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State rules · Missouri

Missouri: estate, probate and Medicaid rules in one place

What applies in Missouri, collected from the site’s state datasets: estate and inheritance tax, transfer-on-death deeds, small-estate procedure, Medicaid long-term-care rules, and state income tax on retirement income. Where the dataset holds a source, the entry links it with its effective marker and check date; where it does not, the entry shows its verification status and the reason.

Quick answers

Does Missouri have a state estate tax?

State estate tax: No. The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for Missouri, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

Does Missouri have an inheritance tax?

Inheritance tax: No. The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for Missouri, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in Missouri?

Transfer-on-death deed for real estate: Available — Beneficiary deed (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 461.025 — Deeds effective on death of owner (Nonprobate Transfers Law); first enacted 1989 — Missouri was an early adopter of the beneficiary deed (1989)).

What is the Medicaid look-back period in Missouri?

Look-back period: 60 months for transfers made on or after February 8, 2006 (Missouri DSS Income Maintenance Memorandum IM-32; IM-32 dated 03/24/06; transfer provisions apply February 8, 2006).

Does Missouri tax Social Security benefits?

Social Security benefits: Exempt when conditions are met (Pension FAQs; tax year 2024).

State estate tax

Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2

State estate tax
NoNo dataset row

The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for Missouri, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

· Checked July 20, 2026

Full detail: Missouri estate and inheritance tax page

Inheritance tax

Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2

Inheritance tax
NoNo dataset row

The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for Missouri, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

· Checked July 20, 2026

Full detail: Missouri estate and inheritance tax page

Transfer-on-death deed

Transfer-on-death deed for real estate
Available — Beneficiary deedVerified

Source: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 461.025 — Deeds effective on death of owner (Nonprobate Transfers Law) · Effective: first enacted 1989 — Missouri was an early adopter of the beneficiary deed (1989) · Checked July 26, 2026

Controlling statute
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 461.025Verified

Source: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 461.025 — Deeds effective on death of owner (Nonprobate Transfers Law) · Effective: first enacted 1989 — Missouri was an early adopter of the beneficiary deed (1989) · Checked July 26, 2026

Full detail: Missouri transfer-on-death deed page

Small-estate procedure

Current rule
$40,000 net estate; 30-day wait; creditor publication above $15,000Verified

Source: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.097 · Effective: current · Checked August 23, 2026

Full detail: Missouri small-estate procedure page

Medicaid long-term-care eligibility

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Institutional long-term-care income test
No fixed gross-income cap; income is applied to cost of care after a $50 personal-needs allowance and permitted deductionsVerified
  • Applies to: applicant whose income is applied to cost of care after permitted deductions.

Source: Missouri DSS MHABD Appendix J · Effective: Appendix marker (07/2026); row-specific effective dates retained · Checked September 5, 2026

Applicant resource maximum after Division of Assets
$6,220.50Verified
  • Applies to: single applicant.

Source: Missouri DSS MHABD Appendix J · Effective: Appendix marker (07/2026); row-specific effective dates retained · Checked September 5, 2026

Community-spouse resource allowance
$32,532 minimum to $162,660 maximumVerified
  • Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: Missouri DSS MHABD Appendix J · Effective: Appendix marker (07/2026); cited annual figures effective 01-01-26 · Checked September 5, 2026

Community-spouse monthly maintenance-needs allowance
$2,705 minimum to $4,066.50 maximum per monthVerified
  • Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: Missouri DSS MHABD Appendix J · Also: Missouri DSS MHABD Appendix J · Effective: Appendix marker (07/2026); row-specific effective dates retained · Checked September 5, 2026

Home-equity limit
$752,000Verified
  • Applies to: applicant subject to the home-equity rule.

