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Promote:Massachusetts

Invest in Massachusetts

A short guide for companies expanding into Massachusetts: the economy at a glance, the rules and steps to set up, and who can help, each with its source.

1. Massachusetts at a glance

Currency and inflation: see the United States at a glance

2. Before you set up

The body that handles foreign investment, any one-stop route and the zones, as the guide found them.

This guide does not cover the activities reserved for nationals. Before you apply, ask the body named above that handles foreign investment which activities are reserved.

Investment rules across the United States: see Invest in the United States

3. Steps to set up

The main steps, in order, each with the body responsible and its official page.

Setting up in Massachusetts

  1. Check your business name, then file with the Secretary of the Commonwealth; foreign corporations file as foreign entities.Secretary of the CommonwealthUS$400 filing fee for foreign corporationsOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Mass.gov, starting a corporation, December 2025⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of December 5, 2025

  2. File a business certificate with your city or town if you operate under a name other than your legal name.City or town clerkOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Mass.gov, starting a business in Massachusetts, 2025⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of March 18, 2025

  3. Register with the Department of Revenue in MassTaxConnect for corporate excise, sales and use, and withholding taxes.Massachusetts Department of RevenueOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Massachusetts DOR, tax information for new businesses, 2026⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of January 28, 2026

  4. Register with the Department of Unemployment Assistance if you pay wages for work done in Massachusetts.Department of Unemployment Assistance2.42 percent contribution rate for new employers in 2026Official page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Massachusetts DUA, employer contributions, 2026 rates⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

Show 3 more set-up steps
  1. Buy workers' compensation insurance, which every Massachusetts employer must carry.Department of Industrial AccidentsOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Massachusetts DIA, workers' compensation requirements, 2026⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

  2. Check professional and sector licenses with the Division of Banks, the Division of Insurance and the state's licensing boards.Division of Banks; Division of InsuranceOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Mass.gov, professional licenses and permits topic, 2026⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

  3. Ask MOITI or the Office of Business Development about incentives, sites and the Business Front Door for your project.Massachusetts Office of International Trade and InvestmentOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Mass.gov, Business Front Door page, 2026⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

Steps that apply across the United States: see Invest in the United States

4. Organizations that help investors

Start with Secretary of the Commonwealth. Each card links to the organization’s own site.

Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets

Investment and business setup

Show 2 more organizations

Customs and tax

Chambers and industry associations

5. Worth knowing

Across the United States: see Worth knowing in Invest in the United States

6. How Promote:Global helps

  • Compare the United States with other countriesSet the United States beside other countries on investment momentum, fundamentals and trade access, before site, tax and legal work.
  • Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
  • Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.

Turn this guide into your Massachusetts project.

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Promote:Massachusetts is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.

Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of November 3, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.