Missouri tax filing: file MO state taxes online, Form MO-1040, top rate 4.7%

Do you have to file a Missouri tax return?

You generally do not have to file a Missouri return if you are not required to file a federal return. Even if you must file federally, you do not owe a Missouri return if you are a resident with less than $1,200 of Missouri adjusted gross income, a nonresident with less than $600 of Missouri income, or your Missouri AGI is below the standard deduction for your status. You should still file to recover any Missouri tax withheld from your pay.

Residents file Form MO-1040 (the short MO-1040A works for simple returns). Nonresidents and part-year residents file MO-1040 with Form MO-NRI, which prorates the tax to the income earned in Missouri. The rules are published by the Missouri Department of Revenue, and the state tax filing pillar compares Missouri with the other states.

Missouri tax rates and the federal tax deduction

Missouri is a graduated-rate state with a low top rate. For 2025 the top rate is 4.7 percent, down from 4.8 percent, and the first $1,313 of taxable income is exempt. The brackets are narrow, so most filers with any real income reach the top rate quickly:

Missouri conforms to the federal standard deduction, so you use the same $15,750 single or $31,500 married figure. It also allows a federal income tax deduction: you can deduct a percentage of your federal income tax liability, 35 percent if your Missouri AGI is $25,000 or less, sliding down to 0 percent above $125,000. The deduction is capped at $5,000 for most filers, or $10,000 married filing combined. That break lowers Missouri income beyond the standard deduction.

Kansas City and St. Louis earnings tax

Missouri has no county income tax, but two cities levy a 1 percent earnings tax that is filed separately from your MO-1040. It catches people who work in either city, whether or not they live there.

These are city returns filed with the city collector, not part of the state MO-1040, and TaxFile does not prepare them. If your employer already withholds the 1 percent and you worked entirely in the city, you may not owe an additional filing. On Social Security and retirement income, Missouri is generous: it fully exempts Social Security benefits regardless of income, and public pension income qualifies for a large deduction. Missouri also has a state Working Family Tax Credit equal to 20 percent of the federal EITC, and a Property Tax Credit (the "circuit breaker") for eligible seniors and disabled residents.

Missouri filing deadline, extension and filing online

Missouri's deadline is April 15, 2026 for tax year 2025 returns, matching the federal date. Missouri automatically honors a valid federal extension (IRS Form 4868); you check the box on MO-1040 and attach the federal extension. If you do not have a federal extension or you need to send a payment, you file Form MO-60.

The extension moves the filing date, not the payment date. If tax is not paid by April 15, 2026, a 5 percent addition to tax applies, plus interest, so pay what you owe by then. Filing electronically is the practical default, and the Missouri return builds on your federal figures. TaxFile prepares both from one pass:

• Upload or talk. Drop in your W-2s and 1099s and it reads them, or describe your year and it asks what it needs.
• Federal and Missouri together. One set of documents produces both returns, with the graduated rates, the federal standard deduction, and the federal tax deduction applied.
• Credits checked. It applies the Social Security exemption, the Working Family Tax Credit, and the Property Tax Credit where they fit.
• Error check, then you approve. Nothing is e-filed until you review and approve every line, through an authorized IRS e-file provider.

Pricing is $39 for a simple return, $89 self-employed, $199 business, plus $19 for each state return. There is no free tier. If your Missouri income comes from contract or freelance work, self-employed tax filing covers Schedule C and Schedule SE in more detail. TaxFile does not e-file federal extensions or prepare amended returns, does not file the Kansas City or St. Louis earnings tax, and does not handle capital gains on Schedule D, rental income on Schedule E, or cryptocurrency. TaxFile is self-prepared tax software and does not provide personalized tax advice, and no refund amount is guaranteed.