When is the Massachusetts sales tax holiday in 2027?

Not announced when we checked on October 10, 2026. State law says it is a Saturday and Sunday in August, designated by the Legislature by June 15 or, failing that, by the Department of Revenue by July 1. The 2026 weekend was August 8 and 9. Plan for a window and wait for the designation before you commit to dates.

Does the 175 dollar clothing rule still matter on the holiday weekend?

Clothing is generally exempt all year up to 175 dollars, and only the part above that is taxed. On the holiday weekend, clothing that costs 2,500 dollars or less is fully exempt, and clothing above 2,500 dollars gets the first 175 dollars exempt and the rest taxed, according to the Department of Revenue's FAQ.

Can I use the word gift in a Massachusetts ad if I do not show its value?

Section 6.05(16) of the Attorney General's retail advertising regulation requires the ad to disclose the value of the gift, determined by the seller's own former price if it has sold the gift separately. The federal guide on the word free is a separate layer. This is not legal advice; confirm with the Attorney General's office or counsel.

Does a Buy One Get One Free banner need anything special?

Under section 6.05(13), the seller has to disclose all material conditions clearly and conspicuously, the usual price has to be the seller's own former price, and the products have to be of substantially the same quality as before the advertisement.

Do I collect Massachusetts tax if I am based elsewhere?

If your Massachusetts sales exceed 100,000 dollars in either the prior or the current calendar year, the Department of Revenue requires you to register, collect and remit. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

Massachusetts: the August tax weekend and the Attorney General's gift rules

Two things set Massachusetts apart for a store that runs promotions. The first is a sales tax holiday that the Legislature designates anew each year: a Saturday and Sunday in August when most retail items of up to 2,500 dollars carry no sales tax. The second is the Attorney General's retail advertising regulation, 940 CMR 6.00, which has a clause written specifically for gifts with purchase, another for buy-one-get-one wording, and another for the end date of a limited offer. Most states leave those questions to the federal guide on the word free. Massachusetts spells out what the ad has to say. This page covers the tax weekend rules that matter to an online seller, the advertising clauses a free gift or BOGO banner has to meet, the one big local date outside August, and a tiered gift plan built around both.

Updated October 10, 2026 · 15 sourced facts

Photo: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons

Annual sales tax holiday weekend

For one Saturday and Sunday in August, most retail items that cost 2,500 dollars or less are exempt from the 6.25 percent sales tax. The Legislature picks the weekend by June 15 each year, and the Department of Revenue picks it by July 1 if the Legislature does not. The 2026 weekend was August 8 and 9; no 2027 dates were published when we checked, so treat August 2027 as a window, not a date.

Most retail items up to 2,500 dollars each
Clothing (already exempt up to 175 dollars all year)
Online orders paid on the weekend
Rentals up to 30 days paid in full

Watch out: A price over 2,500 dollars taxes the whole item, not just the excess. Money paid before the weekend does not count: a deposit, prepayment or binding promise to pay made earlier makes the sale ineligible, so a pre-order paid in July gets no holiday. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

Source: Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 64H, section 6A (Annual sales tax holiday)

A tiered gift plan for the August weekend and the April marathon

Before you advertise any gift
Write the banner to the five elements of 940 CMR 6.05(16): name the gift, show its value, state every condition such as the spend tiers and the stock limit, keep the primary product's price at or below its former price, and say when the gift ships. If it ships later than the order, state the date.
Source: Massachusetts Attorney General: 940 CMR 6.00, Retail Advertising
When you price the tiers
Keep each tier's qualifying item under 2,500 dollars if you want the tax weekend to apply to it, and remember that a shopper can combine as many items as they like when each one is below the cap.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions (updated June 11, 2026)
In the weeks before the weekend is announced
Do not take payments for the weekend in advance. A deposit or prepayment made before the designated days makes the sale ineligible, so start the weekend offer on the morning of the first day and set its dates in Eastern time, because the statute requires transfer of possession or original payment in full on a designated day.
Source: Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 64H, section 6A (Annual sales tax holiday)
On every offer with an end date
State the earliest date the offer ends in the banner and on the product page. The Attorney General's regulation requires the end date in a limited-period ad, and a hard stop is also what keeps the gift cost capped.
Source: Massachusetts Attorney General: 940 CMR 6.00, Retail Advertising
Around Patriots' Day, April 19, 2027
Run a short spring gift tier tied to the marathon weekend, with its own dates and stock cap, so the state's one big spring event gets an offer that ends when it does.
Source: Boston Athletic Association: 2027 Boston Marathon registration update

Build it with the Gift tiers template.

