Free Massachusetts payroll tax
calculator (and MA tax rates)

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  • 1

    Pay Details

  • 2

    Exemptions

  • 3

    Federal Information

  • 4

    State Information

  • 5

    Locale Information

  • 6

    Voluntary Deductions

  • 7

    Calculate Paycheck

Welcome to our payroll calculator!

Before we jump in, who are you using this calculator for?

Thanks!

Our calculators are designed for employers, and they’ll ask for information you may not have. For a better experience, please check out this employee-focused paycheck calculator.

How much did your employee earn?

Gross Pay: This is the total amount of wages your employee earned before taxes and deductions are withheld.


For salaried employees, gross pay equals their annual salary divided by the number of pay periods per year. For hourly employees, gross pay equals the number of hours worked multiplied by their hourly wage.


(Don’t forget to add on any tips, commissions, or bonuses!)

Gross Pay Method: Is the gross pay amount based on your employee’s annual compensation, or by how many hours they worked in the last pay period?

Gross Pay YTD: Enter the total gross pay your employee has earned this year, prior to this paycheck. Normally, this can be found on the last pay stub.

Pay Frequency: How often do you normally issue paychecks?

Check Date: Enter the check date that should appear on your paycheck.

Is your employee exempt from any taxes?

Federal: In some cases, public and governmental employees are exempt from federal taxes. Check “yes” if your employee is exempt and Federal taxes should not be deducted.

FICA: In some cases, public and governmental employees are exempt from FICA. Check “yes” if your employee is exempt and FICA taxes should not be deducted.

Medicare: In some cases, public and governmental employees are exempt from Medicare taxes. Check “yes” if your employee is exempt and Medicare taxes should not be deducted.

Please enter your employee’s withholding information.

2020 W4: Would you like to use the 2020 withholding tables? Here’s an article that covers the 2020 W-4 updates if you aren’t sure.

Federal Filing Status: Select your employee’s filing status for federal withholding. This helps determine how much federal tax will be withheld.

Two Jobs: If the employee indicated that they have more than one job or are married and filing jointly with a working spouse, select Yes here.

Dependents Amount: Enter the amount your employee listed on Line 3 of their W-4, if any. This is where they claim dependents.

Other Income: If your employee listed another other income on line 4(a) of their W-4, enter the amount here.

Deductions: Enter any deductions that your employee listed on line 4(b) of their W-4, if applicable.

Additional Federal Withholding: If your employee has asked to have additional funds withheld from each paycheck, enter the amount here. If they have not, enter “0”.

Round Federal Withholding: Would you like us to round your employee’s withholding totals to the nearest dollar? (It’s not required, but it is permitted)

Now, add information for their state.

State: Select the state where withholding should be calculated. It should be the same state where the work was performed.

Now, add locale information if applicable.

Does your employee have any voluntary deductions?

Please add any additional deductions for items like health insurance, 401(k), HSAs/FSAs, or any other benefits.


Select type of deduction needed:

401(k)

Add deduction

HSA

Add deduction

Custom

Add deduction

Let’s finish crunching the numbers!

Click the button below to see your paycheck calculated.

Here’s your paycheck information:

Leave payroll to us.

We do all the hard work to set you up, starting at just $40 + $6 per employee.

Updated: September 28, 2024

This is a payroll calculator Massachusetts small business owners count on to make sure they’re paying employees correctly for their hard work. All you have to do is grab their W-4 and their wage information, and OnPay’s calculator will do rest of the work for you.

Payroll calculator Massachusetts employers use figure federal payroll taxes

Let’s go over federal payroll taxes first, shall we? Our handy payroll calculator will help you figure out the federal payroll tax withholding for both your employees and your business.

 

We’ve organized federal income taxes into a 6-step overview. If you would like to see a more detailed explanation, we invite you to check out our step-by-step guide here.

