Mass DOR: December Revenue Collections Total $4.062 Billion

Print Story | Email Story
BOSTON — Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder announced that preliminary revenue collections for December totaled $4.062 billion, $285 million or 6.6 percent less than actual collections in December 2024, and $167 million or 4.0 percent below benchmark.
 
FY2026 year-to-date collections totaled approximately $19.636 billion, which is $375 million or 1.9 percent more than actual collections in the same period of FY2025, and $23 million or 0.1 percent above the year-to-date benchmark.
 
"December 2025 revenue included decreases relative to December 2024 collections in non-withholding income tax, corporate and business tax, and ‘all other tax'" said Commissioner Snyder. "These decreases were partially offset by an increase in withholding income tax and sales tax. The decrease in non-withholding income tax is driven by a decrease in estimated and return payments and an unfavorable increase in refunds. The decrease in corporate and business tax is due to a decrease in estimated and return payments as well as an unfavorable increase in refunds.  The decrease in ‘all other' tax is mostly due to a decrease in estate tax, a category that tends to fluctuate."
 
December is a significant month for revenues because many corporate and business taxpayers are required to make quarterly estimated payments. In addition, some quarterly personal income tax estimated payments due by January 15th are received in December. Historically, roughly 9.5 percent of annual revenue, on average, has been received during December.
 
Given the brief period covered in the report, December results should not be used as a predictor for the rest of the fiscal year.
 
Details:
 
Income tax collections for December totaled $2.465 billion, $27 million or 1.1 percent below benchmark, and $28 million or 1.1 percent less than December 2024.
 
Withholding tax collections for December totaled $1.818 billion, $7 million or 0.4 percent above benchmark, and $66 million or 3.8 percent more than December 2024.
 
Income tax estimated payments for December totaled $599 million, virtually equal to monthly benchmark, but $11 million or 1.8 percent less than December 2024.
 
Income tax returns and bills for December totaled $126 million, $17 million or 15.2 percent above benchmark, but $32 million or 20.0 percent less than December 2024.
 
Income tax cash refunds for December totaled $78 million in outflows, $51 million or 189.2 percent above benchmark, and $52 million or 203.7 percent more than December 2024.
 
Sales and use tax collections for December totaled $874 million, $25 million or 3.0 percent above benchmark, and $10 million or 1.2 percent more than December 2024.
 
Corporate and business tax collections for December totaled $531 million, $160 million or 23.2 percent below benchmark, and $138 million or 20.6 percent less than December 2024.
 
"All other" tax collections for December totaled $192 million, $6 million or 2.8 percent below benchmark, and $129 million or 40.2 percent less than December 2024.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield School Committee OKs $87M Budget for FY27

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee has approved an $87 million budget for fiscal year 2027 that uses the Fair Student Funding formula to assign resources. 

On Wednesday, the committee approved its first budget for the term. Morningside Community School will close at the end of the academic year and is excluded. 

"This has been quite a process, and throughout this process, we have been faced with the task of closing a $4.3 million budget deficit while making meaningful improvements in student outcomes for next year," interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips said. 

"Throughout this process, we've asked ourselves, 'What should we keep doing? What should we stop doing? And what should we start doing?' I do want to acknowledge that we are presenting a budget that has been made with difficult decisions, but it has been made carefully, responsibly, and collaboratively, again with a clear focus first on supporting our students."

The proposed $87,200,061 school budget for FY27 includes $68,886,061 in state Chapter 70 funding, $18 million from the city, and $345,000 in school choice and Richmond tuition revenues.  It is an approximately $300,000 increase from the Pittsfield Public Schools' FY26 budget of $86.9 million. 

The City Council will take a vote on May 19. 

Thirteen schools are budgeted for FY27, Morningside retired, and the middle school restructuring is set to move forward. The district believes important milestones have been met to move forward with transitioning to an upper elementary and junior high school model in September; Grades 5 and 6 attending Herberg Middle School, and Grades 7 and 8 attending Reid Middle School. 

"I also want to acknowledge that change is never easy. It is never simple, but I truly do believe that it is through these challenges that we're able to examine our systems, strengthen our practices, strengthen our relationships, and ultimately make decisions that will better our students," Phillips said. 

Included in the FY27 spending plan is $2.6 million for administration, $62.8 million for instructional costs, $7.5 million for other school services, and $7.2 million for operations and maintenance. 

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Bonnie Howland reported that they met with Pittsfield High School and made two additions to its staff: an assistant principal and a family engagement attendance coordinator.

In March, the PHS community argued that a cut of $653,000 would be too much of a burden for the school to bear. The school was set to see a reduction of seven teachers (plus one teacher of deportment) and an assistant principal of teaching and learning, and a guidance counselor repurposed across the district; the administration said that after "right-sizing" the classrooms, there were initially 14 teacher reductions proposed for PHS. 

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories