Updated October 4, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, up to $8,000 per taxpayer or $16,000 for a joint return. The statute says contributions “shall be subtracted in determining Missouri adjusted gross income”, in amounts “up to and including eight thousand dollars per taxpayer”, or “sixteen thousand dollars for married individuals filing a joint tax return”. It covers MOST or any other qualified 529 plan.
What Missouri allows for 529 contributions
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Treatment | Subtraction from Missouri adjusted gross income |
| Limit | $8,000 per taxpayer; $16,000 for married individuals filing a joint return |
| Plans that qualify | MOST or any other qualified tuition program under Section 529 |
| Not-qualified withdrawals | Deducted contributions or earnings distributed and not used for qualified expenses are included in Missouri adjusted gross income |
| Source | RSMo 166.435; Missouri Form MO-A (2025); legislative fiscal note quoting the Department of Revenue |
A $10,000 contribution by a married couple
A married couple filing jointly who put $10,000 into a 529 account for one child can subtract the whole $10,000, because the joint limit is $16,000.
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Which plans
The fiscal note describes the subtraction as covering “or any other qualified 529 plan”, not only Missouri’s MOST plan. Form MO-A lists “Exempt contributions made to a qualified 529 plan”.
What the documents do not say
- Whether excess contributions carry forward to a later year. Section 166.435 contains no carryforward provision.
- The statute spells the limits in words (eight thousand, sixteen thousand); the dollar figures come from a legislative fiscal note quoting the Department of Revenue. Bills in 2026 would change them but were proposals when read.
What changes in 2026
No enacted change for tax year 2026 appears in the documents read for this page.
Federal rules
A state break sits beside the federal rules for 529 plans: the statute is 26 U.S.C. 529 and the IRS explains it in Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education.
Common mistakes
- Subtracting more than $8,000 on a single return.
Related: how Missouri taxes retirement income, whether Missouri taxes pensions, the five questions behind any 529 state tax break, and the state-by-state table of 529 deductions.
Sources
- RSMo 166.435 State tax exemption: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=166.435
- SB 1279 Fiscal Note (L.R. 5303S.01I): https://senate.mo.gov/FiscalNotes/2026-1/5303S.01I.ORG.pdf
- Form MO-A, Individual Income Tax Adjustments 2025: https://dor.mo.gov/forms/MO-A_2025.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 4, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.