Does Mississippi tax Social Security?

No. Mississippi fully exempts Social Security benefits from state income tax. None of your Social Security income is taxed at the state level, regardless of your total income.

Does Mississippi tax 401(k) and IRA withdrawals?

Qualified retirement distributions are exempt. Once you reach the plan's qualifying age, withdrawals from a 401(k), IRA, or similar plan are not taxed by Mississippi. Early or non-qualified distributions, however, are taxed as ordinary income at the flat 4.7% rate.

Are pensions taxed in Mississippi?

No. Mississippi exempts qualified retirement pension income — including private pensions, public pensions, and PERS benefits — from state income tax. This makes Mississippi one of the most retiree-friendly states for pension income.

Is Mississippi a good state for retirees taxwise?

Yes. Mississippi exempts Social Security, pensions, and qualified retirement-plan distributions entirely from state income tax, and has low property taxes. The main trade-off is its high 7% sales tax that applies even to groceries.

What retirement income does Mississippi tax?

Only non-qualified or early distributions are taxed. If you take money out of a retirement account before reaching the qualifying age, that portion is taxed as ordinary income. Investment income outside retirement accounts is also taxable, but the retirement streams themselves are exempt.

Mississippi Retirement Income Tax Calculator

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Mississippi is one of the most tax-friendly states for retirees: Social Security, qualified pensions, and IRA/401(k) distributions are all exempt from state income tax. This calculator confirms how much of your retirement income Mississippi taxes — usually nothing — and flags any taxable early withdrawals.

How it works

Mississippi excludes qualified retirement income from state tax entirely:

exempt income = Social Security + qualified pension + qualified IRA/401(k)

Only early or non-qualified distributions are treated as ordinary income. Those are taxed under Mississippi’s near-flat structure — 0 percent on the first 10,000 dollars of taxable income and 4.7 percent above it (2024):

taxable = non-qualified withdrawals − deduction − exemption
MS tax  = max(0, taxable − 10000) × 0.047

For a typical retiree with only Social Security, a pension, and qualified plan distributions, the Mississippi state income tax is zero.

Example

A retiree with 24,000 dollars of Social Security, 30,000 dollars of pension, and 20,000 dollars of qualified 401(k) withdrawals has 74,000 dollars of fully exempt income and owes zero Mississippi income tax. If 8,000 dollars of that 401(k) money were an early, non-qualified withdrawal, only that 8,000 would be considered — and after the standard deduction and exemption it would still fall within the 10,000 dollar zero bracket, so the state tax remains zero.

Notes

Estimate only, not tax advice. Mississippi’s exemptions apply to qualified retirement income; early-withdrawal penalties and federal tax are separate and not modeled here. Mississippi’s flat rate phases to 4.4 percent (2025) and 4.0 percent (2026). The trade-off for low income tax is a 7 percent sales tax that includes groceries. Verify with Form 80-105 and dor.ms.gov.