Missouri Paycheck Calculator (2026)

Employers use the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method with the elections on your Form W-4: filing status, whether Step 2 is checked, Step 3 credits, and any Step 4 adjustments. That produces an amount to withhold each pay period before Social Security, Medicare, and any state or local tax are applied.

FICA is Social Security tax (6.2% of wages up to the annual Social Security wage base) plus Medicare tax (1.45% of all wages, with an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000 in a year). Both are withheld on every US paycheck regardless of which state you work in, because they fund federal programs rather than a state one.

It is an estimate for planning, not a substitute for your pay stub. Your actual withholding depends on the exact elections on file with your employer, your specific pay dates, and any mid-year changes to your deductions — the calculator applies the published federal and state formulas to the numbers you enter.

The withholding table taxes the first $1,348 of taxable income at 0%, then 2%, 2.5%, 3%, 3.5%, 4% and 4.5% on each further $1,348, and 4.7% on income above $9,436. Because the brackets are so narrow, a single filer earning more than about $35,000 a year pays 4.7% on most of their taxable income.

Your employer annualizes your pay (for example, biweekly pay × 26), subtracts the standard deduction for the filing status on your MO W-4, applies the annual rate table, divides by the number of paychecks and rounds to the nearest dollar. Any additional amount you requested on line 2 of the MO W-4 is added.

A 1% tax on earned income. It applies to everyone who lives in Kansas City, Missouri, on all their wages wherever they work, and to nonresidents on the income they earn for work done inside the city limits. Your employer withholds it if you work in Kansas City. Contributions to cafeteria plans and qualified deferred compensation plans such as 401(k)s are not taxed.

Residents of the City of St. Louis, regardless of where their employer is, and employees who work for businesses located or performing work in the city, regardless of where they live. The rate is 1%. People who neither live nor work inside the city limits, for example those who live and work in St. Louis County, do not pay it.

For withholding, $16,100 for single filers, married filing separately and married people whose spouse works; $24,150 for heads of household; and $32,200 for married people whose spouse does not work, which you indicate with the check box on MO W-4 line 1.

If the bonus is included with your regular wages, your employer runs the total through the normal withholding formula. If it's paid separately, the employer may withhold a flat 4.7% of the bonus for Missouri, or add it to the most recent regular pay and withhold the difference. Federally, bonuses are usually withheld at 22%.

Yes. If you expect a refund because of itemized deductions, credits or other adjustments, line 3 of the MO W-4 lets you tell your employer to withhold only a smaller amount. You can also claim exemption if you had no Missouri tax liability last year and expect none this year, but that must be renewed each year.

No. Missouri uses the federal definition of taxable wages, so traditional 401(k), 403(b) and 457 deferrals, cafeteria plan health premiums and HSA contributions lower your Missouri taxable wages. They also lower the Kansas City and St. Louis earnings tax.

$15.00 an hour in 2026, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's table of state minimum wages.