Mississippi — Personal Income Tax

Mississippi residents must file a personal income tax return if they meet certain gross income thresholds. A single resident must file if gross income exceeds $8,300 plus $1,500 for each dependent. A married resident filing jointly must file if gross income exceeds $16,600 plus $1,500 for each dependent. Residents who work out of state (such as interstate carriers, construction workers, or offshore workers) must file a Mississippi resident return and report total gross income from all sources. Residents employed in a foreign country on a temporary or transitory basis are also subject to Mississippi income tax on their total gross income.

Source: Mississippi Department of Revenue – General Information

For the 2025 tax year, Mississippi imposes no tax on the first $10,000 of an individual's taxable income. Taxable income above $10,000 is taxed at 4.4%. This graduated rate structure applies to resident individuals.

Source: Mississippi Department of Revenue – General Information

An individual qualifies as a Mississippi resident for income tax purposes if they maintain a place of abode in Mississippi or exercise the rights of citizenship in Mississippi, such as meeting voter requirements or claiming a homestead exemption. Military personnel who enter the Armed Forces while Mississippi residents retain their residency status even when absent on military orders.

Source: Mississippi Department of Revenue – Individual Income Tax FAQs

Nonresidents and part-year residents must file a Mississippi income tax return if they have income taxed by Mississippi. This includes individuals with Mississippi tax withheld from their wages (except gambling income) and those with Mississippi-sourced income such as wages earned in the state, business income from Mississippi operations, or rental income from Mississippi property.

Source: Mississippi Department of Revenue – General Information

Mississippi allows taxpayers to claim a standard deduction in lieu of itemizing individual nonbusiness deductions. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 27-7-17(3)(b), the standard deduction amounts are fixed and vary by filing status. The statute establishes that the current amounts have been in effect "for each calendar year" since calendar year 1999.

Standard deduction amounts:

• Married filing joint or combined: $4,600
• Married filing separate: $2,300
• Head of family: $3,400
• Single: $2,300

Division between spouses on joint or combined returns:

For married individuals filing a joint or combined return, the $4,600 standard deduction amount or the itemized deduction amount may be divided between the spouses in any manner they choose. This provision is codified in Miss. Code Ann. § 27-7-17(3)(b)(i).

Married filing separate restriction:

In the case of separate returns by a husband and wife, the standard deduction is not allowed to either spouse if the taxable income of one of the spouses is determined without regard to the standard deduction. Both spouses must either claim the standard deduction or both must itemize; they cannot split approaches. For married filing separate, any unused portion of the $2,300 standard deduction amount by one spouse on his or her separate return cannot be used by the other spouse on his or her separate return.

Nonresident allocation:

Under Miss. Code Ann. § 27-7-17(3)(c), a nonresident individual is allowed the same individual nonbusiness deductions as are authorized for resident individuals, including the standard deduction. However, the nonresident individual is entitled only to that proportion of the individual nonbusiness deductions as his net income from sources within the State of Mississippi bears to his total or entire net income from all sources.

Itemized deduction alternative:

Mississippi allows the same itemized deductions as are authorized for federal income tax purposes, with one exception: Mississippi income taxes are not deductible on the Mississippi itemized deduction schedule, requiring that an adjustment be made for that exception. Taxpayers may choose to either itemize individual non-business deductions or claim the standard deduction for their filing status, whichever provides the greater tax benefit.

Source: Mississippi Department of Revenue – General Information

Mississippi enacted House Bill 1 (the "Build-Up Mississippi Act") on March 27, 2025, establishing a multi-year phase-out schedule that will ultimately eliminate the state's individual income tax. The legislation amended Miss. Code Ann. § 27-7-5 to reduce the flat tax rate on income exceeding $10,000 in a series of scheduled steps, with further trigger-based reductions designed to bring the rate to zero.

Scheduled rate reductions (2027–2030)

The phase-out begins with fixed annual reductions:

• 2027: 3.75% on taxable income over $10,000
• 2028: 3.5% on taxable income over $10,000
• 2029: 3.25% on taxable income over $10,000
• 2030: 3% on taxable income over $10,000

These rates represent a continuation of the rate reduction schedule that began under House Bill 531 (2022). For context, the 2025 rate is 4.4%, which was scheduled to decline to 4% in 2026 under the prior law; HB 1 accelerates and extends those reductions.

Trigger-based reductions (2031 and thereafter)

Beginning in calendar year 2031, further reductions are contingent on meeting two conditions simultaneously:

1. Reserve-fund requirement: The Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund must be fully funded as provided in Miss. Code Ann. § 27-103-213.

1. Revenue-growth trigger: Adjusted general fund revenue collections for a fiscal year must exceed the appropriations for the following fiscal year by at least 0.85% of the cost of a 1% income tax reduction.

When both conditions are met, the rate is reduced in increments until it reaches 0%. The statute does not specify the reduction increment per triggering year, but contemporaneous legislative materials and agency guidance suggest reductions of 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points per trigger event based on the prior year's revenue margin.

Timing and ultimate elimination

The statute provides that when the application of the tax reduction results in a tax of 0% on all taxable income of individuals in excess of $10,000, the individual income tax will be eliminated. The timing of full elimination depends on meeting the revenue triggers each year. Estimates published at the time of enactment ranged from approximately 2040 to beyond, depending on revenue growth and state spending discipline.

No change to the $10,000 zero-bracket amount

Under both the scheduled reductions and the trigger-based reductions, the first $10,000 of taxable income remains subject to no tax. This zero-bracket amount has been in effect since calendar year 2022 and is not altered by HB 1.

Practitioner note

Multi-year income projections for Mississippi taxpayers—especially high-income individuals, trusts, and pass-through entities—must account for the declining rate schedule and the uncertainty inherent in the post-2030 trigger mechanism. The revenue-growth trigger introduces year-to-year variability: a fiscal downturn or increased appropriations in any given year can delay the next reduction. Conversely, strong revenue growth or spending restraint can accelerate the path to elimination.

Source: House Bill 1 (As Sent to Governor), 2025 Regular Session