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

Both states — credit offsets the double taxMassachusetts withholds

Answer

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

Last verified

Two states can lawfully tax the same wages: Massachusetts 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 · MassachusettsForm 1-NR/PY

    File the Massachusetts nonresident return FIRST — you need the Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts. The credit is capped at what Missouri would have charged on that same income, so if Massachusetts taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.

The two states, side by side

 MissouriMassachusetts
Taxes wagesYes — graduatedYes — flat
Reciprocity partnersNoneNone
Convenience ruleNoNo
Nonresident returnForm MO-1040 with Form MO-NRIForm 1-NR/PY
Credit for other-state taxForm MO-CRSchedule OJC
Nonresident safe harbourNone publishedNone published
Local income taxYesNo
Revenue departmentMissouri Department of RevenueMassachusetts Department of Revenue
Last verified

The other direction

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

Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?

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

Which state should my employer be withholding for?

Massachusetts. The wages are sourced to Massachusetts, so Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts on the same income, claimed on Form MO-CR. The credit is capped at the Missouri tax on that income, so if Massachusetts taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.

How current is this?

The Missouri and Massachusetts rules on this page were last checked against Missouri Department of Revenue and Massachusetts 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.