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Live in Idaho, Work in Missouri: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?

Both states — credit offsets the double taxMissouri withholds

Answer

Two returns, one credit. Missouri has the first claim on wages earned inside the state and withholds accordingly. Idaho then taxes you as a resident on everything and gives credit for what Missouri already took, capped at what Idaho would have charged on that same income.

Last verified

Without an agreement between Idaho 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 Idaho return, so completing Idaho first means doing it twice.

A Idaho resident taxed by another state on the same income claims the credit for taxes paid to other states on Form 39NR. The credit is capped at the Idaho 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

  1. 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 Idaho.

  2. 2Resident return · IdahoForm 39NR

    File a Idaho resident return reporting all income, then claim the credit for tax paid to Missouri. The credit is capped at what Idaho 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

 IdahoMissouri
Taxes wagesYes — flatYes — graduated
Reciprocity partnersNoneNone
Convenience ruleNoNo
Nonresident returnForm 43Form MO-1040 with Form MO-NRI
Credit for other-state taxForm 39NRForm MO-CR
Nonresident safe harbourNone publishedNone published
Local income taxNoYes
Revenue departmentIdaho State Tax CommissionMissouri Department of Revenue
Last verified

The other direction

Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Missouri and working in Idaho gives:Both states — credit offsets the double tax.

Missouri to Idaho →

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.

Other Idaho pairs

Questions people actually ask

I live in Idaho and work in Missouri. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?

Two returns, one credit. Missouri has the first claim on wages earned inside the state and withholds accordingly. Idaho then taxes you as a resident on everything and gives credit for what Missouri already took, capped at what Idaho would have charged on that same income.

Which state should my employer be withholding for?

Missouri. The wages are sourced to Missouri, so Missouri withholding is correct and there is no Idaho 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. Idaho gives residents a credit for tax paid to Missouri on the same income, claimed on Form 39NR. The credit is capped at the Idaho tax on that income, so if Missouri taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.

How current is this?

The Idaho and Missouri rules on this page were last checked against Idaho State Tax Commission 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.