top rate of Table B
- 16 %
- Form M-706 due
- 9 months
Massachusetts estate tax for a death in 2026
$82,400
2.7 % of the taxable estate; exemption $2,000,000.
| Exemption or threshold | $2,000,000 |
| Amount above it | $1,000,000 |
| State estate tax | $82,400 |
| Return due | 9 months after death |
Estimate on the state table for 2026. Federal tax comes on top above the federal exclusion.
| Taxable estate | State tax | Share |
|---|---|---|
| $2,000,000 | $0 | 0.0 % |
| $3,000,000 | $82,400 | 2.7 % |
| $4,000,000 | $180,800 | 4.5 % |
| $5,000,000 | $292,000 | 5.8 % |
| $6,000,000 | $411,200 | 6.9 % |
| $7,000,000 | $538,400 | 7.7 % |
| $8,000,000 | $673,600 | 8.4 % |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How we calculate · figures read on the state revenue department, the statute and irs.gov · not legal or tax advice
A Massachusetts estate tax return is required for a death in 2026 when the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds $2,000,000, a threshold in force since January 1, 2023. The tax is the maximum credit for state death taxes of the federal law as it stood on December 31, 2000, read on Table B for the amount subject to Massachusetts estate tax less $60,000, minus a fixed Massachusetts credit of $99,600. That credit equals the Table B amount at $2,000,000, so the tax starts from zero at the threshold and climbs steadily: $39,200 on $2,500,000, $292,000 on $5,000,000, $968,000 on $10,000,000. For deaths on or after August 1, 2025, a resident's real estate and tangible property outside Massachusetts are left out of the computation, and a nonresident is taxed only on Massachusetts real estate and tangible property. Form M-706 is due nine months after death, with an automatic six-month extension when 80 % of the tax is paid on time.
The computation since August 1, 2025
The Department of Revenue's estate tax guide, updated in April 2026, gives the steps for a resident who died on or after August 1, 2025 (Massachusetts estate tax guide). Start from the federal gross estate as defined by the Internal Revenue Code in effect on December 31, 2000. Subtract real and tangible property located outside Massachusetts. Add any Massachusetts QTIP assets from a predeceased spouse's return. Subtract the deductions allowed for Massachusetts purposes, such as debts, costs, the marital deduction and charitable gifts: the result is the amount subject to Massachusetts estate tax. Then compute the federal credit for state death taxes with Table B on that amount less $60,000, and subtract $99,600. The result, never below zero, is the tax.
| Amount subject to Massachusetts tax | Table B credit | Massachusetts tax | Average rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000,000 | $99,600 | $0 | 0.0 % |
| $2,100,000 | $106,800 | $7,200 | 0.3 % |
| $2,500,000 | $138,800 | $39,200 | 1.6 % |
| $3,000,000 | $182,000 | $82,400 | 2.7 % |
| $5,000,000 | $391,600 | $292,000 | 5.8 % |
| $10,000,000 | $1,067,600 | $968,000 | 9.7 % |
The $99,600 is not an arbitrary number: it is exactly the Table B credit on an estate of $2,000,000. Below the threshold the subtraction leaves nothing, and just above it the tax grows at the Table B marginal rate of 7.2 %, then faster as the estate climbs through the brackets to 16 % above $10,100,000.
Massachusetts tax on another amount
Massachusetts estate tax for a death in 2026
$180,800
| Exemption or threshold | $2,000,000 |
| Amount above it | $2,000,000 |
| State estate tax | $180,800 |
| Return due | 9 months after death |
No more cliff at the threshold
For deaths from 2016 through 2022 the threshold was $1,000,000 and there was no fixed credit, so an estate barely over the line owed the Table B credit on its whole value. The 2023 law raised the threshold to $2,000,000 and added the $99,600 credit under chapter 65C, section 2A(f). An estate of $2,100,000 now owes $7,200. Older articles that describe a Massachusetts cliff are describing the rules before 2023.
Residents with property in another state
Since August 1, 2025, real estate and tangible property located outside Massachusetts are removed from the computation altogether, rather than reducing the tax by a ratio. A resident with a $6,000,000 estate that includes a $1,500,000 condominium in Florida is taxed as if the estate were $4,500,000: $236,000 instead of $411,200. For deaths from January 1, 2023 to July 31, 2025 a different method applied; the Department's FAQ on the 2023 changes describes it.
Nonresidents with a house in Massachusetts
A nonresident who owned real estate or tangible property in Massachusetts must file when the total worldwide estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds $2,000,000, using Form M-706 with the nonresident decedent affidavit, Form M-NRA. The tax, however, is computed only on the Massachusetts real and tangible property, less the federal deductions directly related to it, with the same Table B and the same $99,600 credit. The result can be surprising. A New York resident with a $9,000,000 estate and a $1,500,000 house on Cape Cod must file, yet owes $0, because the Massachusetts property alone is below $2,000,000. A Florida resident whose Massachusetts property is worth $3,000,000 owes $82,400. Other states' rules for out-of-state owners are on property in another state.
Federal changes have no effect
The guide is explicit that changes to the federal estate tax after December 31, 2000 have no impact on the Massachusetts estate tax. The federal basic exclusion of $15,000,000 for 2026, portability between spouses and the federal rate schedule play no part in the computation. The Table B worksheet itself comes from the July 1999 revision of the federal Form 706 instructions and is reprinted on page 6 of Form M-706, so the bracket amounts never change from one year to the next. The guide describes no carryover of an unused threshold between spouses either: a couple who leave everything to each other give the survivor a single $2,000,000 threshold, a situation discussed on married couples and state estate tax.
Filing and paying
The return and the payment are due nine months after the date of death. Since December 5, 2016 every filer receives an automatic six-month extension of time to file, provided at least 80 % of the tax finally due has been paid by the payment due date. Returns and the M-NRA can be filed through MassTaxConnect. Massachusetts QTIP elections made at the first death bring the trust back into the second estate, as the computation above shows.