Missouri paycheck guide
How Missouri calculates income tax in 2026
Missouri uses the federal standard deduction, $16,100 for a single filer and $32,200 for a married couple filing jointly. Its brackets are narrow: the first $1,348 of taxable income is taxed at 0%, then each band of $1,348 steps up through 2%, 2.5%, 3%, 3.5%, 4%, and 4.5%. Everything above $9,436 is taxed at 4.7%. For a salaried worker, Missouri behaves almost like a flat 4.7% tax.
The unusual part is the federal income tax deduction. Missouri lets you subtract a share of the federal income tax you paid, and that share shrinks as income rises. In our examples a single filer earning $75,000 deducts $1,151, while at $150,000 the deduction has phased out entirely.
The 4.7% top rate did not change for 2026. State law allows further cuts in steps when general revenue growth meets a trigger, so check the rate again each year. Missouri also stopped taxing individuals' capital gains starting with 2025 returns, which matters for anyone with a stock or property sale but not for ordinary wages.
Worked example: a $75,000 salary in Missouri
Start with $75,000 of wages. Subtract the $16,100 standard deduction and the $1,151 federal tax deduction, leaving $57,750 of Missouri taxable income. The lower brackets add small amounts, from $27 in the 2% band to $61 in the 4.5% band. The top bracket carries the weight: $48,314 at 4.7% produces $2,271. Total Missouri tax is $2,534, an effective rate of 3.38%.
Federal tax uses the same $16,100 deduction, leaving $58,900 taxable: $12,400 at 10%, $38,000 at 12%, and $8,500 at 22%, for $7,670. Social Security takes $4,650 and Medicare $1,088. Take-home pay comes to $59,058 a year, about $4,922 a month, before any city earnings tax. The Missouri $75,000 salary page splits that into weekly and biweekly checks.
At $150,000 there is no federal deduction left, so taxable income is $133,900 and $124,464 of it is taxed at 4.7%. The state bill is $6,113, a 4.08% effective rate.
Kansas City and St. Louis earnings taxes
Kansas City and St. Louis are the only Missouri cities that tax wages. Each charges a 1% earnings tax, $750 on a $75,000 salary. Residents pay it on all earned income, wherever they work. Nonresidents pay it only on pay for work performed inside city limits, so a Johnson County, Kansas commuter owes Kansas City tax only for days spent working in Kansas City, Missouri.
State law requires voters in both cities to reapprove the earnings tax every five years. Kansas City voters renewed theirs in April 2026. If you work from home outside the city part of the week but your employer withholds on every day, you can request a refund for the remote days. The Kansas City calculator and St. Louis calculator show the combined effect.
St. Louis is an independent city, separate from St. Louis County. Clayton, Chesterfield, and the rest of the county do not levy an earnings tax, so where the city line falls can change a paycheck by $750 at the same salary.
Withholding, Form MO W-4, and border commuters
Missouri employers set state withholding from Form MO W-4, separate from the federal W-4. Update it when you marry, take a second job, or change how many dependents you claim. City earnings tax is withheld by employers in Kansas City and St. Louis on top of state tax.
Missouri has no reciprocity agreements, which matters in two big metro areas that straddle state lines. Kansas residents who work in Kansas City, Missouri, have Missouri tax withheld and claim a credit on their Kansas return. Illinois residents who work in St. Louis do the same with Illinois.
Missouri residents who work across the line in Kansas or Illinois pay that state's tax first. Missouri then gives a credit for tax paid to the other state on Form MO-CR, so you are not taxed twice on the same wages.
How Missouri compares with its eight neighbors
Missouri borders eight states, and at $75,000 it sits in the middle of them, ranking 25th of 51 overall. Tennessee, with no wage tax, leaves a single worker $2,534 more. Iowa's flat 3.8% leaves $336 more, Arkansas's lower 3.7% top rate $247 more, and Kentucky $27 more. Nebraska is a dead heat, $1 ahead. Missouri beats Oklahoma by $296, Kansas by $851, and Illinois by $1,034.
