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

Both states — credit offsets the double taxCalifornia withholds

Answer

Expect withholding in California and a return in both. Missouri and California hold no reciprocal agreement, so the overlap is resolved after the fact: California taxes the California-source wages, and your Missouri resident return claims a credit for that tax against the Missouri liability on the same income.

Last verified

Two states can lawfully tax the same wages: California because the work happened there, Missouri because you live there. Nothing prevents the overlap in advance — it is unwound afterwards, on the Missouri return, through the credit for taxes paid to another state.

A Missouri resident taxed by another state on the same income claims the credit for taxes paid to other states on Form MO-CR. The credit is capped at the Missouri tax on that income, so it removes the double tax but never refunds the excess when the other state charges more.

What you file

  1. 1Nonresident return · CaliforniaForm 540NR

    File the California nonresident return FIRST — you need the California tax figure before you can complete Missouri.

  2. 2Resident return · MissouriForm MO-CR

    File a Missouri resident return reporting all income, then claim the credit for tax paid to California. The credit is capped at what Missouri would have charged on that same income, so if California taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.

The two states, side by side

 MissouriCalifornia
Taxes wagesYes — graduatedYes — graduated
Reciprocity partnersNoneNone
Convenience ruleNoNo
Nonresident returnForm MO-1040 with Form MO-NRIForm 540NR
Credit for other-state taxForm MO-CRSchedule S
Nonresident safe harbourNone publishedNone published
Local income taxYesNo
Revenue departmentMissouri Department of RevenueCalifornia Franchise Tax Board
Last verified

The other direction

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

California to Missouri →

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 Missouri pairs

Questions people actually ask

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

Expect withholding in California and a return in both. Missouri and California hold no reciprocal agreement, so the overlap is resolved after the fact: California taxes the California-source wages, and your Missouri resident return claims a credit for that tax against the Missouri liability on the same income.

Which state should my employer be withholding for?

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

How current is this?

The Missouri and California rules on this page were last checked against Missouri Department of Revenue and California Franchise Tax Board 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.