Massachusetts Decrease State Income Tax Rate to 4% Initiative (2026)
| Massachusetts Decrease State Income Tax Rate to 4% Initiative | |
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| Topic Income taxes |
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| Status Certified to the legislature |
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| Type Indirect initiated state statute |
Origin |
The Massachusetts Decrease State Income Tax Rate to 4% Initiative may be on the ballot in Massachusetts as a indirect initiated state statute on November 3, 2026.
Overview
What would the ballot measure do?
- See also: Text of measure
The ballot initiative would decrease the state tax rates for personal taxable income (including interest, dividends, wages, and salaries) from 5.00% to 4.00% by 2029.[1] For the 2027 tax year, taxable income would be taxed at a rate of 4.67%. For the 2028 tax year, taxable income would be taxed at a rate of 4.33%. For the 2029 and all future tax years, taxable income would be taxed at a rate of 4.00%.
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the ballot measure can be found here.
Support
The Massachusetts Opportunity Alliance is leading the campaign in support of the initiative.[2][3]
Supporters
Organizations
- Massachusetts Competitive Partnership
- Massachusetts High Technology Council
- National Federation of Independent Business
- Pioneer Institute
- Retailers Association of Massachusetts
Arguments
Opposition
Ballotpedia has not located a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure. You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Opponents
Officials
- State Sen. Michael Rodrigues (D)
Arguments
Polls
| Poll | Dates | Sample size | Margin of error | Support | Oppose | Undecided | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Suffolk University Political Research Center/The Boston Globe Question"A proposed ballot question would cut the state income tax rate from 5 percent to 4 percent by 2029. Do you support or oppose such a proposal?" | – | 500 RV | ± 4.40% | 66.8% | 23.2% | 10.0% | |
Advantage, Inc. Question"Do you support lowering the state income tax from 5% to 4%?" | – | 750 LV | ± 3.60% | 62.1% | 23.9% | 14.0% | Fiscal Alliance Foundation |
Massachusetts Opportunity Alliance Question"Would you support or oppose a proposal to reduce the state’s income tax rate from its current level of 5 percent to 4 percent (which is effectively a 20% income tax cut)?" | – | 1,007 V | ± 3.10% | 74.8% | 9.1% | 16.2% | |
| Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters. | |||||||
Background
Income tax in Massachusetts
As of 2026, the personal income tax rate is 5.0% on both earned and unearned income.[4] Earned income includes salaries, wages, tips, and commissions. Unearned income includes interest, dividends, and capital gains. Every individual who has a gross income greater than $8,000 for a tax year must file taxes.[4]
Additionally, Massachusetts has an additional income tax rate of 4% for income over $1 million. The additional tax rate was implemented in 2022 when voters approved Question 1.
In effect, Massachusetts has a graduated-rate income tax system, with two different tax rates based on income level. Massachusetts is 27 states (and the District of Columbia) that have graduated-rate income tax systems with more than one tax rate.[5] Of those states, six, including Massachusetts, have only two different tax rates.[5]
Massachusetts Question 1 (2008)
In 2008, Question 1 would have eliminated the state's personal income tax beginning January 1, 2010. Specifically, the measure would have reduced the state income tax rate to 2.65% for tax year 2009 and eliminated income tax beginning in tax year 2010. The Committee for Small Government sponsored the measure and led the campaign in support of the initiative. Voters rejected the measure; 69.4% opposed the measure.
Massachusetts Question 1 (2002)
In 2002, Question 1 would have prohibited the state taxation of personal income or other gains after July 1, 2003, effectively eliminating the state's personal income tax. The Committee for Small Government sponsored the measure and led the campaign in support of the initiative. Voters rejected the initiative; 54.7% opposed the measure.
Massachusetts Question 4 (2000)
In 2000, Question 4 lowered the state income tax from 5.95% to 5%. Specifically, the measure set the rate at 5.6% for tax year 2001, 5.3% for tax year 2002, and 5% for tax year 2003. Voters approved the measure, with 59.4% voting yes.