  1. Gross Wages. Always start with gross wages, which represents the dollar amount of earnings an employee has made during the most recent pay period.
    1. For hourly employees, multiply the number of hours worked in the most recent pay period by their pay rate. Make sure to calculate any overtime hours worked at the appropriate rate.
    2. For salaried employees, divide each employee’s annual salary by the number of pay periods you have each year.
    3. And don’t forget about employees who earn commissions, tips, or bonuses. They all get added to gross wages.
  2. Pre-Tax Withholdings. Some of your employees might contribute to a 401(k), flexible spending account (FSA), or other pre-tax deductions. If so, subtract their contributions from gross pay before you start applying federal payroll taxes.
  3. Federal Income Tax. The biggest tax of them all, which can range from 0% all the way up to a marginal tax rate of 37%. We won’t get into all the little details here. You can find all the information you need through the IRS Publication 15-T.
  4. FICA Taxes Social Security and Medicare:
    1. Social Security: You need to withhold 6.2% of each employee’s taxable wages until they have earned $168,600 for the year. Any wages above $168,600 are exempt. As the employer, you must match this tax dollar-for-dollar.
    2. Medicare: You need to also withhold 1.45% of each employee’s taxable wages until they have earned $200,000 for the year. You will need to match this tax as well. For employees who earn more than $200,000 in taxable wages, you need to withhold what’s called an Additional Medicare Tax (super original name, right?) of 0.9%. Only the employee is responsible for paying the Additional Medicare Tax, so you don’t have to match it.
  5. FUTA Tax. The FUTA tax is more commonly known as the unemployment tax, and only employers have to pay this tax, not employees. The tax rate is 6% of the first $7,000 of taxable income an employee earns annually. Note that you can claim a tax credit of up to 5.4% for paying your Massachusetts state unemployment taxes in full and on time each quarter, which means that you’ll effectively be paying only 0.6% on your FUTA tax. It definitely pays to save 90% on your tax bill.
  6. Post-Tax Deductions. For most of your employees, you’d be done with their federal payroll taxes at step 5, but some employees may be responsible for paying court-ordered wage garnishments or child support. They may also choose to make post-tax contributions to savings accounts, elective benefits (like life insurance), or other withholdings.

Massachusetts state payroll taxes

Income taxes in Massachusetts run at a flat rate of 5% for the 2024 tax year, which means that regardless of whether your employee makes a hundred dollars or a hundred thousand, the tax rate remains the same.

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Massachusetts state unemployment insurance (SUI)

On the first $15,000 each employee earns, Massachusetts employers also pay unemployment insurance of between 0.56% and 6.77%.

  • New employers pay 1.87%, and new construction employers pay 3.76% for 2024.
  • Employers also have to pay a Work Force Training Contribution of 0.056%, and a Health Insurance Contribution of 5%.

 

You, my friend, are the master of payroll taxes

You’ve done it! You’ve figured out all your payroll! Now you’re ready to cut some checks. Don’t forget to set aside the employer taxes your company is responsible for. Those FICA, FUTA, and SUI payments can add up if you don’t remit them quarterly. And remember, you want to get that FUTA tax credit of 5.4%, so you definitely should pay your SUI on time. Federal tax filings are due quarterly by filing Form 941. FUTA payments are due quarterly, but you just have to fill out Form 940 once a year. You can pay taxes on an ongoing basis via the EFTPS payment system. Employment tax due dates can be found here.

Payroll calculator Massachusetts employers trust plus MA tax resources below

Withholding Taxes | Unemployment Insurance for New Employers | Unemployment Insurance Explained | File and Pay Online | Income Tax Withholding

 

These rates are based on local legislation and can change at any time. Always consult a tax professional if you are unsure about your obligations. 

More helpful payroll calculators

Massachusetts employers can quickly calculate their employees’ gross pay, net pay, and deductions using the free calculator at the top of this page (and feel confident when cutting paychecks). But every now and then, employers may have situations that need a little more number crunching. For example, do your best-performing employees get bonuses from time to time? Remember that Uncle Sam considers this type of payment to be supplemental wages and requires taxes to be withheld. Also, if you have workers who come and go, you may need to figure out how much their final paycheck will be. So, if you need more help adding up the numbers, one of our other calculators below might come in handy.

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