Income Taxes in Mississippi
Mississippi's income tax is genuinely distinctive for a real, still-running two-law reform this record credits directly: a flat 4.0% rate for tax year 2026 under 2022's House Bill 531, with a further, revenue-trigger-contingent 2025 law continuing the phase-down toward 3% by 2030 -- paired with a full exemption of Social Security, 401(k)/IRA, and pension income for all residents.
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Learn moreA flat rate, falling on a real, dated schedule
2022's House Bill 531 -- signed by Republican Governor Tate Reeves -- eliminated Mississippi's former 4% bracket and set a scheduled reduction path: a flat 5% rate on taxable income over $10,000 for tax year 2023, dropping to 4.7% (2024), 4.4% (2025), and 4.0% as of January 1, 2026. This record independently verifies the 4.0% figure remains Mississippi's current law for tax year 2026, corroborated against the Tax Foundation's own 2026 reporting naming Mississippi among nine states cutting individual income taxes that year.
A further, real, legislated path toward 3% and eventual elimination
Governor Reeves signed a second, further bill in 2025 -- House Bill 1, the 'Build Up Mississippi Act' -- continuing the phase-down toward a 3% flat rate by 2030, with additional annual reductions afterward on a path toward eventual full elimination of the individual income tax. This record discloses honestly that this further path is contingent on the state hitting specified annual revenue-growth triggers, rather than treating it as a guaranteed schedule independent of state revenue performance.
A real, full exemption for qualified retirement income
Mississippi fully exempts qualified retirement income -- Social Security benefits regardless of income level, 401(k) and 403(b) distributions, traditional and Roth IRA distributions, and both private and government pension income -- from state income tax, one of the most generous retirement-income tax treatments in the nation. This record discloses honestly that early or non-qualifying distributions can still be taxed, and that earned income from continued work in retirement remains taxable at the standard flat rate.
Mississippi's labor-market backdrop
Mississippi's unemployment rate ran a real, current 3.6% (seasonally adjusted) as of July 2026, down 0.2 points from June 2026 and down 0.2 points year-over-year -- a full 0.5 percentage points below the 4.1% national rate the same month, a real, comparatively strong labor-market reading this record credits directly.
Key takeaways
- Mississippi's flat income tax is 4.0% for tax year 2026 (on taxable income above $10,000) under 2022's House Bill 531.
- A further 2025 law (House Bill 1) continues the phase-down toward 3% by 2030 and eventual elimination, contingent on the state hitting specified revenue-growth triggers.
- Social Security, 401(k)/403(b), IRA, and pension income are all fully exempt from Mississippi state income tax, regardless of income level.
- Mississippi's 3.6% unemployment rate (July 2026) ran a full 0.5 points below the 4.1% national rate the same month.
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