Massachusetts tax collections for January have come in above expectations.

The total collected for the month topped $2.97 billion. That’s $158 million, or 5.6 percent, above the estimate and $254 million, or 9.3 percent, more than the collections in January 2017.

State Revenue Commissioner Christopher Harding said nearly all of the above-benchmark performance in January came in estimated payments, most of which were received in the first few days of January.

He said the strength in this category is a continuation from December and is consistent with trends in other states.

Harding also said the strong performance in December and January may be “borrowed” from future months and estimated payment collection is likely to fall back to expectations through the end of the fiscal year at the end of June.