Missouri taxes 401(k) distributions from traditional accounts as ordinary income, with rates climbing to 4.7% on most of the withdrawal. The state offers a private pension deduction of up to $6,000 per taxpayer, but it only applies if your Missouri adjusted gross income stays under $25,000 (single) or $32,000 (married filing jointly), so most retirees drawing meaningful amounts from a 401(k) will owe tax on the bulk of each distribution.1Missouri Department of Revenue. Pension FAQs Roth 401(k) withdrawals are a different story, and so is the situation if you move out of state.
How the Tax Is Calculated
Missouri starts with your federal adjusted gross income.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 143.121 – Missouri Adjusted Gross Income Whatever the IRS counts as a taxable distribution from your traditional 401(k) flows straight into your Missouri income. A $40,000 withdrawal lands on your state return at $40,000 before any state-level adjustments.
From there, the state applies a graduated rate schedule that reaches its top rate of 4.7% at just $9,191 of taxable income for the 2026 tax year.3Missouri Department of Revenue. 2025 Individual Income Tax Year Changes The lower brackets exist, but with a top rate triggered that quickly, most retirees pay 4.7% on nearly every dollar of a sizable 401(k) distribution.
The $6,000 Private Pension Deduction
Missouri law treats 401(k) plans as a qualifying “annuity, pension, or retirement allowance” for its private pension deduction, alongside traditional IRAs, Keogh plans, deferred compensation plans, and annuities from defined pension plans.4Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 143.124 – Annuities, Pensions, Retirement Benefits, or Retirement Allowances The maximum deduction is $6,000 per taxpayer per year. On a joint return where both spouses have qualifying retirement income, each can claim up to $6,000 individually.1Missouri Department of Revenue. Pension FAQs
The full deduction is available only if your Missouri adjusted gross income stays within these ceilings:
- Single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er): $25,000
- Married filing jointly: $32,000
- Married filing separately: $16,000
Go over the limit and the deduction phases out dollar for dollar. A single filer with $28,000 of Missouri AGI is $3,000 over the threshold, so the $6,000 deduction drops to $3,000. Once you exceed the limit by $6,000 or more, the deduction is gone entirely. A single filer at $31,000 of AGI gets nothing.1Missouri Department of Revenue. Pension FAQs
That ceiling counts your total Missouri AGI, not just the 401(k) piece. Part-time wages, investment income, interest, and anything else taxable all push you toward the limit. Many retirees who are actively drawing down a 401(k) will exceed the thresholds, which is why the deduction sounds more useful than it usually turns out to be.
If You Also Receive a Government Pension
Missouri has a separate, far more generous public pension deduction for federal, state, and local government retirement benefits. It allows up to 100% of those benefits to be subtracted, capped at the maximum Social Security benefit for the year, and starting with the 2024 tax year it has no income limits.4Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 143.124 – Annuities, Pensions, Retirement Benefits, or Retirement Allowances
There is a catch if you get both. On Form MO-A, your private pension deduction is reduced by whatever public pension deduction you claim.5Missouri Department of Revenue. Form MO-A – Individual Income Tax Adjustments If your public pension deduction already hits or exceeds $6,000 per spouse, your 401(k) deduction is zero. This mostly affects retired government employees who also built up a 401(k) during private-sector work.
Roth 401(k) Distributions Are Not Taxed
Qualified Roth 401(k) distributions never show up in federal AGI, so they never show up in Missouri AGI either.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 143.121 – Missouri Adjusted Gross Income A qualified distribution generally means you are at least 59½ and the account has been open for at least five years. Missouri’s statute explicitly excludes Roth accounts from the private pension deduction, but that exclusion costs nothing because there was no taxable income to deduct in the first place.4Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 143.124 – Annuities, Pensions, Retirement Benefits, or Retirement Allowances
Social Security Does Not Add to Your Tax Bill
Beginning with the 2024 tax year, Missouri does not tax Social Security retirement benefits for individuals age 62 or older, or Social Security disability benefits at any age, as long as those benefits are included in your federal AGI.1Missouri Department of Revenue. Pension FAQs That exemption is separate from the pension deductions and does not shrink either one.
