Mississippi taxes income at a flat 4.4%, but it exempts the first $10,000 of taxable income outright, so your effective rate lands well below the headline.
That exempt band, plus a steadily falling rate, makes Mississippi one of the lighter-tax states in the South. Here is how the flat rate and the $10,000 exemption work on your paycheck. See your exact take-home with the free Mississippi paycheck calculator.
How Mississippi's income tax works
Mississippi applies a single 4.4% rate (2025) to taxable income, but the first $10,000 of that taxable income is taxed at 0%. The rate applies after a combined standard deduction and personal exemption of about $8,300 single / $16,600 married. There are no graduated brackets and no local income tax.
The rate is on a downward path: Mississippi has been cutting it and plans to keep trimming toward 3% later this decade (and potentially toward elimination), so the state portion should keep shrinking.
Your take-home on a $65,000 salary in Mississippi
Here is how a $65,000 salary breaks down for a single filer, using 2026 federal and FICA figures alongside Mississippi's a flat 4.4% income tax with the first $10,000 exempt.
| Item | Annual |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $5,620 |
| FICA (Social Security + Medicare) | $4,973 |
| Mississippi income tax | $2,055 |
| Take-home pay | $52,353 |
| Percent of gross kept | 80.5% |
On a $65,000 salary a single filer owes about $2,055 in Mississippi income tax, an effective rate near 3.2% after the deduction and the $10,000 exempt band, and keeps roughly $52,353, or 80.5% of gross. That take-home stretches a long way in Mississippi, which has among the lowest costs of living in the country in metros like Jackson, Gulfport, and Hattiesburg. Compare with Alabama.
Mississippi's take-home pay across salaries
Estimated annual take-home for a single filer at common salaries, using 2026 federal and FICA figures alongside Mississippi's a flat 4.4% income tax with the first $10,000 exempt. Open the Mississippi paycheck calculator to add a 401(k), HSA, or a different filing status.
| Annual salary | Take-home pay | % kept |
|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $33,365 | 83.4% |
| $60,000 | $48,555 | 80.9% |
| $80,000 | $62,395 | 78.0% |
| $100,000 | $75,585 | 75.6% |
| $150,000 | $107,996 | 72.0% |
The $10,000 exempt band and a shrinking rate
Mississippi's quirk is the zero-rate band: the first $10,000 of taxable income is exempt, which meaningfully lowers the effective rate for ordinary earners even though the headline is a flat 4.4%. Combine that with the standard deduction and a typical worker pays closer to 3%.
Mississippi does not tax Social Security or qualified retirement income (401(k), IRA, and pension withdrawals), so retirees often owe little or no state income tax at all.
How to keep more of your Mississippi paycheck
Because Mississippi starts from a federal-style base, a traditional 401(k) and HSA lower your Mississippi and federal taxable income together (and the HSA also avoids FICA), the simplest way to push your take-home higher.