The Missouri cigarette tax is 17 cents on a standard pack of 20, the lowest state cigarette excise rate in the country. A 25-count pack carries 21.25 cents in state tax. Some counties and cities add their own levy on top, and the federal government tacks on roughly $1.01 per pack, so the total tax built into a pack you buy at a Missouri register runs somewhere between about $1.18 and $1.25 depending on where you’re standing.
How the State Rate Is Calculated
Missouri taxes cigarettes by the stick, not by the price. Under Section 149.015 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, the rate is 8.5 mills per cigarette.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 149.015 – Rate of Tax A mill is one-tenth of a cent, so each cigarette carries 0.85 cents in state tax. Twenty cigarettes to a pack gets you the familiar 17 cents. Twenty-five cigarettes gets you 21.25 cents. Premium brands and generics pay the same rate because the tax is tied to quantity.
The 17-cent figure has held for decades and sits well below what every other state charges. Ballot measures and legislative proposals to raise it have come up repeatedly and have not passed.
Where the State Money Goes
The 8.5 mills collected on each cigarette is split three ways under Section 149.065.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 149.065 – Revenue to Fair Share Fund, Health Initiatives Fund, and School Moneys Fund The biggest share, 4.5 mills per cigarette (9 cents per pack of 20), goes to the State School Moneys Fund and pays for public education. The Health Initiatives Fund gets 2 mills per cigarette (4 cents per pack) for health programs. The Fair Share Fund receives the remaining 2 mills (4 cents per pack). The per-cigarette breakdown is published by the Missouri Department of Revenue.3Missouri Department of Revenue. Cigarette and Other Tobacco Product Tax Rates
Local Cigarette Taxes by County and City
Missouri lets certain local governments layer their own cigarette tax on top of the state rate, so what you pay depends on where you buy. Rural areas without a local tax charge only the 17 cents state.
Section 66.340 allows any first-class county with more than 600,000 residents to impose up to 2.5 mills per cigarette, a maximum of 5 cents per pack of 20.4Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 66.340 – County Cigarette Tax Authorized, Rate Limit (St. Louis County) St. Louis County and Jackson County (which covers most of Kansas City) both charge the full 5 cents.3Missouri Department of Revenue. Cigarette and Other Tobacco Product Tax Rates In those counties, the combined state and county rate is 22 cents per pack before any city tax.
The City of St. Louis is legally independent from St. Louis County and runs its own occupation tax on cigarette sales at $3.50 per thousand cigarettes, or 7 cents per pack of 20.5City of St. Louis. Cigarette Wholesale Business Buying inside city limits means 17 cents state plus 7 cents city, or 24 cents in state and local tax. Kansas City administers its own local cigarette tax program as well.6City of Kansas City. Regulated Industries
The Federal Excise Tax on Top
Federal excise tax is layered on every pack sold anywhere in the country. Under 26 U.S.C. ยง 5701, standard cigarettes are taxed at $50.33 per thousand, which comes to about $1.01 per pack of 20.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5701 – Rate of Tax Large cigarettes (over three pounds per thousand) are taxed at $105.69 per thousand. Manufacturers and importers pay the federal tax, but the cost is built into the shelf price.
Add it all together and a Missouri consumer in a rural county with no local tax pays roughly $1.18 per pack in combined excise tax. In the City of St. Louis, the state, county, city, and federal load reaches about $1.25 per pack. State and local sales tax then apply separately at the register.
Tax Stamps on Every Pack
Every legal pack sold in Missouri carries a state tax stamp. Wholesalers buy the stamps directly from the Director of Revenue and affix one to each pack before it ships to a retailer.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 149.015 – Rate of Tax The Director sets the design and security features, and metering machines can substitute for physical stamps when authorized.
Unstamped cigarettes are treated as contraband. Under Section 149.055, state agents and peace officers can seize unstamped cigarettes along with the vehicles and equipment used to move them.8Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 149.055 – Seizure of Unstamped Cigarettes Possessing five or more cartons (50 packs) without stamps is presumptive evidence of intent to sell illegally. The goods are forfeited to the state, and forfeiture doesn’t cancel the underlying tax debt or block criminal prosecution.
Buying Cigarettes Online or by Mail
The federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act governs mail-order and delivery sales. Cigarettes are nonmailable through the U.S. Postal Service, so legitimate sellers ship through private carriers. A seller shipping into Missouri has to verify the buyer’s age and identity at the point of sale, require an adult signature at delivery, pay all applicable state and local taxes, and affix Missouri stamps before shipment. Packages have to be labeled as containing cigarettes, and sellers keep records of delivery sales for four years.
The PACT Act does not penalize the individual consumer. The compliance burden falls on the seller and the carrier, and carriers that know or should know a shipment comes from a noncompliant seller must treat it as undeliverable and keep records for five years. Missouri’s stamping rule still applies to any cigarettes crossing into the state through these channels, so a pack that arrives at your door without a Missouri stamp is contraband regardless of who sent it.