Further Updates to the Massachusetts Estate Tax


On October 4, 2023, the Massachusetts estate tax was updated for the first time in seventeen years (the “2023 Act”). Primarily, the 2023 Act created a $2,000,000 exemption from the estate tax for all decedents who died on or after January 1, 2023.

On September 16, 2024, just prior to the first anniversary of the 2023 Act, the Massachusetts estate tax was again updated (the “2024 Act”). The 2024 Act clarified a key ambiguity in the new law regarding how real estate and tangible property outside of Massachusetts is taxed in a Massachusetts resident decedent’s estate. The Legislature has made it crystal clear: the value of real estate and tangible property outside of Massachusetts is not taxable in a Massachusetts resident decedent’s estate.

Now that we have had a year of working under the new law and with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue—and a clarification from the Legislature—here are some key concepts to know about the Massachusetts estate tax:


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National Law Review, Volume XIV, Number 298