Sales tax in Cole County, Missouri
There is no single sales tax rate in Cole County. It runs from 5.6% to 9.85% depending on the exact address, because cities and special districts inside the county levy their own on top of the 4.225% state rate. The 4.225% state rate applies everywhere in the county; everything above that depends on where you are standing. These rates were read from Missouri's own published schedule and checked on October 1, 2026. The rate in each of the 13 cities is in the table below.
What is the sales tax rate in Cole County?
| Missouri state rate | 4.225% |
|---|---|
| Cole County rate | 1.375% |
| Lowest combined rate in the county | 5.6% |
| Highest combined rate in the county | 9.85% |
The combined figures are the lowest and highest totals anywhere in Cole County, so the rows above do not add up to them.
What is the sales tax rate in each city in Cole County?
Missouri publishes the rate for every city it taxes. These are the combined rates, state and local together, as listed in Missouri's own rate file. Where a city shows a range, a special district covers only part of it, so the rate depends on the exact address.
| City | October 1 to December 31, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Centertown | 6.6% |
| Elston | 5.6% |
| Henley | 5.6% |
| Jefferson CityJefferson City has two rates: 7.85% and 8.85%. The higher rate applies inside a community improvement district (CID) or transportation development district (TDD), for example Capital Mall CID, St. Marys Hospital CID and Msp CID. From October 1, 2026, rates run from 7.85% to 9.85%. Addresses inside a community improvement district (CID) or transportation development district (TDD) pay more, and the highest rate applies where both overlap, for example Downtown Jefferson City Conference Center CID and Downtown Jefferson City Conference Center TDD. | 7.85% to 9.85% |
| Lohman | 6.6% |
| Marion | 5.6% |
| Osage Bend | 5.6% |
| Osage City | 5.6% |
| Russellville | 6.6% |
| St. Martins | 7.6% |
| St. Thomas | 6.6% |
| Taos | 6.6% |
| Wardsville | 6.6% |
| Unincorporated Cole County | 5.6% |
Source: Missouri rate file for October 1 to December 31, 2026, from Missouri's official rate page.
How much sales tax is that on a purchase in Cole County?
At 5.6%, a $100 purchase carries $5.60 in sales tax and a $1,000 purchase $56.00, at the lowest rate in the county. At the highest, 9.85%, the same purchases carry $9.85 and $98.50. That is general merchandise; Missouri taxes some categories, often groceries, differently, as the note below explains.
Among Missouri's 115 counties, Cole County's lowest rate ranks 104th highest, level with 2 other counties. See every Missouri county.
Sales tax in counties next to Cole County
Cole County borders 5 counties.
| County | Combined sales tax |
|---|---|
| Moniteau County, MO | 6.975% to 8.975% |
| Osage County, MO | 6.975% to 9.225% |
| Callaway County, MO | 6.725% to 9.725% |
| Boone County, MO | 5.975% to 10.475% |
| Miller County, MO | 5.725% to 10.475% |
| Cole County, MO (this county) | 5.6% to 9.85% |
Why the rate here is not the whole story
Missouri charges 4.225 percent statewide and then stacks a county rate, city rates and special district rates whose boundaries do not follow county lines, so a single rate for the whole county does not exist. The county itself levies 1.375 percent countywide. The floor of 5.6 percent is state plus county in unincorporated areas with no city and no district. The ceiling of 9.85 percent is at Jefferson City, on top of Downtown Jefferson City Conference Center CID and Downtown Jefferson City Conference Center TDD. That ceiling comes from a community improvement district and a transportation development district, which in Missouri can cover a single shopping center or one development rather than a whole city, so most addresses pay less. Missouri's address level rate map is required by RSMo 32.310 and is operated for the Department of Revenue on a vendor domain, which is the map dor.mo.gov itself links.
How do I find the exact rate for an address in Cole County?
Use Missouri's own address lookup, which the state designates and an outside provider runs for it. In Cole County the rate depends on the address, anywhere from 5.6% to 9.85%.
Who has to collect sales tax in Cole County?
Any seller with a physical presence in Missouri collects at the rate for the address of the sale; a remote seller does once it passes Missouri's economic nexus threshold. Missouri sales tax covers the statewide rules and what is exempt.
Work out your own numbers
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Sales tax calculator
Tax on a specific purchase at this county's rate, and the total you will actually pay.
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Do you have to collect?
Whether your sales into Missouri cross its economic nexus threshold. A different question from the rate.
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Property tax in Cole County
The other local tax: effective rate and median bill for this county.
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Sales tax by county
Every US county, and how Missouri compares with the rest of the country.
Sources
- Cole County rates: Missouri Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Rate Tables for October, November, December 2026 (fourth quarter 2026, updated 8/25/2026), https://dor.mo.gov/pdf/rates/2026/october2026.xlsx, read together with the DOR Jurisdiction and Total Rate Database Q4 2026 and the DOR Rate Database Q4 2026, https://dor.mo.gov/taxation/business/tax-types/sales-use/documents/dor-rate-database-q4-2026.xlsx
- Collected and verified October 1, 2026. Confidence: P on the rate components, P on the range (P read on a primary agency page, S strong but indirect, U unverified).