On January 14th, budget leaders from the House, Senate, and Healey administration announced a $44.9 billion consensus tax revenue figure for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027, including $42.2 billion in non-surtax revenue and $2.7 billion related to the income surtax. Non-surtax revenues are expected to grow by $986 million (2.4 percent) over estimated FY 2026 collections.
On December 16th, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF), along with the Department of Revenue (DOR) and other economic experts participated in the annual Consensus Revenue Hearing. The hearing offers administration and legislative budget leaders an opportunity to assess current revenue assumptions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 and evaluate the resources that will be available to support budgeted spending in FY 2027.
The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF) projects Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 non-surtax revenues to fall $73 million below the FY 2026 benchmark, ending the year at $41.14 billion. FY 2027 non-surtax revenues are projected to grow $884 million or 2.2 percent to $42.03 billion, providing minimal cushion for either budget.
In November 2019, An Act Relative to Educational Opportunity for Students (Chapter 132 of the Acts of 2019)
Last week, MTF published a fiscal update brief reviewing Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 tax revenue collections, the current budget balance estimate, and the Healey-Driscoll administration’s closeout supplemental budget.
State budget officials and policymakers have reached the point during the calendar year when it is necessary to balance the demands of three fiscal years at one time.
The same day that Governor Healey signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget, while trimming $130.2 million in spending, she filed a supplemental budget proposing several fiscal management tools to help the state address revenue volatility or unmet spending needs in the months ahead.
On July 4th, Governor Healey signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget; sending back $130.2 million in spending vetoes. Inclusive of the Governor’s budget actions, line-item spending in the FY 2026 budget would total $60.9 billion, a $3.1 billion (5.4 percent) increase over the FY 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The House and Senate are preparing to enact a Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget, totaling $61.03 billion in line-item spending. The compromise budget includes $443.4 million less in spending than the final House budget and $395.1 million less in spending than the Senate budget, meaning that the Conference Report includes $941.2 million less than Governor Healey’s original spending plan.
Last week, MTF published its first Conference Committee preview for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget, Reconciling Revenue and Spending Differences Between the House and Senate Final Budgets. That brief summarized the spending and policy proposals put forward by each branch, identified shared and unique priorities, and estimated the spending and resource gap that budget writers must solve in order to send a balanced budget to the Governor’s desk.
