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Missouri Paycheck Calculator

Reviewed Aug 8, 2026 IRS Pub 15-T 2026, Missouri DOR How we verify

Not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. General information; laws vary by state. Terms of use

Missouri paycheck calculator for tax year 2026: take-home pay and what the employer pays, per paycheck and per year. Missouri withholds income tax from annualized pay after a standard deduction set by the filing status on Form MO W-4, at rates that climb to 4.7% above $9,436 of taxable income, rounded to whole dollars; Kansas City and St. Louis add their own earnings tax (State of Missouri Employer's Tax Guide, Form 4282 (revised 03-2026), withholding formula). Figures checked on August 8, 2026; the result is an estimate, not tax advice.

Take-home pay and employer cost

How the pay is set
USD per paycheck

Federal Form W-4

Step 2: two jobs or a working spouse
Other Form W-4 entries and pre-tax deductions (optional)Defaults used: every amount 0
USD per year
USD per year
USD per year
USD per paycheck
USD per paycheck
USD per paycheck
Missouri Form MO W-4 entries (optional)Defaults used: Single; None
The filing status on the Missouri certificate. With no form on file, the employer withholds at the single rate.
USD per paycheck
Optional. The additional amount the employee asked for on the Missouri certificate.
Optional. Kansas City and the City of St. Louis tax the wages of residents and of people who work in the city.

Example: $2,000.00 gross pay per paycheck, paid every two weeks (26 paychecks a year), single, with the default MO W-4 entries below

Take-home pay

$1,632.85 per paycheck

$42,454.10 per year

Employee lines
LinePer paycheckPer year
Gross pay$2,000.00$52,000.00
Federal income tax withholding$156.15$4,059.90
Social Security$124.00$3,224.00
Medicare$29.00$754.00
Missouri income tax withholding$58.00$1,508.00
Take-home pay$1,632.85$42,454.10

What the employer pays

$2,212.52 per paycheck

$56,233.84 per year

Employer lines
LinePer paycheckPer year
Gross pay$2,000.00$52,000.00
Social Security (employer match)$124.00$3,224.00
Medicare (employer match)$29.00$754.00
Federal unemployment (FUTA)$12.00$42.00
State unemployment (new-employer rate)$47.52$213.84
Total employer cost$2,212.52$56,233.84

Sources: IRS Pub 15-T 2026 and Missouri DOR, checked August 8, 2026. Estimate for tax year 2026. Not tax advice.

What you type stays in this browser: the numbers are computed on this page, and we never receive or store them. A result link holds only the numbers and choices of the form.

How Missouri taxes a paycheck

The calculator applies the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method and, for Missouri, the Percentage formula withholding, annual payroll period table (Employer's Tax Guide Form 4282, revised 03-2026) of the Missouri Department of Revenue, in effect for wages paid from January 1, 2026. Social Security takes 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 a year and Medicare 1.45% of all wages (plus 0.9% on wages above $200,000 a year), and the employer pays Social Security and Medicare again at the same rates (Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide). The oldest Missouri document behind these figures was checked on August 8, 2026.

Missouri's certificate has no allowances at all. Form MO W-4 asks only for a filing status and any extra amount, and the status picks the standard deduction: $16,100 for single, married filing separately, or married with a working spouse; $32,200 when the spouse does not work; $24,150 for head of household. These match the federal standard deduction, because Missouri adopts it by statute (State of Missouri Employer's Tax Guide, Form 4282 (revised 03-2026), withholding formula).

After the deduction, the Department of Revenue formula runs the rest through a ladder of narrow brackets. Taxable income up to $1,348 is not taxed, each band after it carries a slightly higher rate, and everything above $9,436 is taxed at 4.7%. Because the brackets are so narrow, almost every full time worker pays the top rate on most of their taxable pay (State of Missouri Employer's Tax Guide, Form 4282 (revised 03-2026), withholding formula).

Missouri insists on whole dollars. The yearly amount is divided by the number of paydays and the result is rounded to the nearest whole dollar, rounding up at the midpoint. Any extra amount the employee requested is added after that. Pre-tax retirement plan deferrals and cafeteria plan deductions come out of wages before the formula begins.

Kansas City and the City of St. Louis tax paychecks on top of the state. Kansas City levies an earnings tax of 1% on residents wherever they work and on nonresidents for work done inside the city. The City of St. Louis levies 1% on residents and on everyone working within its limits. Both compute it on wages after cafeteria plan and qualified deferred compensation contributions, much like federal taxable wages (City of Kansas City, Missouri: Tax Guide for Non-Resident Businesses; City of St. Louis Collector of Revenue: Employer Withholding and Payroll Expense Tax Information).

