Massachusetts Employer Compliance Kit 2027: State Checklist, Deadline Calendar and Excel Tracker

Who it is for

Owners, office managers and bookkeepers who run payroll for employees working in Massachusetts, from the first hire to the year-end forms.

Not the right fit if

Your employees work outside Massachusetts: get that state's kit, or the 2027 Employer Compliance Bundle for several states. Not a payroll service, and not a legal review of your policies.

Why it is different

• Built only from our Massachusetts data files, checked November 2026 against 13 official pages, among them Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA); Mass.gov: Learn about Unemployment Insurance (UI) contributions; Massachusetts DOR: Form M-4; Official page; Massachusetts: Workplace poster requirements; Mass.gov: Massachusetts law about minimum wage; U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (revised July 1, 2026); Earned Sick Time in Massachusetts: summary of the law (Mass.gov).
• 4 items the official pages didn't state are marked "not confirmed" with the page to check, never guessed.
• The workbook recalculates with zero formula errors and dates the Massachusetts new-hire steps for you.

What is inside

• Start here. How to use the kit, the 15 confirmed Massachusetts rules at a glance and the 4 items to confirm, each with the official page to check: taxable wage base for 2027 (Mass.gov: Learn about Unemployment Insurance (UI) contributions); E-Verify for private employers (Executive Order 481 Contractor Certification, Commonwealth of Massachusetts); rest breaks for adults (Mass.gov: Breaks and time off); breaks for workers under 18 (Mass.gov: Breaks and time off).
• Massachusetts 2027 checklist. Eight steps from unemployment tax registration to year-end filing, each confirmed rule with its source link and check date, from Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA), Massachusetts DOR: Report New Hires, Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents. What it confirms: open a state unemployment tax account: DUA: go to Unemployment Services for Employers without logging in and choose Register your Business; taxable wage base for 2026 (the latest published): $15,000 per employee in 2026; new employer tax rate: 2.42% for a new employer; quarterly wage reports and payments: DUA: due by 3 p.m. on April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31; state income tax withholding: State income tax applies; report each new hire to the state: Within 14 days of the start of, or return to, employment; minimum wage now (2026): $15.00 an hour; minimum wage change in 2027: $15.00 an hour; no scheduled change in our data; tipped employees: Cash wage of at least $6.75 an hour in 2027, with tips making up the rest; paid sick leave: Earned Sick Time law (M.G.L. c. 149, s. 148C); meal breaks for adults: At least a 30-minute meal break for a workday of more than 6 hours; workers' compensation insurance: All employers, no matter how many employees or hours worked; final pay when you let someone go: In full on the day of discharge; final pay when an employee quits: On the next regular payday; state copies of W-2s and 1099s: DOR requires an annual report of income taxable under Chapter 62, which includes Form 1099-MISC and Form 1099-NEC.
• 2027 deadline calendar. 13 dates our Massachusetts files state: 4 quarterly due dates from Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA); 4 state W-2 and 1099 filing dates from Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR), with weekend dates flagged and a month-by-month planner for your own.
• New hire and pay change checklist. One page per hire, with the report to Massachusetts DOR: Report New Hires (new hires reported in 14 days) and the I-9 steps, and one per pay change against the $15.00 minimum wage.
• Massachusetts compliance workbook (Excel). The Massachusetts dates in a deadline tracker with days left and status, a new-hire sheet that dates each step from the start date (new hires reported in 14 days), and a pay-change sheet that flags any rate below the 2027 floor.