Live in Alabama, Work in Missouri: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Missouri withholds and Alabama credits. Without an agreement between them, both states are entitled to tax income earned in Missouri by a Alabama resident. The mechanism that stops you paying twice is the credit on the Alabama resident return, which is why the Missouri return has to be completed first.
Last verified
Without an agreement between Alabama and Missouri, the overlap is handled after the fact rather than prevented. That is why the filing order matters: the Missouri figure is an input to the Alabama return, so completing Alabama first means doing it twice.
A Alabama resident taxed by another state on the same income claims the credit for taxes paid to other states on Schedule CR. The credit is capped at the Alabama tax on that income, so it removes the double tax but never refunds the excess when the other state charges more.
Missouri also has a layer below the state one, and it is the layer that survives every agreement: Kansas City and St. Louis each levy a one per cent earnings tax on wages earned inside the city, collected by the city. Nonresidents pay it on the portion of work performed there.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · MissouriForm MO-1040 with Form MO-NRI
File the Missouri nonresident return FIRST — you need the Missouri tax figure before you can complete Alabama.
- 2Resident return · AlabamaSchedule CR
File a Alabama resident return reporting all income, then claim the credit for tax paid to Missouri. The credit is capped at what Alabama would have charged on that same income, so if Missouri taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.
The two states, side by side
| Alabama | Missouri | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 40NR | Form MO-1040 with Form MO-NRI |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule CR | Form MO-CR |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | Yes |
| Revenue department | Alabama Department of Revenue | Missouri Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Missouri and working in Alabama gives:Both states — credit offsets the double tax.
Same two states, different situation
The withholding answer turns on how you are paid and where the work happens, not only on which two states are involved.
- Remote worker: Alabama → MissouriHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Alabama → MissouriHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Alabama → MissouriTwo part-year returns
Other Alabama pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Alabama and work in Missouri. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Missouri withholds and Alabama credits. Without an agreement between them, both states are entitled to tax income earned in Missouri by a Alabama resident. The mechanism that stops you paying twice is the credit on the Alabama resident return, which is why the Missouri return has to be completed first.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Missouri. The wages are sourced to Missouri, so Missouri withholding is correct and there is no Alabama withholding to set up.
Will I end up paying tax twice on the same income?
Not twice over, but you will pay the higher of the two rates. Alabama gives residents a credit for tax paid to Missouri on the same income, claimed on Schedule CR. The credit is capped at the Alabama tax on that income, so if Missouri taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.
How current is this?
The Alabama and Missouri rules on this page were last checked against Alabama Department of Revenue and Missouri Department of Revenue on 2026-08-07. We re-check the full grid every December after state legislative sessions close, and re-check the convenience-of-the-employer states quarterly because that is where the rules move fastest.
Sources
Every fact above comes from the revenue department that publishes the rule. We do not cite secondary summaries, and we do not restate a figure we could not find at source.
- Alabama Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Missouri Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07