Massachusetts payroll tax registration
What to set up in Massachusetts before the first payroll, in date order, with each agency, online portal and deadline. Enter the first employee's start date and the first pay date to see the dates.
Setup steps before the first payroll
- Workers' comp
Get workers' compensation coverage
- Deadline
- Before anyone starts work
- Source
- www.mass.gov/info-details/workers-compensation-insurance-requirements (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Posters
Hang the required posters, including the PFML poster and DUA Notice to Employees
- Deadline
- Before anyone starts work
- Source
- www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-workplace-poster-requirements (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- State tax accounts
Register the business in MassTaxConnect and add a withholding account
- Deadline
- Before the first payroll
- Agency
- Withholding: Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) (opens in a new tab)
- Returns
- Set by DOR at registration from expected annual withholding: $100 or less annual (Form M-941 by January 31); $101-$1,200 quarterly (last day of the month after the quarter); $1,201-$25,000 monthly (15th of the next month, except the quarter-end months, due the last day of the following month); larger amounts: as DOR assigns
- Source
- www.mass.gov/info-details/register-your-business-with-masstaxconnect (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Paid leave
Add a Paid Family and Medical Leave account in MassTaxConnect with the first payroll date
- Deadline
- Before the first payroll
- Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML)
- mtc.dor.state.ma.us/mtc/_ (opens in a new tab)
- Source
- www.mass.gov/info-details/register-for-paid-family-and-medical-leave-contributions (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- New hire reporting
Report each new hire
- Deadline
- Within 14 days of the start date
- Source
- www.mass.gov/info-details/learn-about-the-new-hire-reporting-program (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- State tax accounts
Register with DUA in Unemployment Services for Employers
- Deadline
- Before the first quarterly wage detail report
- Agency
- Unemployment: Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) (opens in a new tab)
- Source
- www.mass.gov/how-to/register-a-business-with-the-department-of-unemployment-assistance (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- State tax accounts
File the first DUA employment and wage detail report and pay contributions
- Deadline
- By 3 p.m. on the last day of the month after the quarter of the first pay dateJanuary 31, 2027 is a Sunday; whether Massachusetts moves it to the next business day is not confirmed.
- Source
- www.mass.gov/info-details/employer-contributions-to-unemployment (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Federal dates for this pay date
Federal returns follow the compliance calendar, which dates them for every employer:
A 501(c)(3) organization generally owes no FUTA tax and files no Form 940 (Form 940 instructions (opens in a new tab)).
Not confirmed: no official source settled it on the check date, so none is shown.
Also in Massachusetts
- Whether any city or county taxes wages: not confirmed.
More on Massachusetts
WORKLIO HCM
Hiring in a new state? We help open the accounts.
We help open state withholding and unemployment accounts when you hire somewhere new, and our registration service can register your employer tax accounts for you: withholding, unemployment and paid leave contributions where the state's tax agency collects them. After that, Worklio HCM calculates, deposits and files your payroll taxes in every state and locality, new-hire state reporting is automatic, and rates and rules update without you noticing.
Registration in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Sources
The agency page or document behind each fact, as checked.
- www.mass.gov/info-details/register-your-business-with-masstaxconnect (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- www.mass.gov/info-details/form-m-941-instructions-tax-return-of-income-taxes-withheld (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- www.mass.gov/info-details/register-for-paid-family-and-medical-leave-contributions (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- www.mass.gov/info-details/employer-contributions-to-unemployment (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- www.mass.gov/how-to/register-a-business-with-the-department-of-unemployment-assistance (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- www.mass.gov/info-details/workers-compensation-insurance-requirements (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-workplace-poster-requirements (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- www.mass.gov/info-details/learn-about-the-new-hire-reporting-program (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- www.mass.gov/info-details/paid-family-and-medical-leave-employer-contribution-rates-and-calculator (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the relevant agency or your advisor. You remain responsible for registering and for your employment taxes.