Missouri Sales Tax: 4.225% State Rate, Food, Local Add-Ons

Missouri's sales tax has a 4.225% state rate, a lower state rate on food and local taxes that vary by location. This guide explains how those parts fit together, what the Department of Revenue says is taxable or exempt, and how use tax works for online and out-of-state purchases.

Everything here comes from the Missouri Department of Revenue and the Revised Statutes of Missouri, read in November 2026. The table in the worked example is our own arithmetic and uses a made-up local rate.

Missouri Sales Tax Rate: State Plus Local

The Department of Revenue says the state sales tax rate is 4.225% and that cities, counties and certain districts may also impose local sales taxes, so the tax a seller collects depends on the combined state and local rate at the location of the seller. Special taxing districts, such as fire districts, may also impose additional sales taxes. We did not find a single statewide combined rate, so the rate you pay depends on where the seller is.

Local rate changes take effect on the first day of the second calendar quarter after the Department receives notice (January, April, July or October), and a local tax can also expire on the first day of a quarter. Because rates change quarterly, look up the rate for a specific address in the Department's Missouri Sales and Use Tax Lookup Tool or its quarterly rate tables rather than relying on a figure printed on a web page.

The Reduced Food Rate

The Department says the rate for food sales was reduced by 3%, from 4.225% to 1.225%, for food items that may be purchased with Food Stamps. Local sales taxes still apply to all food and beverage sales, so the reduction applies only to the state portion.

The reduced rate does not cover food or drink sold by an establishment where food prepared for immediate consumption makes up more than 80% of total gross receipts, such as a restaurant or fast food restaurant, except for vending machine sales. The Department's examples include a grocery store charging the regular rate on nonfood items and the reduced rate on qualifying food, and a convenience store charging the reduced rate on cold items but the regular rate on hot dogs and chili.

Worked Example (Our Calculation)

This table is our own arithmetic, not a Department figure. The 3% local add-on is a made-up round number used only to show how the state and local parts combine; it is not the rate of any real city or county. On a hypothetical $1,000 purchase of non-food items with a 3% local tax, the tax would be $72.25; the same $1,000 of qualifying food would be taxed $42.25 because only the state portion drops from 4.225% to 1.225%.

What Is Taxable and What Is Exempt

The Department says the sales tax applies to retail sales of tangible personal property and to certain services. The services it lists as taxable include admission and seating accommodations or fees in places of amusement, entertainment or recreation, and rooms, meals and drinks at hotels, restaurants and similar places. The Department's exemption search tool and RSMo chapter 144 list many more exemptions, for example for farm machinery and manufacturing; if your item is not covered here, check them.

Use Tax on Online and Out-of-State Purchases

The state use tax rate is also 4.225%, and cities and counties may impose an additional local use tax. Use tax is imposed on the storage, use or consumption of tangible personal property in Missouri, and the amount due depends on the combined local and state use tax rate where the property is stored, used or consumed. It does not apply if the purchase is from a Missouri retailer and subject to Missouri sales tax.

If an out-of-state seller does not collect use tax, the purchaser is responsible for remitting it to Missouri, and a purchaser is required to file a use tax return if cumulative purchases subject to use tax exceed $2,000 in a calendar year, according to the Department. On a hypothetical $1,000 purchase where the combined use tax rate is 7.225% (4.225% state plus a made-up 3% local rate), the use tax would be $72.25 (our calculation).

Recent Changes

The most recent change we found in the statutes is the exemption for diapers, incontinence products and feminine hygiene products in RSMo 144.029, effective 28 August 2025 (enacted by H.B. 594 and 508 of 2025). We did not find a 2026 change to the 4.225% state rate or the 1.225% food rate on the Department's pages. Local rates change every quarter, so check the lookup tool for the current quarter.

Related Missouri Guides

See our Missouri tax guide, Missouri vehicle sales tax, Kansas City, Missouri tax guide, Missouri property tax and sales tax by state.

Official Sources

Missouri Department of Revenue: Sales/Use Tax; Sales Tax Reduction on Food; FAQs: Taxability and Exemptions; Taxable Services; RSMo 144.029; RSMo 144.030.