Massachusetts sales tax for salons
Are haircuts and salon services taxable in Massachusetts?
No. A barber or beauty shop does not collect Massachusetts sales tax on its services: the state's sales tax reaches goods, and the only services it taxes are telecommunications services. Below: each kind of service, the products you sell, the rate and the permit a salon needs, each answered from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's own publications, rules or statutes, read on October 25, 2026.
- Haircuts
- Not taxable
- Nails
- Not taxable
- Products you sell
- Taxable
- State rate
- 6.25%
Administered by Massachusetts Department of Revenue.The agency's page The state's own words
Services
Which salon services are taxable in Massachusetts?
No. A barber or beauty shop does not collect Massachusetts sales tax on its services: the state's sales tax reaches goods, and the only services it taxes are telecommunications services.
- Hair services
- Not taxable
- Nail services
- Not taxable
- Skin care and waxing
- Not taxable
Hair services: haircuts, color, styling, perms and shaves. Nail services: manicures, pedicures and enhancements. Skin care: facials, waxing and other hair removal, and makeup.
Products
Do salons charge sales tax on products in Massachusetts?
Yes. Products a salon sells to clients, such as shampoo or nail polish, are taxable retail sales, so the salon collects the 6.25% state sales tax on them. The state rate is 6.25%.
The rate
What is the sales tax rate in Massachusetts?
- Statewide tax
- Sales and Use Tax
- State rate
- 6.25%
- Local sales taxes
- Not stated
The permit
Does a salon need a sales tax permit in Massachusetts?
Sales and Use Tax Registration Certificate. Register for sales and use tax on MassTaxConnect before selling products to clients; DOR mails a registration certificate (Form ST-1) once approved. The official page does not state a fee.
- Registration
- Sales and Use Tax Registration Certificate
- State fee
- Not stated
Good to know
What else Massachusetts says about salons and sales tax
- A barber or beauty shop operator is treated as the consumer of the supplies it uses in a service, such as shampoo or color, and so pays tax when it buys them and does not charge tax to the client for the service.
- Products sold along with a service, such as a bottle of shampoo from a salon, are taxable and must be itemized separately on the bill.
- If a product is part of a service charge that is not itemized, and the product's value is not inconsequential, the whole charge is taxable.
Sources
What Massachusetts's official pages say
Each answer above, in the words of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's own publications, rules or statutes, read on October 25, 2026. This is not tax advice: rules and rates change, so confirm with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue or an accountant.
- Hair services
“A barber, beauty shop operator, launderer or cleaner is a consumer of the supplies which such an enterprise uses in rendering its service. It does not collect a tax from its customer.”
mass.gov - Nail services
“provided further, that the term services shall be limited to telecommunications services”
malegislature.gov “professional, insurance, or personal service transactions which involve no sale or which involve sales as inconsequential elements for which no separate charges are made”
malegislature.gov - Products you sell
“However, if it sells any tangible personal property at retail, this service enterprise collects a sales tax from the customer.”
mass.gov - The tax and its rate
“The Massachusetts sales tax is 6.25% of the sales price or rental charge on tangible personal property, including certain telecommunication services sold or rented in Massachusetts.”
mass.gov - The permit
“Sample Sales and Use Tax Registration Certificate”
mass.gov - The agency
“DOR will send a registration certificate to businesses registered to collect the sales, meals or rooms taxes.”
mass.gov - Also good to know
“Items sold along with services (e.g., a bottle of shampoo from a salon, parts for a car repair), are taxable and must be itemized separately on the bill.”
mass.gov - Also good to know
“2. The transfer of tangible personal property occurs, and the value of the property is not inconsequential in relation to the total charge, and the charge for the property is not separately stated on the bill to the customer.”
sec.state.ma.us
Questions
Massachusetts salon sales tax, answered
Are haircuts taxable in Massachusetts?
Do nail salons charge sales tax in Massachusetts?
Are facials and waxing taxable in Massachusetts?
Do salons charge sales tax on products in Massachusetts?
Does a salon need a sales tax permit in Massachusetts?
What is the sales tax rate in Massachusetts?
Plan the rest
Opening or running a salon in Massachusetts
- Every step to opening a salon in Massachusetts, as a checklist
- What Massachusetts requires to license a salon
- What Massachusetts inspectors check in a salon
- Salon point of sale systems compared, with card fees
Salon sales tax in other states
Ready when you are
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