Missouri Paycheck Calculator
Estimate your take-home pay in Missouri, where state income tax brackets top out at 4.7% for 2025 and gradually decline as the state hits revenue targets, and Kansas City and St. Louis residents also owe a distinctive 1% city earnings tax.
This calculator provides estimates for informational purposes only. Actual paycheck amounts may vary based on your employer, benefits, local taxes, filing status, and tax elections.
Your estimate will appear here
Enter your pay details and click calculate to see your estimated take-home pay, tax breakdown, and annual income.
A note on Kansas City and St. Louis earnings tax: This calculator's state tax estimate doesn't include the 1% earnings tax charged specifically by Kansas City and St. Louis. That tax applies to both residents and to nonresidents who work within those city limits, so a suburban commuter working downtown owes it too. If you live or work outside these two cities, the estimate above applies without adjustment. If you're in either city, subtract roughly another 1% of gross pay.
Quick Answer
Missouri's top state income tax bracket is 4.7% for 2025, down from 4.8% in 2024. This calculator estimates your take-home pay using a simplified 4.8% flat state rate, along with federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), and Medicare (1.45%). It doesn't include the 1% city earnings tax that Kansas City and St. Louis residents and workers owe on top of the state rate.
How It Works: Formula & Variables
Net Pay = Gross Pay − Federal Tax − State Tax (≈4.8%) − Social Security − Medicare − Other Deductions
- Gross Pay
- Your total earnings before any deductions, hourly rate times hours, or annual salary divided by pay periods.
- Federal Tax
- Calculated using progressive tax brackets based on your filing status and taxable income.
- State Tax
- Estimated at an approximate 4.8% flat rate, close to Missouri's top bracket. Doesn't include the Kansas City or St. Louis earnings tax.
- Social Security
- 6.2% of gross pay, up to the annual wage base limit.
- Medicare
- 1.45% of gross pay, with no wage limit (plus 0.9% surtax above certain thresholds).
Worked Examples
Example 1: Hourly worker in Springfield, Missouri
Robin works 40 hours a week at $20 an hour. Gross weekly pay is $800. After federal income tax (around $76), Missouri state tax (≈4.8%, or $38.40), Social Security (6.2%, or $49.60), and Medicare (1.45%, or $11.60), estimated take-home pay lands at about $624.40 a week, roughly 78% of gross pay. Springfield doesn't charge a city earnings tax, so this figure holds up without adjustment.
Example 2: Salaried employee in Kansas City
Taylor earns $66,000 a year, paid biweekly ($2,538.46 gross per paycheck), filing as Single, and works in downtown Kansas City. After federal tax, the approximate 4.8% Missouri state tax, Social Security, and Medicare, this calculator estimates take-home pay at roughly $1,940 per paycheck. Kansas City's 1% earnings tax would subtract about another $25 per paycheck on top of that.
Example 3: Married couple in St. Louis
Jordan and Casey file Married Filing Jointly with a combined salary of $108,000 a year, paid biweekly ($4,153.85 gross per paycheck), living within St. Louis city limits. After federal tax, Missouri's state tax, Social Security, and Medicare, estimated take-home pay comes out to roughly $3,190 per paycheck, about 77% of gross pay, before St. Louis's 1% earnings tax is factored in on top.
Key Concepts
A gradual rate cut tied to revenue: Missouri's top bracket has stepped down in recent years under a 2022 law that ties further cuts to state revenue growth, a mechanism similar to Georgia's approach rather than a fixed year-by-year schedule like Indiana's.
Two cities with their own earnings tax: Kansas City and St. Louis are unusual among Missouri municipalities for charging a 1% earnings tax on both residents and nonresident workers, a setup that resembles Ohio's widespread municipal tax system but is limited to just these two cities in Missouri.
Nonresidents commuting into the city owe it too: Someone who lives in a Kansas City or St. Louis suburb but commutes downtown for work still owes the 1% earnings tax on income earned within city limits, even without living there.
Most of the state has no local income tax at all: Outside Kansas City and St. Louis, cities like Springfield and Columbia rely on sales and property tax rather than a local income tax.
Useful for comparing job offers: If you're weighing a downtown Kansas City or St. Louis offer against one in the suburbs or a different Missouri city, run both through a paycheck calculator to account for the earnings tax difference.
Common Mistakes
Forgetting the Kansas City or St. Louis earnings tax: Anyone living or working in either city needs to add the 1% earnings tax on top of this calculator's state-only estimate, including commuters who live outside city limits but work downtown.
Assuming the earnings tax applies statewide: It's specific to Kansas City and St. Louis. The rest of Missouri doesn't have anything similar.
Comparing gross salaries across states: A $65,000 offer in Missouri and a $65,000 offer in Kansas don't translate to the same take-home pay. Always compare net pay, not gross.
Ignoring pre-tax deductions: 401(k) contributions and health insurance premiums lower your taxable income before both federal and state tax apply, so leaving them out understates your real take-home pay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Missouri uses a bracket system topping out at 4.8% for 2024, dropping to 4.7% for 2025 under a revenue-triggered rate reduction law. This calculator applies a simplified 4.8% flat estimate rather than modeling all eight brackets, which is close to the real number for most middle and higher earners since Missouri's top bracket starts at a relatively modest income level.
Yes. Both cities charge a 1% earnings tax on income earned by residents and by nonresidents who work within city limits, on top of the state income tax. It's one of the more unusual local tax setups nationally, since most Missouri cities don't have anything similar.
Yes, gradually. A 2022 law set up a schedule of rate cuts tied to state revenue growth, which already brought the top rate down from higher levels in recent years and dropped it to 4.7% for 2025. Further cuts depend on the state continuing to hit its revenue triggers, similar to the mechanism Georgia uses.
Federal income tax, Missouri's state income tax (up to 4.8% across several brackets), Social Security (6.2% up to the annual wage base), and Medicare (1.45%, plus 0.9% more for high earners). Add a 1% city earnings tax if you live or work in Kansas City or St. Louis.
No. The 1% earnings tax is specific to Kansas City and St. Louis. The rest of Missouri, including Springfield and Columbia, doesn't charge a local income tax on top of the state rate.
Yes, switch between the Hourly and Salary tabs and enter your wage or annual salary along with your pay frequency. The state is already set to Missouri.