Yes, Mississippi does have a state income tax, but it’s shrinking. For the 2026 tax year, the state taxes individual income above $10,000 at a flat 4 percent, and legislation signed in March 2025 commits Mississippi to reducing that rate each year until the individual income tax is eliminated entirely.1Office of Governor Tate Reeves. Gov. Reeves Signs Historic Legislation Eliminating Mississippi’s Individual Income Tax
The Current Rate and Where It’s Headed
The Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2022 scrapped the old graduated brackets and replaced them with a single flat rate, while making the first $10,000 of taxable income tax-free starting in 2023.2Mississippi Legislature. HB 531 (As Sent to Governor) – 2022 Regular Session House Bill 1, signed by Governor Tate Reeves in 2025, speeds up the decline that followed. The rate drops to 3 percent by 2030 and keeps falling until it hits zero.3Mississippi Legislature. HB 1 – 2025 Regular Session
For now, 4 percent is the number that matters, and it only applies to taxable income above $10,000. Taxable income is what remains after you subtract your personal exemption and either the standard deduction or itemized deductions from your gross income. A single filer earning $50,000 subtracts a $6,000 personal exemption and a $2,300 standard deduction, leaving $41,700. The first $10,000 of that is tax-free; the remaining $31,700 is taxed at 4 percent, for a Mississippi tax bill of $1,268.
Exemptions and Deductions That Reduce Your Taxable Income
Mississippi sets its own figures, separate from the federal numbers. The personal exemption depends on filing status:
- Single: $6,000
- Married filing jointly or combined: $12,000
- Married filing separately: $6,000
- Head of family: $8,000, which requires at least one dependent
Each dependent other than you or your spouse adds $1,500. You get another $1,500 if you or your spouse is 65 or older, and another $1,500 if either of you is blind.4Mississippi Department of Revenue. General Information
The standard deduction is $2,300 for single filers and married filing separately, $4,600 for married filing jointly or combined, and $3,400 for head of family. You can itemize instead if your qualifying expenses, such as mortgage interest, medical costs, or charitable contributions, exceed the standard amount.4Mississippi Department of Revenue. General Information
Income Mississippi Doesn’t Tax
Several categories of income are excluded from Mississippi tax, which makes the state especially favorable for retirees.
- Social Security benefits are fully exempt, even if a portion is taxable federally.
- Distributions from qualified retirement plans, including 401(k) accounts, traditional IRAs, employer pensions, and government retirement plans, are generally not taxed, provided you’ve met the plan’s retirement requirements.
- Railroad Retirement benefits, Veterans’ Administration payments, workers’ compensation, and public welfare assistance are excluded.5Mississippi Department of Revenue. Individual Income Tax Frequently Asked Questions
There’s an important limit on the retirement exemption. Early distributions, meaning withdrawals taken before you’ve met the plan’s retirement eligibility rules, don’t qualify and are subject to Mississippi income tax. Mississippi doesn’t add its own early withdrawal penalty on top of the federal one.6Cornell Law. 35 Miss. Code. R. 3-02-07-104 Investment income from stocks, bonds, and real estate also doesn’t qualify for the retirement income exemption.
Who Has to File a Mississippi Return
Full-year residents must file when gross income exceeds the sum of their personal exemption and standard deduction. For a single filer with no dependents, that threshold is $8,300; for a married couple filing jointly with no dependents, it’s $16,600. Each dependent adds $1,500 to the threshold.4Mississippi Department of Revenue. General Information
You should also file if any of these apply:
- Mississippi income tax was withheld from your wages and you want a refund of any overpayment.
- You lived in Mississippi for part of the year and earned income while there.
- You live in another state but earned income from work performed in Mississippi, from Mississippi rental property, or from the sale of property located in the state.
- You’re a Mississippi resident who worked out of state. Residents report total gross income from all sources, wherever earned.
Nonresidents and part-year residents only owe tax on income connected to Mississippi. Allowable personal deductions such as charitable contributions and medical expenses are prorated based on the share of your total income that came from Mississippi sources.7Justia Law. Mississippi Code 27-7-23 – Net Income of Nonresident and Foreign Taxpayers
If You Also Paid Income Tax to Another State
Mississippi residents who earned income in another state and paid income tax there can claim a credit to avoid double taxation. The credit equals the lesser of three figures: the Mississippi tax you owe, the tax you actually paid to the other state, or the Mississippi tax that would apply to the income reported to the other state.8Justia Law. Mississippi Code 27-7-77 – Credit for Income Taxes Paid You’ll need to attach a certificate showing the gross income, net income, and taxable income earned outside Mississippi, along with the amount of tax paid elsewhere.
Deadlines, Extensions, and Late Penalties
The 2025 Mississippi individual income tax return is due April 15, 2026. An extension pushes the filing deadline to October 15, 2026, but it only extends the time to file, not the time to pay. Any tax owed is still due April 15, and unpaid balances accrue interest and penalties after that date.5Mississippi Department of Revenue. Individual Income Tax Frequently Asked Questions
Miss the deadline or underpay without fraudulent intent and the penalty is 10 percent of the unpaid tax, plus interest at 0.5 percent per month until the balance is cleared.9Justia Law. Mississippi Code 27-7-345 – Civil Penalties for Failure to File Return or Deficiency in Payment of Tax Fraudulent failure to file or pay carries a 50 percent penalty on the tax due, plus interest at 1 percent per month. Filing on time, even when you can’t pay the full balance, is almost always the cheaper option.
If you have income without employer withholding, such as self-employment earnings, rental income, or investment gains, you may owe quarterly estimated payments. Mississippi requires them when your expected liability tops $200 and less than 80 percent of that liability will be covered by wage withholding. Installments are due April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year, and underpayments accrue interest at 0.5 percent per month.10Mississippi Department of Revenue. Resident, Non-Resident and Part-Year Resident Income Tax Instructions