On a state level, the Missouri sales tax rate is 4.225%. But for businesses collecting sales tax in Missouri, the state rate is just the starting point. The state has hundreds of local tax jurisdictions (counties, cities, and special districts) that levy local sales taxes that stack on each other. This pushes the combined rates from 4.225% in the least-taxed areas to 12.238% in St. Ann.

Below, we’ll cover how Missouri’s local tax structure works, combined rates for the state’s major cities and counties, and what businesses need to know about nexus, taxability, and filing obligations in 2026.

Highlights

• Local sales taxes in Missouri often raise the overall rate much higher than the 4.225% base state rate.

• Local jurisdictions can layer county, city, and special district taxes on the state rate, which means the combined rate can vary street by street in the same city.

• Remote sellers are obligated to collect vendor’s use tax once they exceed the nexus threshold in gross receipts of taxable sales into the state.

What is the Missouri sales tax rate?

Missouri’s statewide sales tax rate is 4.225%. To encourage timely payment, the state lets businesses keep 2.000% of the sales tax they collect each period if they file and remit on time.

What are the local sales tax rates in Missouri?

Hundreds of local tax jurisdictions (e.g., fire districts) arise from the combination of state, county, city, and special taxing districts. These taxes stack on each other to create the combined sales tax rate. The maximum local sales tax rate in Missouri is 5.763%, and the combined average local and state tax rate is 8.440%.

2026 Missouri average sales tax

What are Missouri’s sales tax rates by city?

Sales tax rates vary considerably across major cities. Missouri businesses must check how many local taxing layers apply within each city’s boundaries when calculating the overall rate.

For example, Kansas City spans multiple counties, so the applicable rate shifts depending on which part of the city a transaction occurs in. Jefferson City’s tax rate is below the state average because relatively few local taxes layer on the state rate there.

Below is a table showing the minimum combined sales tax rate for a selection of Missouri cities. Within some cities on this list, special district taxes can push the effective rate higher at specific addresses, so these figures should be considered minimums rather than fixed rates. Several cities, including Kansas City, span multiple counties, which can push rates higher in different parts of those cities.

What are Missouri’s sales tax rates by county?

Missouri counties can have their own tax rates that layer on the state base tax rate. Cities in each county can add taxes to that.

Below is a table of county-level sales tax rates for a selection of Missouri counties. These represent the floor you’d encounter anywhere in that county. Because of city and special district sales taxes, the rate a customer pays at a specific address will often be higher than what’s listed here.

Note that the city of St. Louis isn’t part of St. Louis County—it’s an independent city with its own sales tax rate. If you’re configuring tax collection for the St. Louis metro area, treat the city and county separately to avoid using the wrong rates.

You can use Stripe’s sales tax calculator to check the correct combined rate by address.

How does Missouri’s sales tax work for businesses?

Businesses that sell into Missouri must determine whether they have nexus and whether their products are taxable. If both are true, they must collect tax.

Nexus

Businesses with a store, a warehouse, an office, or employees in Missouri have physical nexus and must collect and remit sales tax on all retail sales made in the state. Vendor’s use tax applies to all sales shipped into Missouri made by out-of-state vendors where title passes within the state of Missouri. Businesses that have more than $100,000 in gross receipts of taxable sales of tangible property into the state in a calendar year must also collect and remit sales tax, even if they’re not in Missouri.

Remote sellers collect Missouri use tax rather than sales tax, and the rates don’t always match. If a local jurisdiction hasn’t enacted a local use tax, out-of-state sellers collect only the 4.225% state portion, which means an in-state business and an out-of-state business can face different effective rates on an identical transaction shipped to the same address. Customers are charged only sales tax or use tax on a single retail sale, never both.

Marketplace facilitators that exceed the $100,000 threshold in a calendar year must also collect and remit vendor’s use tax on facilitated sales into Missouri. Marketplace sales count toward the nexus threshold, so if your business sells through a marketplace as well as its own site, the combined revenue is what matters.

Taxability

Most tangible personal property is subject to sales tax in Missouri, as are some services. One big exception is groceries: food items for home consumption are taxed at a reduced state rate of 1.225% rather than at the full 4.225%. This also applies to vending-machine sales and seeds and plants for use in gardens to produce food for personal consumption but not to food or drink sold by establishments that primarily sell food for consumption on site (such as restaurants and delis).

Prescription drugs and many medical devices are exempt from sales taxes. Digitally delivered, prewritten software and many services also aren’t taxable in Missouri. Software delivered physically is taxable.

Filing

Missouri assigns your business a filing frequency based on your state tax liability. This is monthly for higher-volume businesses and quarterly or annually for lower-volume ones. If you collect less than $200 per quarter, you must file annually. Businesses with three or more locations must file electronically. Missing a filing costs 5% of the tax due per month, up to a maximum of 25%.

Sales tax holidays

Missouri runs a back-to-school sales tax holiday that will occur August 7–9, 2026. Qualifying purchases include clothing not exceeding $100 per item, school supplies not exceeding $50, and computers not exceeding $1,500. There’s also an April sales tax holiday that covers qualifying Energy Star-certified new appliances.

How Stripe Tax can help

Stripe Tax reduces the complexity of tax compliance so you can focus on growing your business. Stripe Tax helps you monitor your obligations and alerts you when you exceed a sales tax registration threshold based on your Stripe transactions. In addition, it automatically calculates and collects sales tax, value-added tax (VAT), and goods and services tax (GST) on both physical and digital goods and services—in all US states and in more than 100 countries.

Start collecting taxes globally by adding a single line of code to your existing integration, clicking a button in the Dashboard, or using our powerful application programming interface (API).

Stripe Tax can help you:

• Understand where to register and collect taxes: See where you need to collect taxes based on your Stripe transactions. After you register, switch on tax collection in a new state or country in seconds. You can start collecting taxes by adding one line of code to your existing Stripe integration or add tax collection with the click of a button in the Stripe Dashboard.

• Register to pay tax: Let Stripe manage your global tax registrations and benefit from a simplified process that prefills application details—saving you time and simplifying compliance with local regulations.

• Automatically collect tax: Stripe Tax calculates and collects the right amount of tax owed, no matter what or where you sell. It supports hundreds of products and services and is up-to-date on tax rules and rate changes.

• Simplify filing: Stripe Tax seamlessly integrates with filing partners, so your global filings are accurate and timely. Let our partners manage your filings so you can focus on growing your business.

Learn more about Stripe Tax, or get started today.