Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: Missouri fully exempts public pensions, meaning pensions paid by any government including the federal government, up to the maximum Social Security benefit amount ($47,633 for 2025, $48,967 for 2026) with no income limit since 2024, but private pensions and most other retirement account income only get a much smaller $6,000 deduction that is reduced once income passes set thresholds.
Federal civil service pensions in Missouri: does Missouri tax federal pensions.
State retirement-income forms, line by line: Missouri Form MO-A.
Inherited an IRA? What the state’s own documents say about taxing those withdrawals: Missouri tax on inherited IRA withdrawals.
Hold a 403(b) or 457(b)? What the state’s own documents say about taxing those withdrawals: does Missouri tax 403(b) and 457(b) withdrawals.
The transportation and highway patrol system (MPERS), with its options and refund rules from its own handbooks: Missouri MPERS retirement decisions.
Drawing a pension? Whether the state withholds tax from it, from its own documents: Missouri tax withholding on pension payments.
Married, or planning for a spouse’s death? Whether the state is a community property state, from its own statutes: Is Missouri a community property state?.
The Public School and Retirement System of Kansas City rules, from the system’s own documents: Kansas City school retirement decisions.
Selling your home? How the state taxes the profit, from its own tax documents: Does Missouri tax the profit from selling your home?.
The state’s income tax schedule: the Missouri tax brackets for 2026.
Two Missouri city systems, with option, refund and survivor rules from each system’s own documents: St. Louis Employees Retirement System decisions and Kansas City employees retirement decisions.
Withdrawing from an IRA or 401(k)? Whether the state withholds tax from it, from its own documents: Missouri tax withholding on IRA and 401(k) withdrawals.
A pension earned in another state, or paid after a move, is covered here: does Missouri tax out-of-state pensions.
Taking money out of your TSP? How the state taxes it, from its own tax documents: Does Missouri tax TSP withdrawals?.
Trusts have their own page: does Missouri tax trust income.
Dividends and interest have their own page: does Missouri tax dividends and interest.
Annuity payments have their own page: does Missouri tax annuity income.
Planning for what you leave behind? The state’s estate tax answer, from its own tax documents: Does Missouri have an estate tax?.
Military retired pay has its own page: does Missouri tax military retirement.
Saving for a child’s college? The state’s 529 break has its own page: Missouri 529 plan tax deduction.
Selling stocks, funds or real estate has its own page: does Missouri tax capital gains.
Withdrawals from a 401(k) or IRA have their own page: does Missouri tax 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
The LAGERS Life Option, Options A to C and PLUS, from the system’s own pages: Missouri LAGERS retirement decisions.
More on Missouri: Missouri LLC Annual Report, Medicaid Home Equity Limit in Missouri and Missouri MOSERS, COLA, Vesting, Buyback and DROP.
Confidence note: high. This page is scoped to pension, IRA and 401(k) taxation specifically. For the state’s full retirement-tax picture (Social Security, tax rates, estate and probate), see how Missouri taxes retirement income generally.
Pending, not current law: A 2025 Missouri bill, HB 426, would have removed the income limits and created a full exemption for private pension income starting in tax year 2026, but the bill died in the legislature that year and is not current law.
How pensions and retirement-account withdrawals are taxed
| Public (state/local government) pensions | Public retirement benefits, meaning any annuity, pension, or retirement allowance provided by the United States, the state of Missouri, another state, or a political subdivision, can be deducted up to the maximum Social Security benefit amount for the year, which the Missouri Department of Revenue lists as about $47,633 for 2025 and $48,967 for 2026, and since January 1, 2024 this deduction is no longer reduced based on filing status or income level. |
|---|---|
| Private (employer) pensions | Retirement benefits from privately funded sources qualify for a smaller deduction of up to $6,000 per year. The full $6,000 is only available if Missouri adjusted gross income is below set thresholds, for example $25,000 for single filers according to the Department of Revenue, and the deduction is reduced dollar for dollar above that; income beyond the deduction is taxed at Missouri’s regular rates. |
| Federal government pensions (FERS/CSRS) | Missouri’s statute, RSMo 143.124, defines the public retirement benefit category to include annuities and pensions provided by the United States, which covers federal civil service annuities such as FERS and CSRS, so these should receive the same public pension deduction described above. The statute text located this session does not use the labels FERS or CSRS directly, so this is a reasonable reading of the general statutory language rather than an explicit named example, and it is noted here honestly. |
| Military retirement pay | For tax years 2021 and later, the taxable portion of military pension income is subtracted from federal adjusted gross income, which effectively exempts it from Missouri income tax. |
| IRA and 401(k)/403(b) distributions | RSMo 143.124 defines the retirement benefit deduction to include amounts from 401(k) plans, Keogh plans, and traditional IRAs, but not Roth IRAs, effective January 1, 1998. Whether a given IRA or 401(k) distribution falls into the public or private deduction category depends on whether the underlying plan was funded by a government employer or a private employer, so most private sector 401(k) and IRA withdrawals are limited to the $6,000 private deduction described above. |
| General retirement-income exclusion | There is no separate general retirement income exclusion beyond the public and private retirement benefit deductions described above. A 2025 bill, HB 426, would have created a full exemption for private retirement income starting in tax year 2026, but it died in the legislature and did not become law. |
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Missouri now exempts 100 percent of Social Security benefits for taxpayers 62 and older regardless of income, but a companion page on this site covers Social Security taxation in detail. Social Security has its own rules in every state; see the full breakdown in how Missouri taxes retirement income generally.
Figures verified against the Missouri Department of Revenue Pension FAQs and RSMo 143.124 and 143.125 on September 30, 2026; the final status of 2025 House Bill 426 was not re-checked.
Statute and sources
Governing citation: RSMo 143.124 (public and private retirement benefit deduction); RSMo 143.125 (Social Security and disability benefit deduction).
Read September 5, 2026.
Related: how Missouri taxes retirement income generally · does Missouri tax Roth conversions? · Roth conversion taxes, all 51 jurisdictions.
General information drawn from each state’s own published statutes and revenue-department guidance, not legal, tax or financial advice. Figures and exemption amounts are current as of the date in the quick answer, are set by state law, and can change by future legislation; any pending bill named on this page is not yet law. This page cannot see your own return, which governs. We are not a law firm, a tax adviser, or a fiduciary, and this is not personalized advice.