The employer's side in Missouri

Missouri employers pay state unemployment tax to the Division of Employment Security on each employee's wages up to the taxable wage base, at the new employer rate until their own experience rating applies. Missouri has no employer contribution for disability or paid family leave. An employer in the City of St. Louis also owes a separate payroll expense tax on its own account, not withheld from pay, which this calculator does not include.

Every employer also owes federal unemployment tax (FUTA): 6% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages a year. With the full 5.4% credit for state unemployment tax paid on time, the net rate is 0.6%, at most $42 per employee a year (IRS Topic no. 759, Form 940, Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return).

In Missouri, a new employer pays state unemployment tax at 2.376% on the first $9,000 of each employee's wages a year (U.S. DOL, Office of Unemployment Insurance: Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, effective July 2026). Later the rate follows the employer's own record, so the line in the result is the starting cost, not a fixed one.

Payday and final pay rules in Missouri

  • How often wages are paid: Corporations doing business in Missouri (and railroad operators) must pay wages at least semi-monthly; at the employer's option, executive, administrative and professional employees and employees paid on commission may be paid monthly. Missouri payday law (DOL WHD State Payday Requirements table), checked September 27, 2026
  • Final pay after a firing: When an employer discharges an employee (with or without cause), unpaid wages are due on the day of discharge. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 290.110, checked September 27, 2026

The full Missouri rules, with each law quoted: Missouri employment rules. The date a final paycheck is due for a given last day: final paycheck calculator.

Worked examples

Three pay levels for a single filer paid every two weeks, with the default entries of the form, computed with the same code as the calculator.

Gross pay per paycheckFederal income tax per paycheckSocial Security and Medicare per paycheckMissouri deductions per paycheckTake-home pay per paycheckEmployer cost per paycheck
$1,200.00$60.15$91.80$20.00$1,028.05$1,327.51
$2,500.00$216.15$191.25$81.00$2,011.60$2,765.65
$5,000.00$766.69$382.50$199.00$3,651.81$5,531.30

At $2,500.00 per paycheck the employee takes home $52,301.60 per year, and the employer spends $70,228.34 per year on that job before benefits.

Full time at the Missouri minimum wage of $15.00 per hour (Missouri minimum wage law (DOL WHD state minimum wage table, updated July 1, 2026), checked September 27, 2026), 40 hours per week, is $1,200.00 per paycheck every two weeks: $1,028.05 per paycheck take-home, and $1,327.51 per paycheck for the employer.

Method and sources

Federal figures used on every Pay Desk page:

  • Per paycheck and per year. Per paycheck is one paycheck early in the year, before any yearly wage base is reached; per year is the full year at this pay with every wage base applied (Social Security, unemployment tax and any capped state contribution).
  • Forms W-4 from before 2020. Not covered: the federal line follows Worksheet 1A for the 2020 and later form.
  • Tax year 2027. When this page was checked (September 29, 2026) the IRS had not published the 2027 withholding tables (IRS page of forms and publications posted before release), so the calculator stays on tax year 2026.
  • What it leaves out. Local taxes the form does not ask for, workers' compensation insurance, benefits the employer pays, and supplemental pay such as bonuses.

Questions people ask

Does Missouri use withholding allowances?

No. Form MO W-4 asks for a filing status and an optional extra amount; the status alone sets the standard deduction used in the formula (State of Missouri Employer's Tax Guide, Form 4282 (revised 03-2026), withholding formula).

What is the top Missouri withholding rate this year?

4.7% on annual taxable income above $9,436, after the standard deduction (State of Missouri Employer's Tax Guide, Form 4282 (revised 03-2026), withholding formula).

Why is my Missouri withholding always a round dollar amount?

The Department of Revenue requires employers to round withholding to the nearest whole dollar, so the paycheck never shows cents on the Missouri line.

Who pays the Kansas City earnings tax?

Kansas City residents on all their wages, and nonresidents on pay for work done inside Kansas City. The rate is 1% and the employer withholds it (City of Kansas City, Missouri: Tax Guide for Non-Resident Businesses).

Does St. Louis County have an earnings tax like the City of St. Louis?

The earnings tax belongs to the City of St. Louis, which is separate from St. Louis County. It is 1% for city residents and for anyone working inside the city limits (City of St. Louis Collector of Revenue: Employer Withholding and Payroll Expense Tax Information).

What if my spouse does not work?

Checking that box on Form MO W-4 raises the standard deduction to $32,200, which lowers Missouri withholding on your paycheck (State of Missouri Employer's Tax Guide, Form 4282 (revised 03-2026), withholding formula).

Where this goes next

ToolHourly to salary calculatorRulebookMissouri employment rulesTemplateOffer letter template with the pay in writing

General information, not legal advice. Not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. This page is for general information only and isn’t legal, financial or tax advice. Laws vary by state and change; check the official source or talk to a qualified professional about your situation. Report an error