Massachusetts

Massachusetts Treats Poor Families Under Its Income Tax Better Than Most Other States

 

Massachusetts’ 1999 income tax threshold — the income level at which families begin paying income tax:	Ranking among 42 states with income taxes
For two-parent families of four: $20,500.	13th highest
For single-parent families of three: $18,900.	12th highest
Massachusetts’ 1999 income tax on working-poor and near-poor families:

For families of four with poverty-line incomes ($17,028): $285 refund.	5th lowest
For families of three with poverty-line incomes ($13,290): $364 refund.	4th lowest (tie)
For families of three with minimum-wage earnings ($10,920): $382 refund.	5th lowest (tie)
For families of four with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($21,285): $93 tax.	18th lowest
For families of three with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($16,613): $273 refund.	5th lowest
Massachusetts has recently exempted families with below-poverty earnings from the income tax. In 1991, a family of four owed tax if its income exceeded 86 percent of the poverty line. Massachusetts’ tax threshold is now 20 percent above the poverty line.