MA DOR Legal Library - Tax Rulings, Regulations, Bulletins

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Published February 5th, 2026

Detected March 17th, 2026

Summary

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) maintains a legal library containing tax rulings, regulations, and bulletins. This page provides access to various document types, including regulations, technical information releases, directives, letter rulings, and administrative procedures, updated as of February 5, 2026.

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What changed

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) provides a legal library that serves as a central repository for official tax guidance and regulatory documents. This library includes regulations, technical information releases (TIRs), directives, letter rulings (LRs), and administrative procedures, detailing the DOR's official positions on state tax laws and departmental operations. The page was last updated on February 5, 2026.

Taxpayers and practitioners can use this resource to understand DOR's interpretations of tax statutes and court decisions. While regulations are binding and formally adopted, TIRs, directives, and LRs offer guidance and state the DOR's precedent-setting position, though LRs are specific to individual taxpayers. Entities should consult these documents to ensure compliance with Massachusetts tax laws and to inform their tax positions.

What to do next

Review the DOR Legal Library for relevant regulations, TIRs, and directives.
Consult specific document types (e.g., TIRs, LRs) for guidance on unique tax situations.
Ensure tax positions align with official DOR interpretations and precedent.

Source document (simplified)

This page, DOR Legal Library, is offered by
Massachusetts Department of Revenue
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DOR Legal Library

The documents contained in this section are provided by the Department's Rulings and Regulations Bureau. Browse these documents by document type using the links below. Log In to...
- MassTaxConnect
- Register Your Business with MassTaxConnect

Updated: February 5, 2026

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Document Type

| Regulations | Regulations interpret the statutory provisions governing taxation and set forth Departmental procedures. A regulation has been adopted by the Department via a public hearing and approved by the Secretary of Administration and Finance. It also is filed with the Office of the Secretary of State and appears under the arrangement of the official Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMRs).

Amending Regulations

Regulation amendments are subject to the same requirements as promulgated regulations. Under Massachusetts General Laws c. 30A, before the adoption amendment or repeal of a regulation, the Department must publish a "Notice of Public Hearing" and make its proposed regulations or proposed regulation amendments available to the public. The Department then holds a hearing on the proposed item. Proposed regulations and amendments are proposals only and have no legal effect. They are often modified, pursuant to public comment, before promulgation and in some cases are never adopted. |
| --- | --- |
| Technical Information Releases | Technical Information Releases (TIRs) inform taxpayers and tax practitioners of DOR's response to changes in federal or state tax laws or to court decisions interpreting those laws. A TIR states the official position of the Department of Revenue, has the status of precedent in the disposition of cases unless revoked or modified, and may be relied upon by taxpayers in situations where the facts, circumstances and issues presented are substantially similar to those in the TIR. Taxpayers may contact the Rulings & Regulations Bureau at (617) 626-3250 with requests for documents not yet available through this Web site.

*Please note that DOR issues a TIR each quarter to announce the quarterly interest rate for overpayments and underpayments of Massachusetts tax. Each TIR contains a cumulative list of past quarterly interest rates with the addition of the current quarter's rate. For this reason, only the most recent TIR of this sort has been made available. |
| Directives | Directives concern current Department policy, practice or interpretation, and provide details or supplementary information, clarify ambiguities, resolve inconsistencies or explain and elaborate on issues. A Directive states the official policy of the Department, has the status of precedent unless revoked or modified, and may be relied upon by taxpayers in situations where the facts, circumstances and issues presented are substantially similar to those in the Directive. |
| Letter Rulings | A Letter Ruling (LR) is an advisory ruling issued by the Commissioner of Revenue in response to letters from individual taxpayers on specific issues relating to the interpretation or application of the Massachusetts tax laws. An LR is issued to an individual taxpayer with respect to a particular set of facts and represents the position of the Department on those facts only. It may not be relied upon by other taxpayers. |
| Administrative Procedures | Administrative Procedures set out guidelines and procedures about how particular parts of the Department of Revenue operate. They are intended to provide general information about Department of Revenue policies and procedures. Administrative Procedures are, however, descriptive and informational only. They do not alter, supersede or otherwise affect any provision of the Massachusetts General Laws or other sources of law. See, 830 CMR 62C.3.1. |
Taxpayers may contact the Rulings & Regulations Bureau at (617) 626-3250 with requests for documents not yet available through this website.

Additional Resources

| Recent Additions, Drafts and Notices | Last updated: February 5, 2026. |
| --- | --- |
| Public Hearings | Pursuant to the provisions of General Laws Chapter 14, Section 6(1), Chapter 30A, Section 2, and Chapter 62C, Section 3, the Commissioner holds public hearings on proposed regulations or proposed regulation amendments. While taxpayers and practitioners are welcome to make comments in person at the public hearings, the Department encourages comments be submitted in writing to RulesandRegs@dor.state.ma.us or to the Rulings and Regulations Bureau, P.O. Box 9566, Boston, MA 02114-9566. |
| Public Written Statements Currently Under Development | Last updated: July 26, 2024. |
| Proposed Regulations | The following is a list of proposed Department of Revenue (DOR) regulations. Click on a link to view the corresponding notice and proposed regulation.

All persons interested in submitting comments on the proposed regulations may do so in writing by the date indicated in the notice. Refer to the full notice for the mailing address for submitting comments. DOR is not required to respond to comments; however, all comments received by the date indicated in the notice will be reviewed and considered.

The date published is the date the notice appeared in the newspaper and marks the beginning of the 21-day public-comment period, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A, s. 3. |
| Executive Order 562 Regulation Review Project | Last updated: June 25, 2018. |

Questions?

Contact DOR at RulesandRegs@dor.state.ma.us with questions about public written statements and ruling requests, recent legislation, or other legal issues.

Visit DOR Contact Us for all general tax questions.

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