Key figures
Missouri payroll
2026, with sources
Minimum wage after Prop A
Proposition A, approved in November 2024, raised Missouri’s minimum wage to $13.75 in 2025 and $15.00 on January 1, 2026, and added a statewide paid sick leave mandate. The legislature then passed HB 567, signed July 10, 2025, which kept the $15.00 step, removed the annual inflation adjustments that were to start in 2027, and repealed the paid sick leave sections effective August 28, 2025.
So for 2026: $15.00 an hour, no state paid sick leave mandate, and no state paid family leave or disability program.
State withholding and unemployment
Register for withholding with the Department of Revenue on Form 2643 (the same application covers sales tax), collect a Form MO W-4 from each employee, and file Form MO-941 on the schedule the Department assigns. The 2026 tables run from 0% to 4.7%, and bonuses paid separately from regular wages can be withheld at a flat 4.7%. New hires are reported to the Department of Social Services within 20 days.
Register separately with the Division of Employment Security for unemployment insurance. For 2026 the taxable wage base is $9,000 and new employers pay 2.376% (nonprofits 1.0%). Workers’ compensation insurance is required once a company has five or more employees — part-time workers and corporate officers count — and from the first employee in construction.
The Department sets the MO-941 frequency from the amount withheld: monthly once a company withholds $500 a month in two of the past 12 months, quarterly at $100 or more in a quarter, annual below that, and quarter-monthly payments once withholding reaches $9,000 in each of two months. W-2s go to the Department by January 31.
Kansas City and St. Louis
Missouri’s two largest cities levy a 1% earnings tax. It applies to residents wherever they work and to nonresidents for work done inside the city, so a remote employee who lives in Kansas City is in scope even if the company has no office there. The cities also tax business net profits at 1%.
State law makes each city put its earnings tax to voters every five years. Both were renewed at the April 7, 2026 election, so they run through 2031.
- Kansas City: 1% earnings tax on residents and nonresidents working in the city; quarterly Form RD-110, annual reconciliation on Form RD-113, filed electronically.
- St. Louis: 1% earnings tax withheld on Form W-10, plus a 0.5% employer payroll expense tax on Form P-10, filed together quarterly.
Deadlines
- As assigned by the DepartmentWithholding return — frequency set by the amount withheldMO-941
- Jan 31Wage statements to the Department of RevenueW-2 / W-3
- Last day of the month after the quarterQuarterly contribution and wage report to DES
- Apr 30, Jul 31, Oct 31, Jan 31Kansas City quarterly withholding return, filed electronicallyRD-110
- Jan 31Kansas City annual reconciliation, with W-2 dataRD-113
- Apr 30, Jul 31, Oct 31, Jan 31St. Louis quarterly earnings and payroll expense tax, filed togetherW-10/P-10
- Jan 31St. Louis annual reconciliation, with W-2sW-3
The federal baseline
This page covers what Missouri adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
Common questions
Do Missouri employers still have to give paid sick leave?
No. Voters passed Proposition A in November 2024, which set the minimum wage path and required one hour of paid sick leave per 30 hours worked. HB 567, signed July 10, 2025, repealed the sick leave sections effective August 28, 2025. Employers may still offer sick leave; they are no longer required to.
Will Missouri’s minimum wage keep rising with inflation?
It is $15.00 an hour in 2026. HB 567 kept the 2026 step but removed the inflation increases Prop A scheduled from 2027, so the rate stays at $15.00 unless the legislature or voters change it, or the federal minimum rises above it.
Do I withhold city tax for a Missouri employee?
If the employee lives in Kansas City or St. Louis, or works inside either city, yes: withhold the 1% earnings tax and file with the city. St. Louis also charges the employer a 0.5% payroll expense tax on wages earned in the city.
Payroll next door
- IAIowa payrollIowa withholds a flat 3.8%, cut its 2026 unemployment wage base to $20,400 with a 1.0% new-employer rate, and requires new hires reported within 15 days.
- ILIllinois payrollIllinois withholds a flat 4.95%, charges UI on the first $14,250, and requires 40 hours of paid leave — or Chicago’s 40 plus 40, at Chicago’s higher minimum wage.
- KYKentucky payrollKentucky payroll is 3.5% state withholding plus local occupational taxes where employees work, unemployment insurance at 2.7% on $12,000 for new employers, and workers’ comp from the first employee.
- TNTennessee payrollTennessee payroll has no state income tax or local wage tax; it is unemployment premiums on the first $7,000 of wages, new-hire reports in 20 days, and workers’ comp from five employees counting officers.
- ARArkansas payrollArkansas withholds at up to 3.7% in 2026, has an $11.00 minimum wage, and DWS publishes a $7,000 wage base with a 2.0% new-employer rate. No local payroll tax applies.
- OKOklahoma payrollOklahoma withholds at up to 4.5% in 2026 and charges new employers 1.5% on a $25,000 wage base — high for the region. There is no local payroll tax or paid leave program.
- KSKansas payrollKansas withholds at 5.2% and 5.58%, charges new employers 1.75% on a $15,100 wage base that rises each year to 2030, and has no local payroll tax.
- NENebraska payrollNebraska’s minimum wage is $15.00 in 2026 and rises 1.75% a year from 2027. Paid sick time applies at 11 employees, and new employers pay 1.25% on $9,000.
How Missouri compares
- No tax on wagesStates with no state income tax on wagesMissouri: withholds state income tax. 9 of 51 states are on the list.
- Paid leave payrollStates with a paid leave or disability payroll programMissouri: no state program. 16 of 51 states are on the list.
- Local payroll taxStates with city, county or district payroll taxesMissouri: city, county or district taxes on wages. 14 of 51 states are on the list.
Founder guides on this
- PeopleContractor or employee? Classification for startupsContractor or employee depends on control, not the contract. The IRS test, state rules, 1099s, payroll registration and the cost of getting it wrong.
- ComplianceFirst-year compliance calendar for a Delaware C-corpDelaware franchise tax, 1099s, the federal return, payroll filings, state annual reports and sales tax: the deadlines a young C-corp misses most, by month.
More of the Missouri guide
- AccountingAccounting and state tax in MissouriCorporate tax, conformity to federal rules, apportionment and what it does to your books
- ReceivablesReceivables and sales tax in MissouriSales tax registration, economic nexus, whether SaaS is taxable, and collecting from customers
- PayablesPayables and contractors in MissouriPaying vendors and contractors: 1099 filing, use tax, contractor tests and withholding
- ComplianceCompliance and filings in MissouriRegistering to do business, annual reports, franchise tax and the filing calendar
- AdvisoryAdvisory: credits and decisions in MissouriCredits, incentives and the decisions that are cheaper to get right the first time
Sources
Checked against each agency’s own page on . Rates and thresholds change, usually on January 1.
- Missouri Department of Labor — Minimum Wage
- Missouri Division of Employment Security — Employer Tax Rates
- Missouri Department of Revenue — Employer’s Tax Guide (Form 4282, rev. 03-2026)
- City of Kansas City, Missouri — Tax Form Descriptions
- City of St. Louis Collector of Revenue — Employer Withholding and Payroll Expense Tax
- Missouri House — HB 567 (2025)
- Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation — Insurance requirements for employers
General information for US companies, not tax, legal or accounting advice for yours. Rules and thresholds change; confirm the specifics with a CPA or the agency before you act on them.