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Questions merchants ask

When is the Massachusetts sales tax holiday in 2027?: Not announced when we checked on October 10, 2026. State law says it is a Saturday and Sunday in August, designated by the Legislature by June 15 or, failing that, by the Department of Revenue by July 1. The 2026 weekend was August 8 and 9. Plan for a window and wait for the designation before you commit to dates.
Does the 175 dollar clothing rule still matter on the holiday weekend?: Clothing is generally exempt all year up to 175 dollars, and only the part above that is taxed. On the holiday weekend, clothing that costs 2,500 dollars or less is fully exempt, and clothing above 2,500 dollars gets the first 175 dollars exempt and the rest taxed, according to the Department of Revenue's FAQ.
Can I use the word gift in a Massachusetts ad if I do not show its value?: Section 6.05(16) of the Attorney General's retail advertising regulation requires the ad to disclose the value of the gift, determined by the seller's own former price if it has sold the gift separately. The federal guide on the word free is a separate layer. This is not legal advice; confirm with the Attorney General's office or counsel.
Does a Buy One Get One Free banner need anything special?: Under section 6.05(13), the seller has to disclose all material conditions clearly and conspicuously, the usual price has to be the seller's own former price, and the products have to be of substantially the same quality as before the advertisement.
Do I collect Massachusetts tax if I am based elsewhere?: If your Massachusetts sales exceed 100,000 dollars in either the prior or the current calendar year, the Department of Revenue requires you to register, collect and remit. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

The year at a glance

Dates to plan around

Apr 19, 2027Patriots' Day and the Boston MarathonBoston Athletic Association: 2027 Boston Marathon registration update

Shipping into the state

For an online order the date that counts is the date of the order and payment, in Eastern Daylight Time, not the delivery date, so a parcel that arrives the following Tuesday can still be tax free. The state rate is 6.25 percent, and a store outside Massachusetts owes it once its Massachusetts sales pass 100,000 dollars in the prior or current calendar year.

Source: Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions (updated June 11, 2026)

Source: Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Sales and Use Tax guide

Source: Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Remote Seller and Marketplace Facilitator FAQs

Facts and sources

State law defines the annual sales tax holiday as a Saturday and Sunday in August; the General Court must adopt a joint resolution designating the weekend not later than June 15 each year, and if it does not, the commissioner of revenue designates one not later than July 1.
Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 64H, section 6A (Annual sales tax holiday) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department of Revenue's FAQ, updated June 11, 2026, lists Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9 as the 2026 sales tax holiday and gives no dates for 2027.
Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions (updated June 11, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The holiday exemption covers eligible items costing 2,500 dollars or less; if one item costs more, the entire amount paid for that item is taxable, but a shopper can buy any number of items that each cost 2,500 dollars or less, even when the combined total is higher.
Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions (updated June 11, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
An item qualifies for the holiday exemption if the shopper orders and pays for it over the internet on the holiday during Eastern Daylight Time, and no sales tax is due even when delivery happens after the weekend.
Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions (updated June 11, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Transactions where a deposit, prepayment or binding promise to pay was made before the designated days are ineligible, as are prior sales and layaway sales.
Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 64H, section 6A (Annual sales tax holiday) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department says an item of clothing is generally exempt from sales tax unless it costs more than 175 dollars, and for a clothing item over that amount only the portion above 175 dollars is taxed.
Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday Frequently Asked Questions (updated June 11, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Massachusetts sales tax is 6.25 percent of the sales price of tangible personal property sold in the state, and the use tax is also 6.25 percent.
Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Sales and Use Tax guide (accessed October 10, 2026)
A remote seller with Massachusetts sales above 100,000 dollars in either the prior or the current calendar year must register as a vendor, collect tax on its Massachusetts sales and remit it to the Department of Revenue.
Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Remote Seller and Marketplace Facilitator FAQs (accessed October 10, 2026)
Section 6.05(16) of 940 CMR makes it an unfair or deceptive act to advertise a gift with the purchase of another product unless the ad clearly identifies the gift, states a price for the primary product that does not exceed its former price, discloses the gift's value, discloses every material condition or limitation, and provides the gift when the conditions are met unless a specific later delivery date is disclosed.
Massachusetts Attorney General: 940 CMR 6.00, Retail Advertising (accessed October 10, 2026)
Section 6.05(13) of 940 CMR treats wording such as Buy One Get One Free as unfair or deceptive unless the seller clearly discloses all material conditions, the advertised usual price is the seller's own former price, and the products are of substantially the same quality, grade and material as before the ad.
Massachusetts Attorney General: 940 CMR 6.00, Retail Advertising (accessed October 10, 2026)
Section 6.07 of 940 CMR says a seller must disclose in an advertisement, other than a tag, label or in-store sign, the earliest date on which an offer terminates if the offer is for a limited period.
Massachusetts Attorney General: 940 CMR 6.00, Retail Advertising (accessed October 10, 2026)
Section 6.05(14) of 940 CMR bars a price comparison between a set and the same products bought separately unless a reasonable number of sellers in the seller's trade area currently offer the products separately at or above the stated separate price, or the seller has actually sold or offered them separately at it.
Massachusetts Attorney General: 940 CMR 6.00, Retail Advertising (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Boston Athletic Association says the 131st Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, April 19, 2027.
Boston Athletic Association: 2027 Boston Marathon registration update (accessed October 10, 2026)
Massachusetts General Laws chapter 4, section 7 counts the third Monday in April among the state's legal holidays.
Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 4, section 7 (definitions, clause Eighteenth) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Massachusetts has 7,800 square miles of land area.
U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010) (accessed October 10, 2026)

Cities in Massachusetts

BostonBoston's students arrive in a four-day rush every September, then the city runs a regatta and a festival. Dates, city figures and a bundle offer plan.

Not tax advice. Confirm current rules with the state revenue department before you rely on a date or an exemption.

Run the Massachusetts plan in Freebies Engine by Log Studio Lab.