Overview of Missouri Taxes
Missouri has a progressive income tax rate that ranges from 1.5% to 6%. That top rate is set to drop to 5.5% over the course of five years, beginning in 2018. Two cities in Missouri have local income taxes.
This calculator reflects the 2018 federal withholding tax changes.
Click here to learn more about how the Trump Tax Plan will affect you.
| Gross Paycheck | $-- | ||
| Taxes | --% | $-- | |
| Details | |||
| Federal Income | --% | $-- | |
| State Income | --% | $-- | |
| Local Income | --% | $-- | |
| FICA and State Insurance Taxes | --% | $-- | |
| Details | |||
| Social Security | --% | $-- | |
| Medicare | --% | $-- | |
| State Disability Insurance Tax | --% | $-- | |
| State Unemployment Insurance Tax | --% | $-- | |
| State Family Leave Insurance Tax | --% | $-- | |
| State Workers Compensation Insurance Tax | --% | $-- | |
| Pre-Tax Deductions | --% | $-- | |
| Details | |||
| Post-Tax Deductions | --% | $-- | |
| Details | |||
| Take Home Salary | --% | $-- | |
- 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.
We pay $30 for 30 minutes on the phone to hear your thoughts on what we can do better. Please enter your email if you'd like to be contacted to help.
Please enter your name | Please enter a valid email |
 | Missouri Paycheck Quick Facts
|
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 rates are doubled. 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. 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 is dependent on several factors including your marital status, how many allowances you are claiming and if you want additional tax withheld from your paycheck. Your employer withholds taxes based on what you indicated about the previous 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.
Withholding calculations have changed for the 2018 tax year because of the tax plan that President Trump signed into law in December 2017. The IRS released updated tax withholding guidelines in January and taxpayers should have seen changes to their paychecks, to reflect the new tax plan, starting in February 2018. For the time being, taxpayers do not need to fill out a new W-4. Employers will use the withholdings on your current form.
If you have more than one job, you cannot claim the same allowances for different 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 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. A bigger check might sound preferable but keep in mind that you’re going twice as long between getting paid so you may have to budget more precisely to ensure that you don’t run out of money halfway through the month.
Missouri Median Household Income
| Year | Median Household Income |
| 2016 | $49,593 |
| 2015 | $48,173 |
| 2014 | $48,363 |
| 2013 | $46,931 |
| 2012 | $45,321 |
| 2011 | $45,247 |
| 2010 | $44,301 |
| 2009 | $45,229 |
| 2008 | $46,867 |
Missouri tax brackets remain the same for all taxpayers regardless of tax filing status (if you’re head of the household or married, filing separately, etc.). There are 10 tax brackets in the Show Me State and they are dependent on income. The lowest tax rate is 1.5% and that’s on earnings of $1,000 or less. The highest tax rate is 6% and that applies to earnings over $9,000.
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.
Local Income Taxes
| City | Income Tax Rate |
| Kansas City | 1.00% |
| St. Louis | 1.00% |
How You Can Affect Your Missouri Paycheck
If you are comfortable with receiving a smaller paycheck throughout the year, you may want to contribute more of your money in retirement accounts or spending accounts. You can increase contributions to a 401(k) or 403(b) account and, in addition to saving money for the future, this will actually help you save on taxes. Money you put into these types of 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). If your employer offers a Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account, money you put in those helps to lower your taxable income in the same way. Be wary about how much you put in a FSA or HSA though; they do not roll over from year to year so any money in there is use it or lose it.
If you find yourself always facing a big bill during tax season, you may want to 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 allowance with more than one employer, you’re going to face more taxes in 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 be difficult to choose to get smaller paychecks all year, but you’ll be happy you did when you avoid an oversize bill during tax season.
Perhaps refinancing your home is another option worth considering. If you’re looking to do so, take a look at our Missouri mortgage guide where you will find all the information you need about getting a mortgage in Missouri.
Missouri Top Income Tax Rate
| Year | Top Income Tax Rate |
| 2017 | 6.00% |
| 2016 | 6.00% |
| 2015 | 6.00% |
| 2014 | 6.00% |
| 2013 | 6.00% |
| 2012 | 6.00% |
| 2011 | 6.00% |
| 2010 | 6.00% |
| 2009 | 6.00% |
| 2008 | 6.00% |
| 2007 | 6.00% |
| 2006 | 6.00% |
| 2005 | 6.00% |
| 2004 | 6.00% |
| 2003 | 6.00% |
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 2016 5-Year American Community Survey, MIT Living Wage Study, Bureau of Labor Statistics
