Massachusetts Millionaires Tax 2026 and Residency
Quinn Moran · October 6, 2026
The Massachusetts millionaires tax is a 4% surtax on taxable income above a threshold indexed for inflation: $1,107,750 for tax year 2026, up from $1,000,000 in 2023. Residents pay it on all their taxable income above the line; part-year residents and nonresidents who file Form 1-NR/PY pay it too. You are a resident if Massachusetts is your domicile, or if you keep a permanent place of abode there and spend more than 183 days of the year in the state, counting partial days.
On this page
The Massachusetts millionaires tax (the 4% surtax, often called the Fair Share Amendment) is now in its fourth year. It catches two groups: people with high income every year, and people with an ordinary income plus one very large year, such as a business sale, a big equity vest or the sale of a long-held house. For both groups, the question that comes right after "how much?" is "can I get out of it by leaving?" That turns on Massachusetts residency, which is a day count as much as a question of where you live.
This post covers both halves. For the full set of Massachusetts rules, see the Massachusetts tax residency guide.
The 2026 threshold and how the surtax works
The Department of Revenue publishes the threshold each year:
| Tax year | Surtax threshold |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $1,000,000 |
| 2024 | $1,053,750 |
| 2025 | $1,083,150 |
| 2026 | $1,107,750 |
The surtax is 4% of taxable income above the threshold, on top of the regular income tax, under M.G.L. c. 62, sections 4(d) and 5A. A few mechanics catch people out:
- It is measured on total taxable income. The DOR adds Part A (short-term gains, interest and dividends), Part B (wages and most other income) and Part C (long-term capital gains). A negative part counts as zero, so a loss in one part cannot reduce another part for the surtax.
- A single year is enough. Someone earning $250,000 who sells a business for $3 million in 2026 has a 2026 surtax of roughly 4% of the amount above $1,107,750. On $3,000,000 of taxable income that is $75,690.
- No special home-sale exclusion. Gain on a personal residence that is taxable for regular income tax is taxable for the surtax too.
- Joint filing is required. Since tax year 2024, couples who file jointly for federal purposes must file jointly in Massachusetts unless an exception applies, and there is no exception for surtax payers, including spouses with different residency status.
Who counts as a Massachusetts resident
Massachusetts uses two tests. Meeting either one makes you a full-year resident.
1. Domicile. Your domicile is your one true home. The DOR's guidance says you keep your current domicile until you abandon it, establish a residence somewhere new, and intend to stay there permanently or indefinitely. You cannot have a home "for living" in one place and "for tax" in another. The burden of proving a change is on whoever claims it, which after a move is you.
2. Statutory residency. Even with a domicile elsewhere, you are a resident if you:
- maintain a permanent place of abode in Massachusetts, and
- spend more than 183 days of the tax year in Massachusetts in total, including days spent there partially.
A permanent place of abode is a dwelling someone continually maintains, not necessarily the owner, and it includes a place owned or leased by your spouse. A camp, barracks, dormitory or similar temporary setting generally does not count.
The partial-day rule is the one that moves numbers. A drive down from New Hampshire for a dinner in Boston is a Massachusetts day. So is the morning you fly out of Logan.
What the DOR asks for when you say you left
The DOR's residency guidance lists the information it requests in a domicile review. Much of it is about time:
- every address you had in the past 5 years;
- how many months per year you live in Massachusetts and in the state you now call home;
- the dates you were physically present in Massachusetts over the past 5 years, and in other states;
- where you expect to spend future years;
- property, voter eligibility, real estate tax, clubs and religious organisations, bank accounts, car registrations, passport address, and where your children go to school.
The factors it weighs include buying or leasing a new home, moving your belongings, changing voter registration, getting a new driver licence and car registration, and closing Massachusetts bank accounts. None of these replace the dates. A full set of New Hampshire or Florida paperwork next to a calendar with most days in Massachusetts does not show a change of domicile.
Moving to New Hampshire or Florida
Most people leaving over the surtax go to one of two places.
New Hampshire is close, which is the problem. The commute, the doctors, the grandchildren and the Celtics tickets stay where they were, and every partial day in Massachusetts counts. If you keep a Massachusetts home, the 183-day line is easy to cross without noticing. See the New Hampshire guide and New Hampshire after the I&D repeal.
Florida has the opposite problem: the move is clear, but summers back in the old house add up. Florida itself never counts your days, so the only count that matters is the Massachusetts one. Our posts on Florida residency requirements and Florida's lack of a day count cover the Florida side. The longer story of how the DOR reviews former residents is in leaving Massachusetts in 2026.
Timing matters too. If the big gain is coming in a known year, the move has to be complete, and look complete, before that income is earned.
Where iReside fits
The DOR asks for your dates in Massachusetts over five years. Rebuilding that from memory and credit card statements is where cases go wrong. iReside records it as you go: it runs in the background on your iPhone and counts your days in each state by GPS, with nothing to log by hand. Track the Massachusetts 183-day line, see Planned vs Actual for the rest of the year, get an alert before you get close, and export an audit-ready PDF report for your adviser. Check where you stand today with the free 183-day calculator.
Download free on the App Store