
Overview of Mississippi Taxes
Mississippi has a progressive state income tax that is slightly lower than the national average. The state sales tax is slightly above the national average, though. Property taxes here are among the lowest in the nation.
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Your Income Taxes Breakdown
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* These are the taxes owed for the 2020 - 2021 filing season.
Your 2020 Federal Income Tax Comparison
- Your marginal federal income tax rate
- Your effective federal income tax rate
- Your federal income taxes
Total Estimated 2020 Tax BurdenIncome Tax $ Sales Tax $ Fuel Tax $ Property Tax$ Total Estimated Tax Burden $ Percent of income to taxes = % | $ |
- About This Answer
Our income tax calculator calculates your federal, state and local taxes based on several key inputs: your household income, location, filing status and number of personal exemptions. Also, we separately calculate the federal income taxes you will owe in the 2019 - 2020 filing season based on the Trump Tax Plan.
How Income Taxes Are Calculated
- First, we calculate your adjusted gross income (AGI) by taking your total household income and reducing it by certain items such as contributions to your 401(k).
- Next, from AGI we subtract exemptions and deductions (either itemized or standard) to get your taxable income. Exemptions can be claimed for each taxpayer as well as dependents such as one’s spouse or children.
- Based on your filing status, your taxable income is then applied to the the tax brackets to calculate your federal income taxes owed for the year.
- Your location will determine whether you owe local and / or state taxes.
- Last Updated: January 1, 2020
When Do We Update? - We regularly check for any updates to the latest tax rates and regulations.
Customer Service - If you would like to leave any feedback, feel free to email info@smartasset.com.
- Our Tax Expert
Jennifer Mansfield, CPA Tax
Jennifer Mansfield, CPA, JD/LLM-Tax, is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 30 years of experience providing tax advice. SmartAsset’s tax expert has a degree in Accounting and Business/Management from the University of Wyoming, as well as both a Masters in Tax Laws and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center. Jennifer has mostly worked in public accounting firms, including Ernst & Young and Deloitte. She is passionate about helping provide people and businesses with valuable accounting and tax advice to allow them to prosper financially. Jennifer lives in Arizona and was recently named to the Greater Tucson Leadership Program.
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Taxes in Mississippi

Mississippi State Tax Quick Facts
- Income tax: 0% - 5%
- Sales tax: 7% - 8%
- Property tax: 0.79% average effective rate
- Gas tax: 18 cents per gallon of regular gasoline and diesel
The Mississippi state government collects several types of taxes. The most significant are its income and sales taxes. The personal income tax, which has a top rate of 5%, is slightly lower than the national average for state income taxes. However, the statewide sales tax of 7% is slightly above the national average. There are also two cities that levy a local sales tax.
A financial advisor in Mississippi can help you understand how taxes fit into your overall financial goals. Financial advisors can also help with investing and financial plans, including retirement, homeownership, insurance and more, to make sure you are preparing for the future.
Mississippi Income Taxes
The income tax in the Magnolia State is based on four tax brackets, with rates of 0%, 3%, 4% and 5%. Because the income threshold for the top bracket is quite low ($10,000), most taxpayers will pay the top rate for the majority of their income. The tax brackets are the same for all filing statuses.
Those tax rates do not apply to total income, but rather taxable income, which accounts for deductions and exemptions. Mississippi allows the same itemized deductions as the IRS, with the exception of the deduction for state and local income taxes. The standard deduction in Mississippi is $2,300 for single filers and married individuals filing separately, $4,600 for married individuals filing jointly and $3,400 for heads of household. If itemized deductions are less than the standard deduction, taxpayers receive the standard deduction.
Along with those deductions, there is also a personal exemption in Mississippi. The exemption is $6,000 for single filers and married individuals filing separately, $12,000 for married individuals filing jointly and $8,000 for heads of household. Taxpayers can claim additional exemptions of $1,500 per dependent.
Mississippi does not have some of the tax credits common to other states, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.
Mississippi Sales Tax
There is a single, statewide sales tax of 7% in Mississippi. It is the same everywhere in the state, with a few exceptions. The city of Jackson, Mississippi’s state capital, collects its own additional sales tax of 1%. This means the total sales tax there is 8%. The city of Tupelo also collects an additional tax of 0.25% on all retail sales and services provided from within the city’s corporate limits. Many cities and counties also impose Tourism and Economic Development Taxes on hotels, motels, restaurants and bars.
