MISSISSIPPI PAYROLL RESOURCES · MS · REVIEWED 2026-10-03
Review Mississippi payroll records, 2026 withholding, unemployment rates for new employers, the five-employee workers’ compensation threshold, and official employer resources. Run payroll for a small team and get employee statements from every calculated run.
AT A GLANCE
In the primary Mississippi materials reviewed for this page, we did not identify a broad, general rule requiring every private employer to furnish an itemized pay statement each pay period. Mississippi also has no state minimum-wage statute, so the federal Fair Labor Standards Act governs minimum wage for covered employees. That does not eliminate state payroll obligations: income-tax withholding, unemployment contributions, workers’ compensation, and annual wage reporting all apply under their own rules.
No broad Mississippi private-sector every-pay-period itemized pay-stub mandate was identified in the primary state materials reviewed. Employers should still keep clear payroll records and check federal, contractual, industry, and employer-policy requirements.
See details →Use the Mississippi Department of Revenue’s current withholding tables and employer instructions (Pub. 89-700) and the 2026 computer-payroll formula, together with each employee’s Form 89-350.
View withholding resources →Mississippi assigns start-up businesses 1.00% in the first year of liability, 1.10% in the second, and 1.20% in the third and later years until eligible for a modified rate. These rates do not include any Workforce Investment and Training contribution that may apply.
View MDES tax rates →Employers with five or more employees regularly employed are required to provide workers’ compensation coverage. Below five, coverage is not mandatory but may be purchased.
View workers’ compensation facts →STATE PAYROLL OVERVIEW
Mississippi should not be described as though it has the same payday-statement framework as Alaska, Hawaii, or Maine. The primary Mississippi materials reviewed for this page do not establish a broad private-sector rule requiring every employer to issue a detailed itemized pay stub each pay period. That is narrower than saying an employer never has to provide payroll information: federal law, contracts, and employer policy can still create obligations, and accurate payroll records support withholding, unemployment, and workers’ compensation reporting.
Mississippi income tax for 2026 is a flat 4% on taxable income above a $10,000 exempt amount. Withholding still runs through the Department of Revenue’s tables or computer-payroll formula and the employee’s exemption certificate, so the flat rate should not be applied directly to gross wages.
Mississippi has no state minimum-wage statute, and state law (Miss. Code Ann. § 17-1-51) prevents counties and municipalities from establishing their own minimum wage or mandatory leave requirements for private employers. Minimum-wage compliance for covered employees therefore follows federal law.
PAYROLL REQUIREMENTS CHECKLIST
Do not represent Mississippi as having a universal state pay-stub content checklist based on the primary materials reviewed here. Determine whether a federal, contractual, industry-specific, or employer-policy requirement applies.
Keep enough payroll information to support hours or salary, gross wages, deductions, withholding, net pay, payment dates, and year-end wage reporting.
Use the current Pub. 89-700 tables or the 2026 computer-payroll formula and the employee’s Form 89-350.
Review unemployment contributions, the five-employee workers’ compensation threshold, federal minimum wage, and annual wage reporting independently from the pay-stub question.
PAYROLL RECORDS IN PRACTICE
Even where no general Mississippi itemized-pay-stub checklist applies, a clear payroll statement helps document wages, deductions, withholding, and net pay. Keep it consistent with the payroll records and do not describe it as satisfying a state field list that the reviewed sources do not establish.
Retain the records needed to support withholding returns, MDES wage reports, workers’ compensation payroll, and annual wage statements.
USE CURRENT MISSISSIPPI TABLES — NOT A FLAT SHORTCUT
Mississippi’s 2026 individual rate is a flat 4% above a $10,000 exempt amount, but withholding depends on the Department of Revenue’s tables or computer-payroll formula, the employee’s Form 89-350 exemptions, and payroll frequency. Pub. 89-700 also contains rules for supplemental wages and nonresident employees.
LOCAL CONSIDERATIONS
Mississippi law prevents counties and municipalities from establishing a local minimum wage or mandatory paid or unpaid leave for private employers. The primary sources reviewed for this page did not identify a municipal wage-withholding tax.
A SOURCE-BACKED WORKFLOW
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OFFICIAL MISSISSIPPI SOURCES USED FOR THIS PAGE
Current withholding tables, Pub. 89-700, and employer forms.
2026 annualized withholding formula.
Start-up rates and modified-rate framework.
Official five-employee coverage threshold.
RESEARCH & REVIEW
This page is built from primary Mississippi government sources and is periodically reviewed against current agency guidance. We use Department of Revenue withholding materials, Department of Employment Security unemployment-tax resources, and Workers’ Compensation Commission guidance whenever available.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ACCURATE RECORDS. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE.
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