Missouri retired pay

Is military retirement taxed in Missouri?

Not taxed

Exempt Since 2016, SBP Capped.

No. Missouri subtracts 100% of military retirement benefits included in federal adjusted gross income, and the full amount has been subtracted since tax year 2016 after a phase-in that started at 15% in 2010. You claim it on Form MO-A, Part 1, Line 10. Survivor Benefit Plan annuities do not qualify for that line and use the capped public pension exemption instead.

The law: Section 143.121.3(12), RSMo
Current rule since: tax year 2016 (100%), after a phase-in from 15% in 2010 under former Section 143.124.14, RSMo; 2021 S.B. 120 moved the same language into Section 143.121.3(12)
Where you claim it: Form MO-A, Part 1, Line 10 (Military Retirement Benefits), Y column for yourself and S column for your spouse; the Part 1 total is included in Form MO-1040, Line 4

Read on Missouri’s own sources October 9, 2026

What Missouri’s rule is worth on your retired pay

Enter your annual taxable retired pay (box 2a of your DFAS or Coast Guard 1099-R). The rate starts at Missouri’s top 4.7% rate for 2025 (taxable income over $9,191) for tax year 2025; change it to your own bracket if you know it.

One rate applied to the whole amount, not Missouri’s full return: brackets, other income, deductions and credits change the real figure. Use it to compare, then check the state’s own form instructions.

How it works in Missouri

Copy the taxable military retirement shown on your federal Form 1040, Line 5b, onto Form MO-A, Part 1, Line 10. Use the Y column for your own retired pay and the S column for a spouse's. The 2025 instructions define a military pension as one received for service in a branch of the armed services of the United States, including the Missouri Army Reserve and Missouri National Guard. The Part 1 total then becomes part of your subtractions on Form MO-1040, Line 4.

Keep the military amount out of Part 3. The public pension worksheet on the 2025 MO-A tells you not to include military retirement benefits there because they belong on Part 1, Line 10. Section A of Part 3 is for pensions from a federal, state or local government, and it carries a $47,633 ceiling for 2025. Line 10 has no ceiling at all.

A federal civilian annuity is not Line 10 money. A CSRS or FERS annuity from a later civil service career, including a Coast Guard civilian career, is a public pension under the 2025 instructions and goes through Part 3, Section A with its limit. The statute itself reaches retirement benefits from service in the Armed Forces, their reserve components, and the Missouri National Guard. It does not name the NOAA Commissioned Corps or the Public Health Service, and the department's guide does not address their retired pay (read October 9, 2026).

On an assumed $36,000 pension, Line 10 keeps $1,692 a year away from Missouri tax when the rest of your income already reaches the top 4.7% bracket. For 2025 that bracket starts above $9,191 of Missouri taxable income, and the department's 2026 withholding formula keeps 4.7% on income over $9,436.

If an old return left Line 10 blank, fix it with an amended Form MO-1040 (amended box selected) and a corrected MO-A, with all schedules attached as the 2025 instructions direct. Section 143.801 allows the refund claim within three years of filing or two years of payment, whichever is later, so a 2023 return filed in April 2024 stays open until April 2027.

Survivor Benefit Plan annuities

Not on Line 10. The department's Military Reference Guide (revised January 2025) says a Survivor Benefit Plan annuity does not qualify for the military retirement subtraction but does qualify for the public pension exemption. On the 2025 Form MO-A, Part 3, Section A, that exemption is the smaller of the pension or $47,633, minus any Social Security exemption the same person claims (read October 9, 2026).

Active-duty pay in Missouri

Not taxed. Section 143.174, RSMo deducts 100% of active-duty military pay included in federal AGI (2025 MO-1040, Line 18), and Section 143.175 deducts 100% of Guard training and Reserve pay from tax year 2024 (Line 19). Pay for State Active Duty is excluded from the Line 18 deduction.

Missed it in an earlier year?

