Massachusetts Estate & Inheritance Tax

At a glance

Estate tax

The 2023 reform (MGL ch. 65C § 2A) means an estate owes no Massachusetts estate tax if the estate is not more than $2,000,000 — double the old $1,000,000 threshold. It applies to deaths on or after January 1, 2023.

The tax is computed on the old federal state-death-tax credit table (IRC § 2011 as in effect December 31, 2000), whose top marginal rate reaches 16%, and then a credit of up to $99,600 is allowed. That credit exactly cancels the tax on a $2,000,000 estate, so estates at or below $2,000,000 pay nothing.

Because the credit reduces rather than eliminates the tax on larger estates, the old "cliff" — under which an estate over the threshold was taxed on its whole value — is gone; estates above $2,000,000 are effectively taxed only on the excess. Massachusetts allows no portability between spouses, so married couples use separate planning to preserve both thresholds.

Inheritance tax

Massachusetts has no inheritance tax — beneficiaries are not taxed on what they receive by the state. Massachusetts imposes no inheritance tax; the estate tax under MGL ch. 65C is its only death-based transfer tax.

Probate basics

Where the estate is entirely personal property of $25,000 or less (plus one motor vehicle) and no representative has been appointed, an interested person may file a voluntary-administration statement 30 days after death (MGL ch. 190B § 3-1201). Real property is not eligible.

Massachusetts is a common-law (separate-property) state for ownership between spouses. A transfer-on-death deed for real estate is Not available MGL ch. 190B (Mass. Uniform Probate Code) — TOD for securities only · current — see the full Massachusetts transfer-on-death deed guide for the requirements, revocation, and alternatives. The probate deadlines for this state — filing the will, the creditor-claim window, the inventory — are cited in the Executor & Heir’s Guide.

State-specific quirks

Where to read next

• the federal lifetime exemption — how the far larger federal exclusion works — and why a state tax can still apply below it
• funding a revocable trust — the most common way to keep property out of probate entirely
• the ILIT cluster — keeping a life-insurance death benefit out of a taxable estate
• the Executor & Heir's Guide — the probate deadlines for this state, cited to the statute
• Massachusetts small-estate procedure — the state’s simplified transfer or administration route, eligibility rules, and claimant responsibilities.
• ← Back to the 51-jurisdiction comparison

Sources & methodology