Registration with the MA Department of Revenue begins on July 1, 2019. If you haven’t already registered, you should do so via the website MassTaxConnect.
About the registration process
As part of your registration, you will indicate the months during which you typically rent your home. So, if you rent your home seasonally, June through September, for example, you would then file a return only for those four months. You would not need to file a return for all of the months during which you don’t rent your home. If you rent your home for just 14 days out of the year or fewer, no taxes are due, but you still need to register with the DOR.
Remitting the tax to the DOR
The first payment is due to the state via MassTaxConnect by August 20, 2019. On or before that date, you will remit the taxes for your July rentals (unless they were for rentals beginning in June or were booked prior to January 1, 2019). You will enter the amount of taxable rental income you received for the prior month and then calculate the taxes due for the state (5.7%), the local options tax (see a full list of towns and their rates), and the tax for the Water Protection Fund (2.75%, which applies to all Cape Cod properties only).
Starting August 20, tax payments are due by the 20th day of each month for rentals from the month before. The state will retain its 5.7% and remit the balance to the town. You can pay by electronic transfer from your checking or savings account or by credit card (along with a 2.35% convenience fee).