While the initiative was designed to decrease the tax rate to 5% in 2003, the tax rate did not fall to 5% until 2020.[6] The tax rate decreased to 5.3% in 2002, according to the initiative's design. However, in 2002, the state legislature passed Chapter 186 of the Acts of 2002 which delayed the final decrease of the tax rate to 5%.[7][8] The tax rate declined by 0.05% multiple times between 2012 and 2016, until the tax rate finally dropped to 5.0% in 2020.[6]
Path to the ballot
Process in Massachusetts
An indirect initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are nine (9) states that allow citizens to initiate indirect state statutes.
While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiative is first presented to the state legislature. Legislators have a certain number of days, depending on the state, to adopt the initiative into law. Should legislators take no action or reject the initiative, the initiative is put on the ballot for voters to decide.
In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required for an indirect initiated state statute is equal to 3% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Massachusetts also has a distribution requirement that requires no more than 25% of the certified signatures on any petition can come from a single county.
The state Legislature has until the first Wednesday of May in the election year to pass the statute. If the legislature does not pass the proposed statute, proponents must collect a second round of signatures equal to 0.5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. The Legislature also has the power to place an alternative measure alongside the proposed statute via a simple majority vote of the state legislature.
A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. However, the number of affirmative votes cast for the measure must be greater than 30% of the votes cast in the election.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures (first round): 74,574
- Signatures (second round): 12,429
- Deadline (first round): The deadline to submit the first round of signatures to the secretary of state was December 3, 2025.
- Deadline (second round): The deadline to submit the second round of signatures is July 8, 2026.
Stages of the ballot initiative
The following is the timeline of the initiative:[9]
- August 7, 2025: The Massachusetts Attorney General announced that the initiative had been filed.
- September 3, 2025: The Massachusetts Attorney General announced that the initiative had been cleared and that supporters could begin gathering signatures for the initiative.
- November 19, 2025: Supporters of the initiative announced that the campaign had gathered 87,000 signatures in support of the initiative.[10][11]
- December 18, 2025: The state Elections Division announced that it had certified 86,970 valid signatures in support of the initiative. As such, it was certified to go before the state legislature in the 2026 legislative session.[12]
External links
See also
View other measures certified for the 2026 ballot across the U.S. and in Massachusetts.
Explore Massachusetts's ballot measure history, including citizen-initiated ballot measures.
Understand how measures are placed on the ballot and the rules that apply.
Footnotes
- ↑ Mass.gov, "Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Reducing the State Personal Income Tax Rate from 5% to 4%," accessed September 4, 2025
- ↑ Massachusetts Opportunity Alliance, "Homepage," accessed January 9, 2026
- ↑ Common Wealth Beacon, "Amid shaky economy, tax cut proposal draws heightened scrutiny," accessed January 9, 2026
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mass.gov, "Personal Income Tax for Residents," accessed January 12, 2026
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tax Foundation, "State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2025," accessed January 12, 2026
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Boston.com, "Here’s why the Massachusetts state income tax will go down next year — one last time," accessed January 12, 2026
- ↑ Massachusetts Budget, "Fiscal Year 2010 Tax Expenditure Budget," accessed January 12, 2026
- ↑ MassLive, "Massachusetts income tax cut -- a tiny one -- triggered by economic growth," accessed January 12, 2026
- ↑ Mass.gov, "Ballot Initiatives Submitted for the 2026 Biennial Statewide Election (proposed laws) and 2028 Biennial Statewide Election (proposed constitutional amendments)," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ WBUR, "Ballot questions on rent control, all-party primaries and legislative stipends expected to move forward," accessed November 19, 2025
- ↑ CommonWealth Beacon, "Cutting taxes, recriminalizing recreational pot, scrutinizing Beacon Hill: record number of ballot questions in the mix for 2026," accessed November 20, 2025
- ↑ Worcester Business Journal, "Ballot initiative to recriminalize recreational cannabis sales receives certification," accessed December 19, 2025
