Determination engine

Which state do you actually withhold in?

Reciprocity, convenience-of-the-employer, nonresident thresholds and unemployment localization, applied together to one employee's facts. Every answer cites the state source it came from.

Withhold Missouri income tax.

Kansas residents get no exemption from Missouri tax, so the work state governs.

Income tax withheld to

Missouri

Graduated, top rate 4.7%

Employee certificate

MO W-4

Employee's Withholding Certificate

Unemployment insurance

Missouri

Localized under factor 1: Localization.

Reciprocal agreement

Missouri has no reciprocal agreements.

→

Withhold Missouri nonresident income tax

Missouri taxes wages earned inside the state by nonresidents, and no reciprocal agreement covers Kansas residents. Missouri requires withholding from the first dollar of in-state wages.

Kansas also taxes this income, with a credit

The residence state taxes worldwide income. The employee claims a credit on the Kansas return for tax paid to Missouri, which prevents true double taxation but usually still leaves a balance if Kansas's rate is higher. Some employers withhold for both states; many withhold only for Missouri and let the employee manage the difference.

Missouri has local income taxes

Kansas City and St. Louis each impose a 1% earnings tax on residents and on nonresidents for work performed in the city, withheld by employers. Both cities also impose employer-side payroll expense taxes.

Kansas has local income taxes at the residence

Some Kansas counties and townships levy a local intangibles tax on interest and dividend income only. It does NOT apply to wages and is NOT withheld through payroll -- for payroll purposes Kansas should be treated as having no local wage tax.

→

Employer registrations you will need

Missouri — Income tax withholding: Missouri Department of Revenue
Missouri — Unemployment insurance: Missouri Department of Labor, Division of Employment Security

→

Get the form

MO W-4 — Missouri (official state source)

Missouri profile Kansas profile Full write-up for this pair

Change the inputs

Withholding determination

Answer six questions. The result is a shareable link, so you can paste it into a ticket or an email.

Employee lives inState of residence

Work is performed inWhere the employee physically sits

Employer is based inWhere the work is directed from

Days in the work stateThis calendar year, leave blank if unknown

Wages from work-state daysUS dollars, leave blank if unknown

Arrangement Works remotely rather than at an employer location Remote work is an employer necessity, not employee preference

Run a whole roster instead

This is a determination aid, not advice. StateSide encodes published state rules and applies them mechanically to the facts you enter. It does not know your entity structure, your nexus history, your equity compensation, or the dozens of exceptions that turn a clean rule into a judgement call. Every determination cites the state source it came from — verify against that source, and take anything consequential to a payroll tax professional before you act on it.