Nonresidents and Residents with Other State Income

(This information is intended for guidance only and does not state the complete law.)

Filing Requirements

You do not have to file a Missouri return if you are not required to file a federal return. If you are required to file a federal return, you may not have to file a Missouri return if:

  • you are a resident and have less than $1,200 of Missouri adjusted gross income;
  • you are a nonresident with less than $600 of Missouri income; or
  • your Missouri adjusted gross income is less than the amount of your standard deduction plus your personal exemption.

Note: If you are not required to file a Missouri return, but you received a W-2 form indicating you had Missouri tax withheld, you must file a Missouri return to get a refund of your Missouri withholding. If you are not required to file a Missouri return and you do not anticipate an increase in income, you may consider changing your W-4 form to "exempt" so your employer will not withhold Missouri tax.

The filing status used on your Missouri return must match the filing status used on your federal return.

Definitions (Residents, Nonresidents, Part-Year Residents)

Our Resident/Nonresident Diagram may assist you in determining if you (or your spouse) are a resident or nonresident.

Resident - An individual who is domiciled in Missouri, unless the individual:

  1. maintains no permanent place of abode in this state;
  2. does maintain a permanent place of abode elsewhere; and
  3. spends in the aggregate not more than 30 days of the taxable year in Missouri.

OR

Resident - An individual who is not domiciled in Missouri but:

  1. did have permanent living quarters in Missouri; and
  2. spent more than 183 days of the taxable year in Missouri.

As a Missouri resident with income from another state, you may be able to claim a credit for tax paid to that state. Complete Form MO-CR and submit a copy of the other state's return(s) and all W-2 form(s) with your Missouri return.

Nonresident - An individual who is not a resident of Missouri. A Missouri domiciled individual is considered a nonresident for tax purposes if the individual:

  1. maintains no permanent place of abode in Missouri;
  2. maintains a permanent place of abode elsewhere; and
  3. spends in the aggregate not more than 30 days of the taxable year in Missouri.

As a nonresident, you may be able to claim a Missouri income percentage, reducing your Missouri tax liability by taxing you only on your Missouri source income. Complete Form MO-NRI and submit a copy of your federal return and all W-2 form(s) with your Missouri return.

Part-Year Resident - An individual domiciled elsewhere prior to moving to Missouri or establishes domicile elsewhere after moving from Missouri. A part-year resident is treated as a nonresident but may determine his tax as if a resident for the entire year.

As a part-year resident, you may take either the Missouri resident credit (MO-CR) or the Missouri income percentage (MO-NRI), whichever is to your benefit. On a joint return, one spouse may take the Missouri income percentage and the other the Missouri resident credit. However, one individual cannot claim both!

Filing Form MO-CR or Form MO-NRI

Our MO-CR/MO-NRI Diagram may assist you in determining if you (or your spouse) should complete Form MO-CR or Form MO-NRI.

Missouri residents with income from another state, nonresidents, and part-year residents need to file Form MO-CR or Form MO-NRI with Form MO-1040 (long form). Form MO-1040 is the only tax return that allows you to take a resident credit (Form MO-CR) or the Missouri income percentage (Form MO-NRI).

Form MO-CR: Form MO-CR is used when a resident or part-year resident elects to take a credit (resident credit) for taxes paid to another state or political subdivision.

Form MO-NRI: Form MO-NRI is used when a nonresident elects to pay taxes on the percentage of income (Missouri income percentage) earned in Missouri, or when a part-year resident chooses to pay taxes on the percentage of income earned while a Missouri resident.

Regardless of where your income was earned or if you are using Form MO-CR or Form MO-NRI, you must begin the Missouri return with your federal adjusted gross income, as reported on your federal return. Next, apply all allowable deductions and compute the tax on all of your income. The tax is then reduced by either the Missouri resident credit (Form MO-CR) or the Missouri income percentage (Form MO-NRI). The result for nonresidents is a prorated Missouri income tax based only on the income earned in Missouri. The result for part-year residents is a prorated income tax based only on the income earned while a Missouri resident.

Domicile (Home of Record) - The place an individual intends to be his/her permanent home; a place that he/she intends to return whenever absent. A domicile, once established, continues until the individual moves to a new location with the true intention of making his/her permanent home there. An individual can only have one domicile at a time.