Tax is collected on sales of tangible personal property as well as certain services in Mississippi. Taxable services include installation or repair of air conditioning units, bowling fees, car-washing, electricians, furniture repair, hotels and motels, laundering and dry cleaning, parking garages and lots, television service and woodworking.
Tangible personal property includes most physical goods, such as furniture, clothing and electronics, but there are some exceptions. Mississippi is one of just two states to tax all food at the full sales tax rate. Groceries and prepared food alike are subject to the statewide 7% sales tax, and there are additional restaurant taxes in some areas. On the other hand, prescription drugs are not taxed in Mississippi.
Mississippi has two sales tax holidays. The first typically occurs on Friday and Saturday of the last weekend in July. During those two days, clothing and footwear items costing less than $100 can be purchased sales tax free. The second holiday is called the “Mississippi Second Amendment Weekend.” It occurs over the first weekend in September, during which time firearms, ammunition and hunting supplies can be purchased free of state sales tax.
Mississippi Property Tax
Taxes on property in Mississippi are among the lowest in the nation. The average effective property tax rate (taxes per year as a percentage of home value) in the Magnolia State is just 0.79%. However, because of the relatively low home values in Mississippi, the total annual property tax payment in Mississippi is just $1,009.
If such low property taxes caught your attention and you’re considering buying a home in Mississippi - or if you’re thinking about refinancing a property there - check out our Mississippi mortgage guide for information about rates and mortgages in the state.
Mississippi Gas Tax
Regular gasoline in Mississippi is taxed at a rate of 18 cents per gallon, one of the lowest gas taxes in the country. Diesel fuel faces the same low tax of 18 cents per gallon.
Mississippi Capital Gains Tax
Short- and long-term capital gains are taxed at the regular income tax rates in Mississippi. However, gains from the sale of shares in financial institutions based in Mississippi, as well as domestic limited partnerships and limited liability companies, may be exempt in some situations.
Mississippi Cigarette Tax
According to the Tax Foundation, Mississippi’s cigarette tax is 68 cents per pack of 20 cigarettes.
Mississippi Alcohol Tax
Mississippi’s alcoholic beverage taxes, on the other hand, rank quite high compared with the rest of the nation. The tax on liquor is equal to $7.46 per gallon.

- According to polling by Gallup international, Mississippi is the most religious state in the country.
- The name Mississippi comes from the Ojibwe word meaning "great river."
Places with the Lowest Tax Burden
Are you curious how your tax burden stacks up against others in your state? SmartAsset’s interactive map highlights the counties with the lowest tax burden. Scroll over any county in the state to learn about taxes in that specific area.
Methodology
To find the places with the lowest tax burdens, SmartAsset calculated the amount of money a specific person would pay in income, sales, property and fuel taxes in each county in the country.
To better compare income tax burdens across counties, we used the national median household income. We then applied relevant deductions and exemptions before calculating federal, state and local income taxes.
In order to determine sales tax burden, we estimated that 35% of take-home (after-tax) pay is spent on taxable goods. We multiplied the average sales tax rate for a county by the household income after taxes. This balance is then multiplied by 35% to estimate the sales tax paid.For property taxes, we compared the median property taxes paid in each county.
For fuel taxes, we first distributed statewide vehicle miles traveled to the county level using the number of vehicles in each county. We then calculated the total number of licensed drivers within each county. The countywide miles were then distributed amongst the licensed drivers in the county, which gave us the miles driven per licensed driver. Using the nationwide average fuel economy, we calculated the average gallons of gas used per driver in each county and multiplied that by the fuel tax.
We then added the dollar amount for income, sales, property and fuel taxes to calculate a total tax burden. Finally, each county was ranked and indexed, on a scale of 0 to100. The county with the lowest tax burden received a score of 100 and the remaining counties in the study were scored based on how closely their tax burden compares.
Sources: US Census Bureau 2018 American Community Survey, Government Sources, Avalara, American Petroleum Institute, GasBuddy, UMTRI, Federal Highway Administration, SmartAsset