The Kansas and Illinois gaps matter most for commuters. See Kansas vs Missouri and Illinois vs Missouri, and remember that a Kansas City or St. Louis address adds the 1% earnings tax that suburbs on either side of the river do not charge.
What to expect at your income
Earning under $50,000
Lower earners get the most from Missouri's federal tax deduction, which is largest as a share of federal tax at modest incomes. A single filer earning $30,000 pays $456 to Missouri, a 1.52% effective rate, and takes home $25,829. At $50,000 the state bill is $1,368 and take-home is $40,987. Living or working in Kansas City or St. Louis adds the 1% earnings tax, which applies from the first dollar of pay with no deduction or 0% band, so it weighs more on a small paycheck than the state's rate suggests.
Earning $50,000 to $150,000
In this range almost every added dollar is taxed at Missouri's 4.7% top rate, while the federal tax deduction slowly phases down. A $100,000 single filer owes Missouri $3,670 and nets $75,510, about $6,293 monthly, before any earnings tax. Married couples with a single $100,000 income owe Missouri $2,952 and keep $81,758. Pre-tax 401(k) contributions lower Missouri adjusted gross income, and near the income steps where the federal tax deduction shrinks they can also raise the share you may deduct.
Earning over $150,000
By $150,000 the federal tax deduction is gone, and a single filer pays $6,113 to Missouri, keeping $107,678. At $250,000 the bill is $10,813, a 4.33% effective rate, and take-home is $172,369. Missouri no longer taxes individuals' capital gains, which helps high earners with stock compensation or investment sales. Kansas City and St. Louis residents still owe the 1% earnings tax on all earned income, including bonuses.
Missouri paycheck tips
Log remote days if you work in Kansas City or St. Louis
Nonresidents owe the earnings tax only for work done inside the city. A record of home-office days supports a refund request when your employer withholds on every day.
Claim the credit on Form MO-CR
If you live in Missouri and work in Kansas or Illinois, file Form MO-CR with your return to get credit for the other state's tax.
Do not forget the federal tax deduction
Missouri lets moderate earners subtract part of their federal income tax. Tax software handles it, but check that it appears if you prepare the return by hand.
Deduct MOST 529 contributions
Contributions to Missouri's MOST 529 plan are deductible on the Missouri return up to an annual limit per taxpayer. The deduction lowers the tax due when you file.
Check the city line before signing a lease
A St. Louis city address costs 1% of earned income every year; Clayton or University City next door does not. In the Kansas City area, Overland Park and Lee's Summit also have no earnings tax.
Common mistakes
Assuming the earnings tax follows only your job
Kansas City and St. Louis residents owe the 1% tax on all earned income, even if they work in the suburbs or remotely for an out-of-state company.
Expecting a Kansas-Missouri reciprocity agreement
There is none. Cross-border commuters have tax withheld by the work state and claim a credit at home.
Reading the lowest bracket as your rate
Missouri's 2% bracket covers only $1,348 of income. For most workers, the 4.7% rate is what applies to a raise.
Moving to or from Missouri
Moving to Missouri
Moving to Missouri from Illinois or Kansas raises take-home pay at $75,000 by $1,034 or $851 a year, before any city tax. If you settle in Kansas City or St. Louis, the 1% earnings tax takes $750 of that back. Coming from Tennessee costs $2,534 a year at that salary. Missouri taxes you as a part-year resident from your move date.
Leaving Missouri
Leaving Missouri for Tennessee saves a single $75,000 earner $2,534 a year, and leaving Kansas City or St. Louis also ends the 1% earnings tax. Moving to Iowa saves $336 and to Arkansas $247, while Kansas costs $851 more and Illinois $1,034 more. File a part-year Missouri return for the year you move, and settle any city earnings tax that was not withheld while you lived in Kansas City or St. Louis.