Kansas City local tax guide
Who pays Kansas City's local tax
Residents of Kansas City, Missouri, owe 1% on all earned income, wherever they work, including jobs in Overland Park or North Kansas City. Nonresidents owe 1% only on pay for work performed inside the city, so a commuter from Lee's Summit, Independence, or Johnson County, Kansas, owes the tax on office days but not on days worked from home outside the city. The city spans parts of Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass counties, and the tax applies the same way in all of them. Your home address and the location of each workday are what count.
How the Kansas City earnings tax works
The earnings tax is a flat 1% on salaries, wages, commissions, and other compensation, with a matching tax on business net profits. It has no brackets, deductions, or exemptions, so it starts with your first dollar of pay and applies to gross wages rather than taxable income.
Missouri law requires Kansas City voters to approve the tax every five years. On April 7, 2026, roughly three in four voters said yes, which keeps the tax in place until the next required vote in 2031. A no vote would have started a 10-year phase-out. The city's Revenue Division administers it.
Worked example: $75,000 in Kansas City
A single filer earning $75,000 owes $7,670 in federal income tax and $2,534 in Missouri income tax, which reflects the state's deduction for part of federal tax paid, worth $1,151 at this income. Social Security takes $4,650 and Medicare $1,088. The 1% earnings tax adds $750, leaving take-home pay of $58,308, or about $4,859 a month.
Residents and nonresidents who work full time in the city pay the same $750 at this salary. A commuter who works some days at home outside the city pays less, because the tax applies only to days worked in Kansas City. At $100,000 the full-time bill is $1,000, and at $150,000 it is $1,500.
Withholding, remote days, and refunds
Employers in the city withhold the earnings tax automatically. If you are a resident working for an employer outside the city that does not withhold it, you file Form RD-109 with the Revenue Division and pay the tax yourself.
Nonresidents who had the full 1% withheld but worked some days outside the city can claim a refund on Form RD-109 with the RD-109NR schedule. The schedule counts whole days only, does not allow vacation, sick days, or holidays as days outside the city, and requires employer verification. Any part of a day worked in the city counts as a city day.
How Kansas City compares
Only two Missouri cities tax earnings, and St. Louis charges the same 1%, or $750 at $75,000. Everywhere else in Missouri, a worker pays only federal, state, and payroll taxes, shown on the Missouri take-home calculator.
For metro households the state line matters too. Kansas residents who work in Kansas City, Missouri, pay the 1% city tax plus Missouri nonresident income tax on those wages, and claim a credit on their Kansas return. Living in Kansas City, Missouri, and working in Kansas still leaves you owing the 1% as a resident.
Tips for Kansas City paychecks
Log your remote days
If you live outside the city, a record of days worked from home supports a refund on the RD-109NR schedule. Ask your employer to verify the days before you file.
Residents with outside employers must self-report
A job in Overland Park or Lenexa usually means no city withholding. File RD-109 and set aside about $750 per $75,000 of pay.
Kansas side, no earnings tax
Kansas City, Kansas, does not levy an earnings tax. If you work there and live in Kansas, the Missouri city's tax does not apply to you.
Compare with the state baseline
See the Missouri $75,000 salary page for take-home pay without the city tax.