Quick answers
Does Massachusetts have a state estate tax?
State estate tax: Yes (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 65C, § 2A). Estate-tax exemption: $2,000,000 (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 65C, § 2A; 2026 deaths). Estate-tax top rate: 16% (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 65C, § 2A; 2026 deaths).
Does Massachusetts have an inheritance tax?
Inheritance tax: No (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 65C, § 2A).
Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in Massachusetts?
Transfer-on-death deed for real estate: None — not available for real property. No TOD-deed statute — confirm with the Registry of Deeds or an attorney
What is the Medicaid look-back period in Massachusetts?
Look-back period: 60 months for transfers made on or after February 8, 2006 (MassHealth financial-eligibility regulation 130 CMR 520.019; Transmittal by Eligibility Letter 239; revised July 1, 2021).
Does Massachusetts tax Social Security benefits?
Social Security benefits: Exempt (2025 Massachusetts Form 1 Instructions; tax year 2025).
State estate tax
Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2
- State estate tax
- YesVerified
Source: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 65C, § 2A · Checked July 18, 2026
- Estate-tax exemption
- $2,000,000Verified
Source: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 65C, § 2A · Effective: 2026 deaths · Checked July 18, 2026
- Estate-tax filing threshold
- $2,000,000Verified
Source: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 65C, § 2A · Checked July 18, 2026
- Estate-tax top rate
- 16%Verified
Source: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 65C, § 2A · Effective: 2026 deaths · Checked July 18, 2026
Full detail: Massachusetts estate and inheritance tax page
Inheritance tax
Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2
- Inheritance tax
- NoVerified
Source: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 65C, § 2A · Checked July 18, 2026
Full detail: Massachusetts estate and inheritance tax page
Transfer-on-death deed
- Transfer-on-death deed for real estate
- None — not available for real propertyNot primary-verified
No TOD-deed statute — confirm with the Registry of Deeds or an attorney
· Checked July 26, 2026
- Controlling statute
- Not primary-verified
No TOD-deed statute — confirm with the Registry of Deeds or an attorney
· Checked July 26, 2026
Full detail: Massachusetts transfer-on-death deed page
Small-estate procedure
- Current rule
- $25,000 personal property plus one motor vehicle; file after 30 daysVerified
Source: MGL ch. 190B § 3-1201 · Effective: current · Checked August 23, 2026
Full detail: Massachusetts small-estate procedure page
Medicaid long-term-care eligibility
Medicaid dataset 2026.v16
- Institutional long-term-care personal-needs allowance
- $72.80 per monthVerified
- Applies to: institutionalized applicant; this is an allowance after eligibility, not a gross-income ceiling.
Source: MassHealth 2026 program financial guidelines, January standards · Effective: Cited annual figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026
- Institutional gross-income eligibility rule
- Not yet verified
- Applies to: institutionalized applicant; post-eligibility applied-income rules are distinct from gross eligibility.
The reviewed primary material did not provide a current, effective-dated value or rule for this cell.
· Checked September 5, 2026 · Ask the state agency
- Income limit for specified HCBS and PACE pathways
- $2,982 per monthVerified
- Applies to: single applicant in a pathway using 300% of the SSI federal benefit rate.
Source: MassHealth 2026 program financial guidelines, January standards · Also: CMS 2026 SSI and spousal-impoverishment standards · Effective: Cited annual figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026
- Institutionalized-applicant resource limit
- $2,000Verified
- Applies to: single institutionalized applicant.
Source: MassHealth 2026 program financial guidelines, January standards · Effective: Cited annual figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026
- Community-spouse resource allowance
- $32,532 minimum to $162,660 maximumVerified
- Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse; actual allowance depends on assessed resources and adjustments.
Source: MassHealth 2026 program financial guidelines, January standards · Effective: Cited annual figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026
- Community-spouse monthly maintenance-needs allowance
- $2,705 minimum to $4,066.50 maximumVerified
- Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse; $811.50 shelter standard and spouse income affect the actual allowance.
Source: MassHealth 2026 program financial guidelines, July standards · Also: CMS July 2026 spousal-impoverishment update · Effective: Current minimum maintenance-needs and shelter figures effective July 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026
- Home-equity limit
- $1,130,000Verified
- Applies to: applicant subject to the substantial-home-equity rule.
