Missouri Retirement Taxes 2026: SS Exempt, Capital Gains Too

What passed and what died (the 2025–26 scorecard)

How Missouri taxes retirement income (statute-cited)

Probate: a statutory minimum, not a maximum

The verdict for 2026

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2026 edition · statute-cited · part of Clear Money Guide’s 51-state retirement tax series. This guide covers state taxes on retirement income and estate transfers; property and sales taxes vary by county and are outside its scope.

Updated July 24, 2026. Quick answer: Mostly yes — and more so than most guides say. Social Security is 100% deductible regardless of income (since TY2024, when SB 190 removed the old income limits — RSMo §143.125), and public pensions are exempt up to the maximum annual Social Security benefit per taxpayer ($48,967 for 2026 per the DOR’s table, indexed; reduced by SS deductions claimed). And new for taxable portfolios: Missouri no longer taxes capital gains — individuals subtract 100% of federally reported capital gains starting with tax year 2025 (HB 594, RSMo §143.121.3(14)(a)). The honest gap: private pensions, 401(k)s and IRAs get a maximum $6,000 exemption, in full only if Missouri AGI is within $25,000 single / $32,000 joint and reduced by the amount income exceeds those limits, with the rest taxed at graduated rates topping out at 4.7%.

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.

Before the tax question, 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?.

Before the tax question, 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.

Before the tax question, 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.

For a pension earned elsewhere or paid after you move: 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?.

For trust income specifically: does Missouri tax trust income.

For dividends and interest specifically: does Missouri tax dividends and interest.

For annuity payments specifically: 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?.

For military retired pay: 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.

For the sale of stocks, funds or real estate: does Missouri tax capital gains.

For 401(k) and IRA withdrawals specifically: does Missouri tax 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.

Before the tax question, the LAGERS payment options, PLUS lump sum and service purchase rules: Missouri LAGERS retirement decisions.

More on Missouri: Missouri Probate Filing Fee, How to Reinstate a Corporation in Missouri and When Is Probate Required in Missouri?

What passed and what died (the 2025–26 scorecard)

Missouri coverage is littered with bills that didn’t make it. HB 426 (2025), which would have made private retirement income 100% exempt starting in 2026, died — any guide describing a full private-pension exemption for 2026 is wrong. What did pass is bigger news for retirees with taxable portfolios: HB 594, signed July 10, 2025, lets individuals subtract 100% of income reported as capital gains on their federal return when computing Missouri AGI, retroactive to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025 (RSMo §143.121.3(14)(a)) — the Missouri Department of Revenue describes it as the first full capital-gains exemption in any state with an individual income tax. It covers short- and long-term gains alike but must be claimed on Form MO-A, applies only to individuals (trusts and entities paying the elective pass-through-entity tax cannot claim it), and does not reach items taxed federally as ordinary income, such as depreciation recapture. Military retirement pay is separately 100% deductible (RSMo §143.121.3(12)).

How Missouri taxes retirement income (statute-cited)

Income tax	Graduated to 4.7% top rate (after trigger reductions)
Social Security	Not taxed — 100% deduction (62+ and disability), no income limits since TY2024 (RSMo §143.125)
Public pensions	Exempt up to the maximum annual SS benefit per taxpayer ($48,967 for 2026, indexed), no income limits; reduced by SS deductions claimed (RSMo §143.124)
Private pension / 401(k) / IRA	Maximum $6,000 exemption, in full only if MO AGI is within $25,000 single / $32,000 MFJ; above that it is reduced by the amount income exceeds the limit
Military retirement	100% deductible (RSMo §143.121.3(12))
Estate / inheritance tax	None

Probate: a statutory minimum, not a maximum

Missouri’s probate schedule runs the unusual direction: RSMo §473.153 sets statutory minimum fees for both the personal representative and the attorney — a floor, not a ceiling — computed on personal property administered plus proceeds of court-ordered real-estate sales: 5% of the first $5,000; 4% of the next $20,000; 3% of the next $75,000; 2.75% of the next $300,000; 2.5% of the next $600,000; 2% above $1,000,000. Worked example — $500,000 of personal property: $14,050 minimum per role, so roughly $28,100 for PR plus attorney before the court considers extra compensation. Small estates: up to $40,000 (net of liens) via affidavit (RSMo §473.097; 30-day wait, bond generally required, published notice above $15,000). Context: probate cost by state · will vs. trust calculator.

What the tax picture means for your own accounts

A state guide can set out how the rules treat retirement income in general, but not how they land on your particular mix of pensions, withdrawals and savings, and an adviser can work that through with you.

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The verdict for 2026

For a retiree living on Social Security plus a public pension — teachers, police, federal employees — Missouri is close to tax-free, and the capital-gains change extends real relief to taxable-portfolio retirees. The gap is the private-401(k) retiree, whose withdrawals are taxed at up to 4.7% with an exemption that’s trivial and income-tested. No death taxes — but the probate minimum schedule argues for trust-based planning more strongly than in reasonable-fee states.

Missouri is one of 43 jurisdictions that do not tax Social Security at any income level in 2026. The other 8 exempt benefits only up to an income or age limit. Full rules and statutes: the 51-state table.

Missouri vs. common alternatives

State	Social Security	Pension / 401(k) / IRA	Estate tax	Inheritance tax
Missouri	Not taxed	Public pensions exempt to SS max; private capped at $6,000 (income-tested)	None	None
Illinois	Not taxed	Not taxed (all retirement income exempt)	Yes — $4M cliff, not indexed	None
Tennessee	Not taxed	Not taxed (no income tax)	None	None
Florida	Not taxed	Not taxed (no income tax)	None	None

Comparison rows summarize general rules; see our 51-state retirement tax table for statute-cited detail.

Considering a Roth conversion? The converted amount is taxed as ordinary income in the year you convert, and Missouri may treat it differently from the retirement income above — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.

Finding a financial advisor in Missouri

Per the SEC’s July 2026 Investment Adviser roster, Missouri has 193 SEC-registered advisory firms (#22 nationally) managing $3.57 trillion (#9 by AUM). Full breakdown: Missouri advisor statistics. Reviewing fee structures: fee-drag calculator.

What probate costs in Missouri

Missouri is one of only seven jurisdictions that publish an actual statutory percentage schedule, so the probate fee can be computed exactly rather than estimated. Its small-estate route of $40,000 does reach real property: § 473.097 entitles distributees “to the real property of such estate”, and the affidavit is recorded with the recorder of deeds in every county where that property sits. Full detail with the governing statute, the court filing fee and the threshold: Missouri probate cost. To price a specific estate, use the probate cost calculator.

Cite or share this guide

Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “Missouri Retirement Taxes (2026 edition),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/missouri-retirement-taxes/. Free to cite with attribution and a link. Data verified July 23–24, 2026 against state statutes, session laws, and revenue-department guidance.

Figures verified against RSMo 143.011, 143.121, 143.124, 143.125, 473.097 and 473.153, the Missouri Department of Revenue pension and capital-gains FAQs, and the Governor’s July 10, 2025 HB 594 release on September 30, 2026; the HB 426 outcome, the Department of Revenue “first full capital-gains exemption” description, the comparison-state rows and the SEC roster figures were not re-checked.

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Is Missouri Tax-Friendly for Retirees? (2026: Social Security Exempt — and Now Capital Gains Too)

What this state guide covers