Massachusetts Payroll Tax Registration and Information

Please note: this article is about the Justworks Payroll product. Not sure which product you're using? Check out: How Do I Know Which Justworks Product I Have?

Paying Employees in MA

When hiring employees in new states, you need to register for relevant state tax accounts to facilitate their payment. In Massachusetts, you must be a registered employer with both the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) and the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA). Please provide us with your Withholding and Paid Family Leave Account Number, Unemployment Account Number, and the respective Tax Rates.

Justworks Payroll can also handle the registration process for you. We offer state tax registration services to assist with registering your business in new states. To request registration, please contact us at support@payroll.justworks.com.

Your MA Accounts and Rate Info

Massachusett requires you to register online for withholding and unemployment tax accounts. You will need to register for a Withholding Account and Paid Family Leave account through the MassTax Connect website. To register for an Unemployment account, you can register here and follow the DUA’s step-by-step registration instruction guide.

Once registered, you’ll want to enter your Massachusett Withholding Account Number, MA Paid Family Leave Identification Number, Massachusetts Employer Account Number, MA Contribution Rate, MA Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (EMAC) Rate, and MA Covid-19 Recovery Assessment (if applicable) into your Justworks Account.

Find This Information

Your MA Withholding Account ID:

• Sign in to your MassTaxConnect profile. Access your company record. In the "Withholding Tax" section, find the "Account" box. Your Withholding Account ID appears in this box, formatted as: WTH-########-###.
• For questions or login issues, contact the agency at (617) 887-6367.

Your MA PFML Account ID:

• Sign in to your MassTaxConnect profile. Then, access your company record. In the "Paid Family and Medical Leave" section, find the "Account" box. Your Account ID is displayed as: PFM-########-###.

Entering State Tax Info in Justworks Payroll 

Once you registered with the State and have a valid MA address added to your company’s offices, you can add your account info in Justworks Payroll by navigating to: 

1. Company > Settings in the left navigation bar
2. Under ‘Company tax info’ click into “Massachusett” to edit the state tax information 

Third-party admin access 

As your payroll provider, Justworks Payroll will utilize the provided account information to manage and report your MA tax liabilities. Occasionally, the state may issue notices related to payroll taxes. 

Justworks Payroll can examine these notices if granted Third-party admin access to your MA state tax account. During onboarding, we will request that you sign Form TR-2000, which authorizes us to handle and report your taxes to MA state. In addition to signing and returning Form TR-2000, you will need to follow the instructions below to grant us access: 

Next Steps

You will need to make sure Justworks Payroll has TPA access for two MA accounts — your withholdings account and your state unemployment insurance (SUI) account. You can find the steps for granting TPA access for each MA account below.

MA Withholdings Account TPA

After logging into your Mass TaxConnect account, you can follow these steps:

1. Select the Manage My Profile hyperlink in the top right section of the panel
2. Select the More… tab and then the View Access Requests From Third Parties hyperlink in the Third Party Access panel
3. Select the Approve/Deny hyperlink for the request you want
4. You will need to select the check box in the Give Rights column that displays withholding and paid family leave accounts
5. Select the access type in the Granted Rights column which is “File and Pay” and notify Justworks Payroll once completed

MA SUI Account TPA

Once your MA SUI account details have been entered in your Justworks Payroll account, our team will send a TPA access request to handle these filings on your company’s behalf. You can grant the request by logging into your MA SUI account and following these steps:

1. Click the ‘Additional Services’ link.
2. Click the ‘Manage Third Party Administrator Access’ link in the ‘Access Management’ panel.
3. Click the ‘Add Third Party Administrator’ link.
4. Review the list of items you’ll need and click ‘Next.’
5. Enter the TPA’s account ID in the Agent ID field and click ‘Next.’
6. In the grid on the following page, select the check box for ‘File wage reports and make payments.’
7. Respond to the prompt asking if you want to grant TPA access to perform benefit charges protest or wage and separation mailing — if you select ‘Yes,’ select the types of access you are granting.
8. Click ‘Next.’
9. Click ‘Submit.’

Disclaimer

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal or tax advice. If you have any legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, then you should consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.