Source: MassHealth 2026 program financial guidelines, January standards · Effective: Cited annual figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026
Full detail: Massachusetts Medicaid eligibility page
Medicaid look-back
Medicaid dataset 2026.v16
- Look-back period
- 60 months for transfers made on or after February 8, 2006Verified
Source: MassHealth financial-eligibility regulation 130 CMR 520.019 · Effective: Transmittal by Eligibility Letter 239; revised July 1, 2021 · Checked September 5, 2026
- Transfer-penalty divisor
- $450 per dayVerified
Source: MassHealth 2026 program financial guidelines, January standards · Effective: Cited annual figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026
- How the state administers the penalty
- MassHealth denies payment for nursing-facility and Frail Elder Waiver services during a disqualifying transfer period when resources were transferred for less than fair-market value. The baseline date is the first date the person is both in a nursing facility and has applied for or is receiving MassHealth Standard.Verified
Source: MassHealth financial-eligibility regulation 130 CMR 520.019 · Effective: Transmittal by Eligibility Letter 239; revised July 1, 2021 · Checked September 5, 2026
Full detail: Massachusetts Medicaid look-back page
Medicaid estate recovery
Medicaid dataset 2026.v16
- Recovery scope
- For deaths on or after August 1, 2024, recovery is limited to federally required nursing-facility, HCBS, and related hospital and prescription services received at age 55 or older, plus the federally required permanently institutionalized category.Verified
Source: MassHealth estate-recovery overview · Also: Massachusetts General Laws chapter 118E, section 31 · Effective: Service-scope rules apply to deaths on or after August 1, 2024 · Checked September 5, 2026
- Controlling authority
- Massachusetts General Laws chapter 118E, section 31Verified
Source: Massachusetts General Laws chapter 118E, section 31 · Effective: Current statute amended effective June 12, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026
- Exemptions and deferrals
- Recovery waits until there is no surviving spouse and no surviving child under 21 or blind or disabled.Verified
Source: Massachusetts General Laws chapter 118E, section 31 · Also: MassHealth estate-recovery overview · Effective: Current statute amended effective June 12, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026
- Hardship waiver
- The appointed personal representative or public administrator must submit the waiver request and supporting documents within 60 days after notice of the claim. MassHealth provides residence-based, care-provided, and income-based waiver paths; reducing an inheritance alone is not hardship.Verified
Source: MassHealth general-policy regulations 130 CMR 515.011 and 515.012 · Effective: Transmittal by Eligibility Letter 255; revised February 13, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026
- Lien practice
- A pre-death lien requires institutionalization, no protected relative in the home, and a determination that the member cannot reasonably return home, with notice and fair-hearing rights. Collection is deferred for a qualifying one-year sibling or two-year caregiver child, and the lien is discharged if the member returns home.Verified
Source: MassHealth general-policy regulations 130 CMR 515.011 and 515.012 · Effective: Transmittal by Eligibility Letter 255; revised February 13, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026
Full detail: Massachusetts Medicaid estate-recovery page
State income tax on retirement income
Retirement-income tax dataset 2026.v4
- Social Security benefits
- ExemptVerified
- Massachusetts excludes Social Security benefits even when federally taxable.
Source: 2025 Massachusetts Form 1 Instructions · Effective: tax year 2025 · Checked August 13, 2026
- Public pensions
- Exempt when conditions are metVerified
- U.S. government and Massachusetts contributory public pensions are exempt; another state's public pension is exempt only under Massachusetts's reciprocity rule.
- Full exemption applies to qualifying U.S. government and Massachusetts contributory retirement plans.
- An out-of-state public pension is exempt only when that state exempts comparable Massachusetts pensions.
- A noncontributory government pension outside the listed exemptions remains taxable.
Source: 2025 Massachusetts Form 1 Instructions · Effective: tax year 2025 · Checked August 13, 2026
- Private pensions
- TaxedVerified
- Most private pension and annuity income is taxable after recovery of contributions previously taxed by Massachusetts.
- The taxable amount generally begins with the federal taxable portion.
- Contributions previously taxed by Massachusetts are recovered before the remaining distribution is taxed.
- A qualified rollover remains excluded to the extent it is excluded federally.
Source: 2025 Massachusetts Form 1 Instructions · Effective: tax year 2025 · Checked August 13, 2026
- IRA and 401(k) distributions
- TaxedVerified
- Taxable IRA, Keogh, Roth-conversion, and employer-plan distributions are taxable after Massachusetts basis adjustments; qualified rollovers and federally nontaxable amounts remain excluded.
- The taxable amount generally begins with the federal taxable portion.
- Contributions previously taxed by Massachusetts are recovered before the remaining distribution is taxed.
- A qualified rollover remains excluded to the extent it is excluded federally.
Source: 2025 Massachusetts Form 1 Instructions · Effective: tax year 2025 · Checked August 13, 2026
- Military retirement pay
- ExemptVerified
- Noncontributory U.S. uniformed-services pensions and qualifying survivorship benefits are exempt.
- The pension must be from the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- Qualifying survivorship benefits are included in the exemption.
Source: 2025 Massachusetts Form 1 Instructions · Effective: tax year 2025 · Checked August 13, 2026
Full detail: Retirement-income tax dataset, all states (JSON)
About this page
This page assembles entries from datasets the site already publishes; it adds no figure of its own. Entries marked “Not yet verified” or “Pending” have no primary-source value in the underlying dataset yet. Rules change, so confirm anything you plan to act on with the source, the state agency, or a licensed attorney.