Source: Missouri DSS MHABD Appendix J · Effective: Appendix marker (07/2026); cited annual figures effective 01-01-26 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: Missouri Medicaid eligibility page

Medicaid look-back

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Look-back period
60 months for transfers made on or after February 8, 2006Verified

Source: Missouri DSS Income Maintenance Memorandum IM-32 · Effective: IM-32 dated 03/24/06; transfer provisions apply February 8, 2006 · Checked September 5, 2026

Transfer-penalty divisor
$8,235 average monthly private-pay nursing rateVerified

Source: Missouri DSS MHABD Appendix J · Effective: Appendix marker (07/2026); average monthly private-pay nursing rate effective 04-01-26 · Checked September 5, 2026

How the state administers the penalty
The penalty starts on the later of the first day of the transfer month or the date the person is otherwise eligible for institutional care; penalties run sequentially and include partial months.Verified

Source: Missouri DSS Income Maintenance Memorandum IM-32 · Effective: IM-32 dated 03/24/06; transfer provisions apply February 8, 2006 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: Missouri Medicaid look-back page

Medicaid estate recovery

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Recovery scope
A probate-estate claim: medical assistance is a debt of the decedent's estate, collection proceeds under Missouri probate law, and an enrolled decedent's estate requires a MO HealthNet release before closing.Verified

Source: Missouri Revised Statutes section 473.398 · Effective: Effective August 28, 2018 · Checked September 5, 2026

Controlling authority
Missouri Revised Statutes sections 473.398 and 208.215Verified

Source: Missouri Revised Statutes section 473.398 · Also: Missouri Revised Statutes section 208.215 · Effective: Effective August 28, 2018 · Checked September 5, 2026

Exemptions and deferrals
A claim is barred when collection cost exceeds the claim or collection would adversely affect reasonable care and support of a surviving spouse or dependents.Verified

Source: Missouri Revised Statutes section 473.398 · Effective: Effective August 28, 2018 · Checked September 5, 2026

Hardship waiver
Missouri's supported exceptions address excessive collection cost and adverse effects on a surviving spouse's or dependents' reasonable care and support; no broader standalone hardship test is asserted.Verified

Source: Missouri Revised Statutes section 473.398 · Effective: Effective August 28, 2018 · Checked September 5, 2026

Lien practice
A TEFRA lien may secure recovery from certain permanently institutionalized participants after notice and hearing, subject to protected-relative exceptions; discharge and return home cause removal.Verified

Source: Missouri Revised Statutes section 208.215 · Effective: Effective August 28, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: Missouri Medicaid estate-recovery page

State income tax on retirement income

Retirement-income tax dataset 2026.v4

Social Security benefits
Exempt when conditions are metVerified
  • Missouri exempts 100% of federally included Social Security for individuals age 62 or older beginning tax year 2024.
  • The recipient must be age 62 or older; Social Security disability uses its own eligibility rule.
  • Only benefits included in federal adjusted gross income under IRC section 86 are subtracted.

Source: Pension FAQs · Effective: tax year 2024

Public pensions
Exempt when conditions are metVerified
  • Eligible public retirement benefits may be subtracted up to the maximum Social Security benefit amount.
  • Tax year 2026 maximum Social Security benefit amount.
  • The public-pension exemption is reduced by any Social Security or Social Security disability deduction claimed.
  • The benefit must be included in federal adjusted gross income.

Source: Pension FAQs · Effective: tax year 2026

Private pensions
Exempt when conditions are metVerified
  • Eligible private pension income may receive up to a $6,000 exemption, phased out by Missouri adjusted gross income.
  • Maximum private-pension exemption.
  • Full-exemption income threshold; partial phaseout above.
  • Full-exemption income threshold; partial phaseout above.
  • Full-exemption income threshold; partial phaseout above.

Source: Pension FAQs · Effective: tax year 2026

IRA and 401(k) distributions
Pending

The official pension FAQ does not independently establish whether nonperiodic IRA or defined-contribution distributions qualify as private pension income.

Military retirement pay
ExemptVerified
  • Taxable military pension income is fully subtracted from federal adjusted gross income for tax year 2021 and later.
  • Survivor Benefit Plan annuities do not use the military subtraction; they may use the public-pension rule.

Source: Pension FAQs · Effective: tax year 2021

Full detail: Retirement-income tax dataset, all states (JSON)

About this page

This page assembles entries from datasets the site already publishes; it adds no figure of its own. Entries marked “Not yet verified” or “Pending” have no primary-source value in the underlying dataset yet. Rules change, so confirm anything you plan to act on with the source, the state agency, or a licensed attorney.

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