Retiring in Missouri

Every figure below is sourced to Missouri’s own publications and dated. Estimates only, and not tax advice.

Retirement tax by state

What your state actually takes from a 401(k) withdrawal, a pension, and Social Security — in dollars, not a yes/no list.

Brokerage account growth

Long-term index-fund growth after expense-ratio drag — and what your state takes from the gains at withdrawal.

Roth vs. Traditional

Decided on the two rates that actually govern it — yours now, and yours at withdrawal, in the state you'll retire in rather than the one you're in.

Contribution limit optimizer

2026 limits, employer match, the 60-63 super catch-up, and whether the Roth catch-up mandate applies to you.

Required minimum distribution

When your RMDs start under SECURE 2.0, how much this year's is, and what missing it costs.

Backdoor Roth pro-rata

What a backdoor Roth conversion would actually cost you in tax — the pro-rata rule most calculators only describe.

Self-directed IRA real estate (UDFI)

The tax a leveraged rental owes inside a self-directed IRA — computed at trust rates, not the rate you'd assume.

Missouri at a glance

401(k) and IRA withdrawals
Partly excluded
Social Security
Not taxed
Top marginal rate
4.7%
The top of 8 graduated brackets.
Tax year
2026
Brackets are legislated and change on a fixed calendar, so the year matters.
  • AN ANTI-DOUBLE-DIP OFFSET THIS CALCULATOR DOES NOT MODEL. Mo. Rev. Stat. 143.124.7 requires the public pension subtraction to be 'decreased by an amount equal to any Social Security benefit exemption provided under section 143.125'. On Form MO-A the public pension figure is reduced dollar for dollar by the Social Security deduction and floored at zero. A retiree with both substantial Social Security and a public pension therefore does NOT receive both in full, and a Missouri figure from this calculator will understate their tax.
  • Missouri has no personal exemption for 2026. Mo. Rev. Stat. 143.151 allows $2,100 only 'provided that the exemption amount as defined under 26 U.S.C. Section 151 is not zero' — and the federal exemption is zero, made permanent by OBBBA. One exemption does survive and is not modelled here: a flat $1,400 additional exemption for head-of-household and qualifying-widow(er) filers only, on Form MO-1040 line 15.
  • MISSOURI SPLITS A COUPLE'S INCOME RATHER THAN STACKING IT. The bracket table is identical for all four filing statuses, which would normally produce a severe marriage penalty — but on a married-filing-combined return each spouse's taxable income is run through the chart SEPARATELY (Form MO-1040 lines 26 to 27Y/27S to 30Y/30S; the instructions state 'A separate tax must be computed for you and your spouse'). For a two-earner couple this effectively doubles the bracket widths. This calculator applies the joint thresholds recorded above to one combined income, which OVERSTATES the tax for a two-earner Missouri couple.

Local income tax applies in parts of Missouri

Only two Missouri jurisdictions levy a local income tax, and both call it an earnings tax at 1%. Kansas City taxes residents wherever they work plus nonresidents on work performed in the city; St. Louis City does the same. IMPORTANT FOR A RETIREMENT CALCULATOR: both reach EARNED income only — wages, salaries, commissions, tips, and net profits. Neither touches pensions, Social Security, interest, dividends, or capital gains, so a retiree with no earned income owes nothing to either regardless of residence.