Missouri sales tax is due on the last day of the month after your reporting period ends. If you file monthly, January’s tax is due February 28; if you file quarterly, the first-quarter return is due April 30; if you file annually, the whole year is due January 31. A small group of very large sellers pays four times a month instead. Miss any of these deadlines and you lose a 2% discount, owe a penalty of up to 25%, and start accruing 7% annual interest.
Which Deadline Applies to You
The Department of Revenue (DOR) assigns every registered seller a filing frequency based on the state portion of sales tax collected (currently 4.225%). Local taxes are not counted.1Missouri Department of Revenue. Sales/Use Tax The three tiers:
- Monthly, if you collect $500 or more per month in state sales tax.
- Quarterly, if you collect less than $500 per month but $200 or more per quarter.
- Annual, if you collect less than $200 per quarter.
The DOR tells you your frequency when you register and reassigns you if your volume changes. You can’t choose your schedule, and you can’t skip a period because you had no sales. A zero-dollar return still has to be filed by the deadline.2Missouri Department of Revenue. FAQs – Sales Tax
Standard Due Dates
Every frequency follows the same rule: the return and payment are due by the last day of the month after the reporting period closes.2Missouri Department of Revenue. FAQs – Sales Tax
Monthly filers. January is due February 28 (February 29 in a leap year), February is due March 31, March is due April 30, and the pattern continues through December, which is due January 31.
Quarterly filers. Four deadlines a year:
- Q1 (January–March): April 30
- Q2 (April–June): July 31
- Q3 (July–September): October 31
- Q4 (October–December): January 31
Annual filers. One return covering the full calendar year, due January 31 of the following year.
Vendor’s use tax, filed by remote sellers on Form 53-V, uses the same thresholds and the same month-end deadlines as regular sales tax. Consumer’s use tax is a different obligation on a different form (53-C) and is filed quarterly by purchasers whose untaxed purchases top $2,000 in a calendar year.3Missouri Department of Revenue. FAQs – Use Tax
Quarter-Monthly Payments for Large Sellers
If your average monthly state sales tax hits $15,000 or more during at least six of the previous twelve months, the DOR moves you to an accelerated schedule with four payment periods inside each month.4Missouri Department of Revenue. E-file Required for Quarter-Monthly Sales Tax Only the state tax portion counts toward the threshold.
The four periods are the same every month: the 1st through the 7th, the 8th through the 15th, the 16th through the 22nd, and the 23rd through the end of the month. After each period closes you have three banking days to remit at least 90% of the actual tax due for that period.4Missouri Department of Revenue. E-file Required for Quarter-Monthly Sales Tax The DOR publishes exact payment dates each year; the 2026 calendar is on Form 2414S.5Missouri Department of Revenue. 2414S – 2026 Quarter-Monthly Sales Payment Due Dates You still file a monthly return reconciling the quarter-monthly payments, due by the last day of the following month.
Weekends, Holidays, and Cutoff Times
When a due date lands on a weekend or a Missouri state holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day. Missouri observes a few holidays that other states don’t, including Truman Day on May 8 and Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12, either of which can occasionally bump a deadline.
Paper returns have to be postmarked by the due date. Electronic returns filed through MyTax Missouri (mytax.mo.gov) have to be submitted by midnight. Businesses reporting from three or more locations are required to file electronically.6Missouri Department of Revenue. Form 53-1 – Sales Tax Return
The 2% Discount for Paying on Time
Missouri lets you keep 2% of the tax due when you file and pay by the deadline. The statute authorizes the deduction for “every remittance to the director of revenue made on or before the date when the same becomes due.”7Missouri Revisor of Statutes. RSMo Section 144.140 You calculate it by multiplying your total tax by 2% and subtracting that amount before paying. On a $5,000 bill, that’s $100.
The discount applies to sales tax and vendor’s use tax. It does not apply to consumer’s use tax. File one day late and you forfeit the discount for that period and owe the full tax.6Missouri Department of Revenue. Form 53-1 – Sales Tax Return
Penalties and Interest If You Miss the Deadline
The DOR treats filing late and paying late as two different problems.
If you don’t file the return, the penalty is 5% of the tax due for each month (or part of a month) the return is overdue, up to a cap of 25%. Five months late means a 25% penalty on top of the tax. One narrow break: if you’re a monthly filer and your gross sales tax for the month exceeds $250, the DOR waives the late-filing penalty for the first month the return is overdue.8Missouri Revisor of Statutes. RSMo Section 144.665
If you file on time but don’t pay, the penalty is a flat 5% of the unpaid tax. It does not grow month by month the way the failure-to-file penalty does.2Missouri Department of Revenue. FAQs – Sales Tax
Interest runs on top of the penalty from the original due date until you pay. The DOR sets the rate each year; for 2026 it is 7% annually.9Missouri Department of Revenue. Statutory Interest Rates You can ask the DOR to waive a penalty if you can show the delay was caused by reasonable circumstances rather than willful neglect, but interest is generally not waivable.8Missouri Revisor of Statutes. RSMo Section 144.665
Why Zero-Dollar Returns Still Have Deadlines
A period with no sales still requires a return showing zero tax. Beyond keeping you current with the DOR, filing starts a three-year clock on records for that period.10Missouri Department of Revenue. 12 CSR 10-101.800 Record Keeping and Record Retention A period you never filed for has no starting date, and the DOR can go back and ask for records on it at any time. Treat the deadline as the same whether you owe thousands or nothing at all.