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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 916 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1857
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Jason M. Lewis
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to the Massachusetts estate tax code.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex 1 of 4
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 916 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1857
By Mr. Lewis, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1857) of Jason M. Lewis for
legislation relative to the Massachusetts estate tax code. Revenue.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1911 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act relative to the Massachusetts estate tax code.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 2A of chapter 65C of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 2, after the figure “1997” the following
3words:-
4 and on or before December 31, 2023
5 SECTION 2. Said chapter 65C is hereby amended by inserting after section 2A the
6following new section:-
7 Section 2B. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the
8following meanings:- 2 of 4
9 “Adjusted taxable estate”, the sum of the taxable estate, as defined in section 2051 of the
10Code, and any taxable gifts, as defined in section 2503 of the Code, with a Massachusetts situs
11made by the decedent within 3 years of the date of death, less the exemption as determined under
12this subsection.
13 “Code”, the Internal Revenue Code of the United States, as amended and in effect on
14December 31, 2000, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
15 “CPI”, the consumer price index for any calendar year as defined in section 1 of the
16Code, as amended on January 1, 2005 and in effect for the calendar year.
17 “Exemption”, $1,000,000 for calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2024 and
18before January 1, 2025. For calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, the exemption
19shall be $1,000,000 increased by an amount equal to $1,000,000 multiplied by the percentage, if
20any, by which the CPI for the preceding calendar year exceeds the CPI for calendar year 2024. If
21the amount as adjusted under the preceding sentence is not a multiple of $10,000, such amount
22shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $10,000.
23 (b)(1) A tax is hereby imposed upon the transfer of the estate of each person dying on or
24after January 1, 2024 who, at the time of death, was a resident of the commonwealth in
25accordance with the following table:
26 If the adjusted taxable estate is: The Massachusetts estate tax shall be:
27 Over But not over
28 0 90,000 1.6% of the adjusted taxable estate
29 90,000 140,000 $1,440 plus 2.4% of the excess over $90,000 3 of 4
30 140,000 240,000 $2,640 plus 3.2% of the excess over $140,000
31 240,000 440,000 $5,840 plus 4% of the excess over $240,000
32 440,000 640,000 $13,840 plus 5% of the excess over $440,000
33 640,000 840,000 $23,840 plus 6% of the excess over $640,000
34 840,000 1,040,000 $35,840 plus 7% of the excess over $840,000
35 1,040,000 1,540,000$49,840 plus 8% of the excess over $1,040,000
36 1,540,000 2,040,000$89,840 plus 9% of the excess over $1,540,000
37 2,040,000 2,540,000$134,840 plus 10% of the excess over $2,040,000
38 2,540,000 3,040,000$184,840 plus 11% of the excess over $2,540,000
39 3,040,000 3,540,000$239,840 plus 12% of the excess over $3,040,000
40 3,540,000 4,040,000$299,840 plus 13% of the excess over $3,540,000
41 4,040,000 5,040,000$364,840 plus 14% of the excess over $4,040,000
42 5,040,000 6,040,000$504,840 plus 15% of the excess over $5,040,000
43 6,040,000 $654,840 plus 16% of the excess over $6,040,000
44 (2) A credit shall be allowed against the tax imposed under this subsection equal to the
45lesser of:
46 (i) the aggregate amount of all estate, inheritance, legacy and succession taxes actually
47paid to the several states of the United States, other than the commonwealth, in respect to any 4 of 4
48property owned by that decedent or subject to those taxes as part of or in connection with his
49estate; or
50 (ii) an amount equal to the proportion of the tax determined under paragraph (1) as the
51value of properties taxable by other states bears to the value of the entire federal gross estate
52wherever situated.
53 (c) A tax is hereby imposed upon the transfer of real property situated in this
54commonwealth and upon tangible personal property having an actual situs in this commonwealth
55of every person who at the time of his death was not a resident of the commonwealth. The
56amount of this tax is a sum equal to the proportion of the tax determined under paragraph (1) of
57subsection (b) which the value of Massachusetts real and tangible personal property taxed in this
58commonwealth subject to such tax bears to the value of the decedent’s total federal gross estate.
59 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the tax imposed by subsections (a) and
60(b) shall be computed upon the value of any property subject to a power of appointment which is
61includible in the federal gross estate, notwithstanding that a tax has been paid thereon pursuant to
62section 14 of chapter 65.
63 (e) For the purposes of computing the tax imposed by this section, the provisions of
64section 3 shall not apply.