The practical effect: if you collect Social Security and withdraw from a 401(k), the Social Security piece is fully shielded while the 401(k) withdrawal is still taxed, with only the limited $6,000 deduction available. Keep that distinction in mind when deciding which account to tap first.
Early Withdrawals Before Age 59½
Missouri does not impose its own penalty on early 401(k) withdrawals, but the full distribution still counts as taxable income on your state return. The federal 10% early withdrawal penalty is not deductible against Missouri income. Most people taking early withdrawals are still working, which usually puts their AGI above the $25,000 or $32,000 limit and wipes out the private pension deduction entirely. Between federal income tax, the federal penalty, and Missouri tax at up to 4.7%, an early withdrawal can cost 30% or more of what you pull out.
Required Minimum Distributions and the First-Year Trap
Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, if you were born between 1951 and 1959, RMDs begin the year you turn 73; if you were born in 1960 or later, they begin at 75. Your first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of the following year, but subsequent RMDs are due by December 31 each year.
Delaying your first RMD into the next calendar year means two RMDs in that second year, which can shove your Missouri AGI well above the deduction thresholds and eliminate the $6,000 private pension deduction altogether. Taking the first RMD in the year you actually hit the applicable age, rather than deferring it, often preserves the deduction. Every dollar of a traditional 401(k) RMD flows into Missouri AGI, with only the $6,000 deduction available to offset it.1Missouri Department of Revenue. Pension FAQs
Withholding and Estimated Payments
Missouri does not require state withholding on pension or annuity payments. You can voluntarily elect it using Form MO W-4P, with a minimum of $10 per month if you do.6Missouri Department of Revenue. Form MO W-4P – Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity If you skip withholding, you will likely need quarterly estimated payments. Missouri requires estimated filings whenever expected state tax liability is $100 or more.7Missouri Department of Revenue. MO-1040ES – Declaration of Estimated Tax for Individuals
Due dates are April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15. To avoid an underpayment penalty, your total payments need to equal either 100% of last year’s tax liability or 90% of this year’s, whichever is less. For regular distributions, setting withholding through your plan administrator is usually simpler than tracking quarterly deadlines.
How to Report It on Your Return
You report your Missouri income on Form MO-1040.8Missouri Department of Revenue. Missouri Department of Revenue Individual Income Tax Long Form MO-1040 Instructions To claim the private pension deduction, you also complete Form MO-A. The calculation lives in Part 3, Section B, “Private Pension Calculation.” You enter the taxable pension amount from your federal return, and the form compares it against the $6,000 cap for each spouse. The result moves from Line 9 of MO-A to Line 8 of MO-1040 to reduce taxable income.5Missouri Department of Revenue. Form MO-A – Individual Income Tax Adjustments
Hold on to your 1099-R forms. Missouri does not require you to attach them, but you need the numbers to complete Part 3, and the Department of Revenue can ask about the deduction later. Rollovers from one qualified plan to another are not taxable distributions under Missouri law, so a direct rollover does not generate a tax bill.4Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 143.124 – Annuities, Pensions, Retirement Benefits, or Retirement Allowances
If You Leave Missouri
Federal law prohibits any state from taxing retirement income paid to a nonresident.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 4 U.S. Code 114 – Limitation on State Income Taxation of Certain Pension Income Distributions from 401(k)s, IRAs, government pensions, and most other retirement plans are covered. Move to Florida, Texas, or anywhere else, and Missouri cannot tax your 401(k) withdrawals, no matter where the money was earned.
The protection depends on you no longer being a Missouri resident or domiciliary under state law. A vacation home or Missouri bank account by itself does not keep you a resident, but the facts-and-circumstances test for domicile can get messy when you split time between states. Nailing down residency in the new state before taking large distributions is the clean way to avoid an argument.