Section 143.801, RSMo: a refund claim must be filed within three years from the time the return was filed or two years from the time the tax was paid, whichever expires later. Amend on Form MO-1040 with the amended box selected, plus a corrected Form MO-A.

What trips Missouri retirees up

The full subtraction dates to tax year 2016, not 2021. Former Section 143.124.14, added by 2009 H.B. 82, subtracted 15% of military retirement for 2010 and climbed in 15-point steps to 100% for 2016 and every year after. S.B. 120 in 2021 only relocated that language to Section 143.121.3(12), which is why some summaries date the exemption to 2021.
A widow or widower on Social Security can lose part of the SBP exemption. Line 3 of MO-A, Part 3, Section A subtracts your Social Security exemption from your public pension exemption, as Section 143.124.7 requires. With an assumed $30,000 SBP annuity and $20,000 of taxable Social Security at age 66, the Social Security is exempt in full but only $10,000 of the annuity is, so $20,000 of SBP stays taxable.
Guard and Reserve retirees qualify on Line 10 once their retired pay begins, because the statute names reserve components and the Missouri National Guard. Members still drilling deduct that pay on MO-1040, Line 19, which reached 100% in 2024 after starting at 20% in 2020, and the 2025 instructions ask for Leave and Earnings Statements with the claim. Starting with tax year 2025, the same section also deducts Guard and Reserve bonuses for joining or reenlisting.

Federal side: DFAS reports retired pay on Form 1099-R, and the IRS taxes it as a pension. VA disability compensation is not taxable income under federal law (IRS Publication 525). The SCRA’s tax-home rule (50 U.S.C. § 4001) protects servicemembers on orders, not retirees, so where a retiree lives decides which state taxes the pension. Compare every state on the 51-state ledger. Missouri’s other servicemember protections are on the Missouri SCRA page.

Frequently asked questions

Does Missouri tax military retirement pay?

No. Section 143.121.3(12), RSMo subtracts 100% of retirement benefits received for service in the Armed Forces, including reserve components and the Missouri National Guard, to the extent they are in federal adjusted gross income. The 2025 instructions put the amount on Form MO-A, Part 1, Line 10, taken from federal Form 1040, Line 5b, and the Part 1 total flows into Form MO-1040, Line 4. There is no age test, income test or dollar cap. The full subtraction has applied since tax year 2016, according to the earlier text of Section 143.124 on the Revisor of Statutes site (read October 9, 2026).

Is SBP taxed in Missouri?

Partly, depending on your other income. The department's Military Reference Guide (revised January 2025) says a Survivor Benefit Plan annuity does not qualify for the military retirement subtraction on Line 10 but does qualify for the public pension exemption. On the 2025 Form MO-A, Part 3, Section A, that exemption is limited to $47,633 and is reduced by any Social Security exemption you claim on Section C. A survivor whose taxable Social Security is large can therefore owe Missouri tax on part of the annuity even though the retiree's pay was fully exempt.

When did Missouri stop taxing military retirement?

Tax year 2016 was the first year with a 100% subtraction. The version of Section 143.124, RSMo in effect from August 28, 2009 to August 28, 2021 phased the subtraction in at 15% for 2010, 30% for 2011, 45% for 2012, 60% for 2013, 75% for 2014, 90% for 2015 and 100% for 2016 and later. The 2021 S.B. 120 rewrite moved that rule into Section 143.121.3(12) without changing the percentage. Because every year since 2016 is already fully exempt, an amended return only helps where Line 10 was missed.

Is National Guard and Reserve retirement taxed in Missouri?

No. The statute covers retirement benefits from service in the Armed Forces, including reserve components and the National Guard of Missouri, and the 2025 Line 10 instructions name the Missouri Army Reserve and Missouri National Guard. Gray-area retirees report the pay on Line 10 in the year it starts. Separate rules cover pay earned while still serving: Section 143.175, RSMo deducts 100% of Guard inactive duty training, annual training and Reserve pay from tax year 2024, claimed on Form MO-1040, Line 19.

Sources, read October 9, 2026

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