You live in another state but still own a home in Massachusetts. Perhaps it is a Cape Cod vacation home or a property your family hopes to keep.
If that property is worth less than $2 million, will your estate need to file a Massachusetts Estate Tax return after your death?
It may. Your estate can be required to file a return even when it owes no Massachusetts Estate Tax.
The reason is simple: Massachusetts uses different rules to decide whether a return must be filed and how much tax is owed.
This article focuses on people whose permanent home is in another state and who die on or after August 1, 2025. It also explains why some families should review returns for earlier deaths.
For Estate Tax purposes, your permanent home is called your domicile. If you divide your time between Massachusetts and another state, your estate may need records showing where your permanent home was.
Massachusetts asks about facts such as where you lived, voted, filed tax returns, and held a driver’s license. Your family provides this information on Form M-NRA, the Massachusetts Nonresident Decedent Affidavit. The form must be completed and signed by the appropriate people with knowledge of those facts.
Moving to another state does not automatically remove your Massachusetts property from the reach of Massachusetts Estate Tax.
The state can tax Massachusetts real estate and certain physical property located here, such as household furnishings. Under the law for deaths on or after August 1, 2025, the tax calculation focuses on this Massachusetts property rather than the person’s entire estate.
Certain property held in a marital trust may also need to be included. This can apply when Massachusetts allowed a tax deduction for the property after a spouse’s earlier death. Allowed deductions must relate to the Massachusetts property included in the calculation.
August 1, 2025 is not the first date when a nonresident’s estate could benefit from a calculation based on Massachusetts property. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Estate Tax Guide directs families handling deaths from January 1, 2023 through July 31, 2025 to separate guidance.
Under that DOR guidance, some nonresident estates can recalculate the tax using the value of Massachusetts real estate and physical property. If an earlier return used the broader estate and the recalculation changes the tax, an amended return may be needed. An overpayment may lead to a refund.
If your family filed a return for a death during that period, ask the estate’s tax preparer whether it should be reviewed. Do not assume that every estate qualifies for a refund. The preparer should check the return, the rules for the date of death, and any filing deadlines.
To decide whether a return is required, Massachusetts looks at the value of the person’s total estate, wherever the assets are located. Certain taxable gifts made during life also count toward this filing test.
For deaths in 2023 and later, the filing threshold is $2 million.
That means an out-of-state resident’s estate may need to file even if the Massachusetts property alone is worth less than $2 million. The required nonresident filing also includes Form M-NRA.
Suppose a Florida resident dies in 2026. The person owns:
• A Cape Cod home and Massachusetts household property worth a total of $1.2 million.
• Other assets outside Massachusetts worth $2.8 million.
The total estate is $4 million.
For this example, assume the person owned the Massachusetts property alone. Also assume there are no taxable lifetime gifts, special marital-trust amounts to add, or deductions.
The estate must file a Massachusetts Estate Tax return because the total estate exceeds $2 million.
But the current nonresident tax calculation uses the $1.2 million of Massachusetts property. The official tax worksheet produces an initial amount of $45,200. A Massachusetts tax credit then cancels that entire amount.
The result: a required return, but no Massachusetts Estate Tax to pay.
This is a simplified example. Shared ownership, property values, prior gifts, and trust arrangements can change the result for a particular family.
It does not mean you simply subtract $2 million from your estate and apply a flat tax rate.
Massachusetts uses its own tax worksheet. It then allows a credit of up to $99,600 against the amount calculated. A tax credit reduces the tax itself, which is why the example above ends with no tax due.
Your estate’s preparer should use the forms and rules that apply to the date of death.
Your family should address Estate Tax paperwork before a sale or refinancing.
Massachusetts may have an Estate Tax lien on the property. A lien is a legal claim against property that helps secure payment of a tax. Your family may need documentation to clear that claim, even when the estate expects to owe no tax.
Massachusetts provides a process for requesting a lien-release certificate before the Estate Tax return is filed when certain conditions are met. Applying for that certificate does not replace a required return.
Start with:
• The Massachusetts deed.
• Any trust or business documents connected to the property.
• Estimated property values and mortgage information.
• A list of assets outside Massachusetts.
• Records of taxable gifts.
• Prior estate returns and marital-trust tax elections, if applicable.
• Records showing where your permanent home is.
Also think about what your family wants to do with the property. Will they keep it, share it, rent it, or sell it?
Those goals belong in the planning conversation alongside the tax questions.
Your Massachusetts property may remain an important part of your family’s life after you move away. Reviewing it with your home-state estate plan can help your family understand what must be filed, whether tax may be owed, and what will be needed to keep or sell the property.
Learn more about Massachusetts Estate Tax planning for nonresidents, or contact Boyd & Boyd, P.C.
For planning, ask about a free Estate Planning Strategy Session. If you are settling an estate, ask about the appropriate administration consultation and fees.
This article provides general information, not advice for a particular estate. It focuses on rules for deaths on or after August 1, 2025, with a note about earlier estates, as reviewed in November 2026. Legal and tax advice requires a review of your circumstances and a separate professional engagement.