Take-home pay compared · Tax year 2026
Illinois vs Missouri taxes
Missouri keeps more at every salary, by a margin that grows only slowly. Across the river from St. Louis, where you work can matter as much as where you live.
Illinois
$2,231.73
take-home a paycheck · $58,025 a year
Effective tax rate 22.6%
Missouri
$2,269.42
take-home a paycheck · $59,005 a year
Effective tax rate 21.3%
On $75,000, you keep $980 more a year in Missouri than in Illinois. That is $37.69 a paycheck, paid every two weeks.
| Deduction | Illinois | Missouri |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income tax | −$295.00 | −$295.00 |
| Social Security & Medicare | −$220.67 | −$220.67 |
| State income tax | −$137.22 | −$99.53 |
| State payroll deductions | None | None |
| Total tax | −$652.89 | −$615.20 |
| Take-home | $2,231.73 | $2,269.42 |
Income and payroll taxes only, for wage income with no pre-tax deductions or dependents. Full working for each side: Illinois paycheck calculator · Missouri paycheck calculator.
Illinois and Missouri side by side, 2026
| Illinois | Missouri | |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax | 4.95% flat | 2% – 4.7% |
| Standard deduction (single) | $2,925 exemption | $16,100 |
| Payroll deductions | None | None |
Take-home at every salary
| Salary | Illinois | Missouri | Difference | Keeps more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $24,945 | $25,812 | $868 | Missouri |
| $40,000 | $32,485 | $33,377 | $893 | Missouri |
| $50,000 | $40,025 | $40,942 | $918 | Missouri |
| $60,000 | $47,565 | $48,507 | $943 | Missouri |
| $75,000 | $58,025 | $59,005 | $980 | Missouri |
| $100,000 | $74,375 | $75,417 | $1,043 | Missouri |
| $125,000 | $90,661 | $91,766 | $1,105 | Missouri |
| $150,000 | $106,511 | $107,678 | $1,168 | Missouri |
| $200,000 | $139,172 | $140,464 | $1,293 | Missouri |
| $250,000 | $170,952 | $172,369 | $1,418 | Missouri |
| $500,000 | $315,727 | $317,914 | $2,187 | Missouri |
| Salary | Illinois | Missouri | Difference | Keeps more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $49,890 | $51,444 | $1,554 | Missouri |
| $80,000 | $64,970 | $66,574 | $1,604 | Missouri |
| $100,000 | $80,050 | $81,704 | $1,654 | Missouri |
| $150,000 | $116,050 | $117,829 | $1,779 | Missouri |
| $200,000 | $149,711 | $151,615 | $1,904 | Missouri |
| $250,000 | $185,383 | $187,412 | $2,029 | Missouri |
| $300,000 | $219,733 | $221,887 | $2,154 | Missouri |
| $400,000 | $288,433 | $290,837 | $2,404 | Missouri |
| $500,000 | $351,993 | $354,647 | $2,654 | Missouri |
Where the difference comes from
Neither state deducts a payroll levy and federal tax is the same in both, so the gap is the two income taxes. Their rates are close: Illinois charges a flat 4.95%, and Missouri 4.7% on everything above $9,436 of taxable income. What separates them is how much of the salary each state taxes.
Illinois allows an exemption of $2,925 and nothing else, so a single filer on $75,000 is taxed on $72,075. Missouri starts from the federal standard deduction of $16,100 and taxes $58,900. The bills are $3,568 and $2,588, and a single filer keeps $980 more a year in Missouri.
Much the same answer at every salary
Because both taxes are close to flat, the gap moves slowly: $868 on $30,000, $1,168 on $150,000 and $2,187 on $500,000. On ordinary salaries most of it is the larger deduction, whose value hardly changes with income. On high salaries the 0.25% difference in rates takes over, and Illinois withdraws its exemption entirely above $250,000.
Couples see a larger gap. Missouri takes the doubled federal deduction, $32,200, while the Illinois allowance doubles only to $5,850. A couple filing jointly on $150,000 keeps $1,779 more in Missouri. Missouri does not widen its bands for couples, but they are so narrow that it makes little difference here.
Living in Illinois, working in St. Louis
The figures above assume you live and work in the same state. For commuters across the Mississippi, three rules decide the result.
No reciprocity. Illinois has reciprocal agreements with four neighbors, and Missouri is not one of them. An Illinois resident working in Missouri files a nonresident Missouri return and claims a credit on the Illinois return, capped at what Illinois would have charged. With Missouri’s tax the lower of the two, the commuter’s state income tax ends up at about the Illinois figure.
The city earnings tax. St. Louis charges 1% on earnings from work done in the city, whether or not you live there, and on all the earnings of its residents. Kansas City does the same. It is not in the Missouri column, and it applies to an Illinois resident whose job is in the city.
The reverse commute. A Missouri resident working in Illinois files an Illinois return with Schedule NR, the Illinois Department of Revenue says, and is taxed by Illinois on income from Illinois sources.
What the take-home figure does not count
Illinois exempts most retirement income, and Missouri has subtracted capital gains in full since January 1, 2025. Retirees and investors should weigh those separately; this page models wages only. Neither state’s property or sales tax is in these figures, and for a homeowner either can matter more than the income tax gap.
Questions people ask
- Do you take home more in Illinois or Missouri on $75,000?
- Missouri, by $980 a year, or $82 a month, for a single filer in 2026. That counts federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax and every state payroll deduction.
- Is the difference the same at every salary?
- No, but the same side stays ahead. The gap is $868 a year at $30,000 and $1,418 at $250,000, for a single filer.
- Is there a reciprocal agreement between Illinois and Missouri?
- No. Illinois has reciprocal agreements with Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan and Wisconsin, but not with Missouri. An Illinois resident working in Missouri files a nonresident Missouri return and claims a credit on the Illinois return, capped at what Illinois would have charged on the same income.
- Do I pay the St. Louis earnings tax if I live in Illinois?
- Yes, on what you earn working in the city. St. Louis and Kansas City each levy a 1% earnings tax on their residents' earnings wherever they work, and on nonresidents' earnings from work inside the city. It is not included in the Missouri figures here.
- Does Chicago have a city income tax?
- No. No Illinois municipality levies an income tax, Chicago included, and Illinois deducts nothing from wages for unemployment, disability or paid leave. Neither does Missouri, apart from the two city earnings taxes.
What this comparison covers
Income tax and payroll deductions on wages: federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax, every state payroll deduction. It does not compare sales tax, property tax, housing or the cost of living, which can outweigh the difference in take-home pay. Figures assume the standard deduction, no dependents and no pre-tax retirement contributions. See how we calculate.
Where the Illinois figures come from
Every Illinois number on this page was read from the documents below — the state's own, not a summary of them. Nothing here is estimated. If a figure looks wrong, the source is one click away, and we would rather you checked.
- Income tax ratestax.illinois.gov
The single flat rate the Illinois constitution requires, and the exemption allowance per person.
- Benefit Rights Information for Claimants and Employersides.illinois.gov
That unemployment benefits are financed by employer payroll taxes, not by any deduction from wages.
Where the Missouri figures come from
Every Missouri number on this page was read from the documents below — the state's own, not a summary of them. Nothing here is estimated. If a figure looks wrong, the source is one click away, and we would rather you checked.
- Withholding Formulador.mo.gov
The 2026 rate bands and standard deduction, with the department's own worked example.
- Year-to-year changes in Missouri income taxdor.mo.gov
The rate reduction schedule and which top rate applies for the year.
- Unemployment Insurance Taxlabor.mo.gov
That no part of the unemployment tax an employer owes can be deducted from a worker's pay.