Missouri income tax, by filing status
Tax year 2026
Tax on a $75,000 salary
$2,588
3.45% of pay, single filer
Against other states
29 of 51
1 takes the most
Top rate
4.7%
on the highest incomes only
Tax-free first
$1,348
of income, single filer
What filing status changes in Missouri
- Marrying costs you here, and almost nobody mentions it. Missouri runs 8 tax bands, and a married couple filing together gets the same bands as one person. Two incomes stack into the higher rates that a single earner would never reach.
- Missouri reuses the single-filer bands for head of household. No separate table, no wider bands — the status does not move the state schedule.
- There is no state standard deduction in Missouri. Nothing is set aside before the rate applies, and that is true for every filing status.
- Missouri applies identical bracket thresholds to joint filers and single filers across its 8 bands. That is a structural marriage penalty: combined household income is measured against a schedule calibrated for one earner, so a two-income couple reaches the about 4.7% top rate at half the per-person income a single filer would need. Most published rate tables show the single column only, which is why this is routinely missed.
- No distinct head-of-household schedule exists in Missouri; the single table applies. That is the majority treatment among income-taxing states, and it means head-of-household status is worth materially less at state level than the federal schedule would lead a filer to expect.
- No standard deduction is available in Missouri, so the state's effective and statutory rates converge quickly as income rises and diverge very little at the bottom. Comparing this state's headline rate against one that shelters several thousand dollars understates the difference for anyone on a modest income.
Where the money goes
A $75,000 salary
- Federal income tax$7,670
- Social Security and Medicare$5,738
- State income tax$2,588
- Yours$59,005
| Federal income tax10.23% | $7,670 |
|---|---|
| Social Security and Medicare7.65% | $5,738 |
| State income tax3.45% | $2,588 |
| Yours78.67% | $59,005 |
Your next $1,000
A $75,000 salary
| Federal, on the next dollar | 22% |
|---|---|
| Social Security and Medicare | 7.65% |
| State, on the next dollar | 4.7% |
| Taken from the next $1,000 | $344 |
Rates shown are federal, Social Security and Medicare, and state. Any local tax is inside the kept amount.
How this state ranks, at this income
A $75,000 salary
| Take-home in Missouri | $59,005 |
|---|---|
| Rank once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | 18th of 51 |
| Most take-home at this income | South Dakota · $61,593 |
| Best once prices are leveled | South Dakota |
State income tax only — no city or county income tax is applied to any state here.
Your two tax rates
A $75,000 salary
- Next dollar34.35%
- All your pay21.33%
| On the next dollar | 34.35% |
|---|---|
| Across all your pay | 21.33% |
| The gap | 13.02% |
| Tax this year | $15,995 |
The outer ring shows tax on your next dollar. The inner ring shows tax as a share of all your pay.
Which rung you are on
A $75,000 salary
| This rung starts at | $66,500 |
|---|---|
| Next rung starts at | $121,800 |
| Room before it | $46,800 |
Federal only, measured on gross pay — so the first rung is what the standard deduction covers.
Missouri's ladder
A $75,000 salary
| Rungs in this state | 8 |
|---|---|
| Top rate begins | $25,536 |
Measured on gross pay, so any state standard deduction shows as a 0% first rung.
What filing status is worth
A $75,000 salary
| Single | $59,005 |
|---|---|
| Married filing jointly | $62,792 |
| Married filing separately | $59,005 |
| Head of household | $61,305 |
What each status computes to at this income. Which one you may use depends on your household.
The part never taxed
A $75,000 salary
- Never taxed$16,100
- Taxable$58,900
| Share of your pay | 21.47% |
|---|---|
| Taxable after it | $58,900 |
Federal income tax only. Social Security and Medicare start at the first dollar you earn.
The tax with a ceiling
A $75,000 salary
| Wage base | $184,500 |
|---|---|
| Social Security rate | 6.2% |
| Medicare surtax begins | $200,000 |
Social Security stops at the wage base. Medicare does not, and gains a surtax higher up.
What no income tax costs instead
A $75,000 salary
- Income
- Sales
- Property
| Income tax saved | $2,588 |
|---|---|
| Sales and property added | $357 |
| States with none | 9 |
Against the average of the states with no income tax. Stated assumptions: 30% spent taxably, a $300,000 home.
Missouri, by when it bites
A $75,000 salary
| 2026-01-01 | Repealed the taxation of capital gains on the sale or exchange of specie (gold/silver currency). |
|---|
Green moves a tax down, red moves it up, blue changes the structure without a clear direction.
Tax brackets — every filing status
| Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to $1,348 | 0% |
| $1,348 – $2,696 | 2% |
| $2,696 – $4,044 | 2.5% |
| $4,044 – $5,392 | 3% |
| $5,392 – $6,740 | 3.5% |
| $6,740 – $8,088 | 4% |
| $8,088 – $9,436 | 4.5% |
| Over $9,436 | 4.7% |
What you'd actually owe, by filing status
Same gross income, four filing statuses. The gap between columns is entirely Missouri's own schedule and deduction — federal tax and FICA are not included here.
| Gross income | Single | Married filing jointly | Head of household | Married filing separately |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $1,413 | $656 | $1,034 | $1,413 |
| $75,000 | $2,588 | $1,831 | $2,209 | $2,588 |
| $100,000 | $3,763 | $3,006 | $3,384 | $3,763 |
Questions people ask
If I earn more, does the higher rate apply to everything?
Only the money above each line takes the higher rate. Everything under it keeps the rate it had, which is why the real share is about 3.45% and not about 4.7%.
Is there an amount this state does not tax at all?
Yes. The first $1,348 of a single filer's income is out of reach — the standard deduction plus any opening band charged at nothing. Tax only starts above that line.
Do the brackets change at all when we file together?
The schedule is identical. Filing together does not widen a single band, so two incomes stack against single-filer thresholds.
Do two people get twice the allowance?
No. $0 each apart, but $0 together rather than twice that, so some allowance disappears on a joint return.
How do this state's marginal rates apply across income?
Missouri applies each marginal rate only to income within its bracket. The top marginal rate is about 4.7%; measured effective liability at this project's representative income is about 3.45%. Crossing a threshold cannot reduce net income.
Where does state income tax liability begin here?
Liability commences above $1,348 for a single filer, comprising the standard deduction and any zero-rate opening bracket. Filers below that threshold owe no state income tax, though a return may still be required.
Why are joint and single thresholds identical here?
Missouri applies identical bracket thresholds to single and joint filers. Combined income therefore reaches each marginal rate at the single-filer threshold, which is the strongest form of marriage penalty a graduated schedule can produce.
Why does the joint standard deduction not equal twice the single one?
The joint standard deduction of $0 is not twice the single deduction of $0, so the deduction itself contributes a marriage penalty independently of bracket structure.