September Revenue Collections Total $3.144 Billion

Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder announced that September revenue collections totaled $3.144 billion, $46 million or 1.4 percent less than the actual collections in September 2019.

FY2021 year-to-date collections total approximately $7.27 billion, which is $69 million or 1.0 percent more than collections in the same period of FY2020. Not reflected in the total is approximately $2.321 billion in deferred personal income tax payments and refunds processed in July and August. Such payments and refunds have been recorded in FY2020 pursuant to legislation and are not shown in FY2021 year-to-date collections.

“The decline in September revenues is mostly due to decreases in withholding, non-withheld income tax, meals tax, and â€˜All Other’ tax. Those decreases were partly offset by increases in regular sales tax, motor vehicle sales tax, and corporate and business taxes,” said Commissioner Snyder. “Individual estimated payments declined slightly, and corporate estimated payments showed a small increase in September, and we note that estimated payment revenues tend to fluctuate over time and within each fiscal year.  DOR will continue to monitor these revenue categories closely.”

September is a significant month for revenue collection because the third installments of both individual and corporate estimated payments are due. September generally produces about 10 percent of annual revenue, making September the third or fourth largest revenue month of the year. 

This September is expected to be different. Although the month is still expected to be a significant month for revenues because of individual and corporate estimated payments, it will also reflect the impact of the filing and payment due date extensions for regular sales, meals, and room occupancy taxes. The due date for these tax types has been extended several times this year for certain businesses. The most recent extension was announced on Sept. 15. Returns and payments of these taxes for certain small businesses otherwise due during the period beginning March 2020 through April 2021 will instead be due in May 2021.[1] Note that September revenues will also continue to reflect the impact of COVID-19 on the tax base. Consequently, the September monthly and year-to-date figures should be interpreted with caution.

Details:

Preliminary September Revenue Collections

•Income tax collections for September were $1.712 billion, $28 million or 1.6% less than September 2019.

•Withholding tax collections for September totaled $1.076 billion, $20 million less than September 2019.

•Income tax estimated payments totaled $598 million for September, $25 million less than September 2019.

•Income tax returns and bills totaled $77 million for September, $26 million more than September 2019.

•Income tax cash refunds in September totaled $39 million in outflows, $9 million more in outflow than September 2019.

•Sales and use tax collections for September totaled $603 million, $14 million more than September 2019.

•Corporate and business tax collections, including corporate estimated payments, for September totaled $619 million, $31 million more than September 2019.

•“Other tax” collections for September totaled $210 million, $63 million less than September 2019.

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