Overview of Missouri Taxes
Missouri has a progressive income tax rate that ranges from 1.5% to 5.9%. That top rate is set to drop to 5.5% over the course of five years, beginning in 2018. The top rate had been 6.0% for more than a decade. Missouri’s two largest cities, Kansas City and St. Louis, also collect local income taxes.
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- 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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Missouri Paycheck Calculator
Missouri Paycheck Quick Facts
- Missouri income tax rate: 1.5% - 5.9%
- Median household income $51,542 (U.S. Census Bureau)
- Number of cities that have local income taxes: 2
How Your Missouri Paycheck Works
Federal income taxes, FICA taxes and state income taxes are automatically removed from your paycheck whenever you get paid in Missouri. If you live in St. Louis or Kansas City, you will also see local income taxes coming out of your wages.
FICA taxes are Medicare and Social Security taxes and they are withheld at rates of 1.45% and 6.2% of your wages, respectively. Your employer matches these contributions so the total FICA contributions are double what you pay. If you are self-employed, you are responsible for paying the full 2.9% in Medicare taxes and 12.4% in Social Security taxes yourself. Luckily, there is a deduction to help you pay this high self-employment tax. Additionally, any wages you earn in excess of $200,000 is subject to a 0.9% Medicare surtax. Employers do not match the Medicare surtax.
How much you pay in federal income taxes depends on several factors, including your marital status, how many allowances you claim and if you want additional tax withheld from your paycheck. Your employer withholds taxes based on what you indicated about these factors on your W-4 form. You have to fill out a new W-4 every time to start new employment or if you want to make any changes. Your salary also determines how much you pay out in federal taxes.
Note that withholding calculations changed for the 2018 tax year because of the tax plan that President Trump signed into law in December 2017. It’s a good idea to check your W-4 just to make sure your withholding information is still correct.
If you have more than one job, you need to fill out a W-4 for each, but you cannot claim the same allowances for multiple jobs. You can either split your allowances between your jobs, or you can claim all your allowances for one job and none for the others. The same is true for people who file a joint tax return. You need to divide your total allowances between your employers.
The size of your paycheck is also affected by your pay frequency. If you get paid biweekly, your checks will be smaller than if you get paid monthly. You ultimately make the same amount of money, assuming you have the same salary, but it may change how you budget your expenses each month.
Missouri tax brackets remain the same for all taxpayers regardless of tax filing status. There are 10 tax brackets in the Show Me State, ranging from 1.5% to 5.9% for the 2018 tax year. Because the highest tax bracket applies to income above $9,253, most filers will fall into this bracket.
Kansas City and St. Louis are the two Missouri cities that levy local income tax and the rate is 1% in both places. If you live or work in these cities, you have to pay this tax.
A financial advisor in Missouri 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.
How You Can Affect Your Missouri Paycheck
If you always find yourself facing a big bill during tax season, take a closer look at how many allowances you are claiming on your W-4. If you claim more than you are entitled to or if you claim the same allowances with more than one employer, you’re underpaying taxes and thus going to face more taxes come April. Another option is to have your employer withhold a dollar amount from each of your paychecks. Simply decide on an amount, say $50, and write that amount on a new W-4. It might not sound enticing to get smaller paychecks all year, but you’ll be happy you did when you don’t have to pay a big bill in April.
If you are comfortable with receiving a smaller paycheck throughout the year, you may want to contribute more of your money to retirement accounts or medical spending accounts. For example, you can increase contributions to a 401(k) or 403(b) account if your employer offers them. And if you do contribute to one of these accounts, try to put in enough to at least get any employer matches. In addition to saving money for the future, putting money into these tax-advantaged accounts will actually help you save on taxes. Money you put into these retirement accounts is deducted from your paycheck prior to taxes, so you are actually lowering your taxable income by stashing money there. Furthermore, your money grows tax-free in a 401(k) until you withdraw it in retirement.
Any contributions you make to a health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA) are also pre-tax. Just keep in mind that only $500 will roll over in an FSA from one year to the next. If you have more than $500 left in your FSA at the end of the year, you will lose it.
If you’re considering buying a home or refinancing a mortgage, take a look at our Missouri mortgage guide. You will find all the information you need about getting a mortgage in Missouri.
Most Paycheck Friendly Places
SmartAsset's interactive map highlights the most paycheck friendly counties across the country. Zoom between states and the national map to see data points for each region, or look specifically at one of the four factors driving our analysis: Semi-Monthly Paycheck, Purchasing Power, Unemployment Rate, and Income Growth.
Methodology Our study aims to find the most paycheck friendly places in the country. These are places in the country with favorable economic conditions where you get to keep more of the money you make. To find these places we considered four different factors: semi-monthly paycheck, purchasing power, unemployment rate and income growth.
First, we calculated the semi-monthly paycheck for a single individual with two personal allowances. We applied relevant deductions and exemptions before calculating income tax withholding. To better compare withholding across counties we assumed a $50,000 annual income. We then indexed the paycheck amount for each county to reflect the counties with the lowest withholding burden.
We then created a purchasing power index for each county. This reflects the counties with the highest ratio of household income to cost of living. We also created an unemployment rate index that shows the counties with the lowest unemployment. For income growth, we calculated the annual growth in median income over five years for each county and indexed the results.
Finally, we calculated the weighted average of the indices to yield an overall paycheck friendliness score. We used a one half weighting for semi-monthly paycheck and a one-sixth weighting for purchasing power, unemployment rate and income growth. We indexed the final number so higher values reflect the most paycheck friendly places.
Sources: SmartAsset, government websites, US Census Bureau 2017 5-Year American Community Survey, MIT Living Wage Study, Bureau of Labor Statistics
