If I'm a nonresident who holds a Missouri professional license (like an MFT license) and I provide telehealth services remotely to a handful of Missouri clients from my out-of-state office, do I have to file a Missouri individual income tax return?

Plain-English summary

The Missouri Department of Revenue ruled that a nonresident who holds a Missouri professional license does not automatically have to file a Missouri individual income tax return just because the license is Missouri-issued or because Missouri clients pay for services. The Applicant was a nonresident telehealth professional holding a Missouri Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) license, who lived and physically practiced in another state, saw only a small number of Missouri-based clients remotely, and earned more than $600 from those clients in both 2024 and 2025. The Applicant operated as a sole proprietor with no employees, no Missouri property, and no other Missouri-connected activity.

The Department's answer turned on where the income was actually earned, not on where the license was issued or where the clients were located. Missouri's filing requirement for nonresidents under Section 143.481, RSMo, applies only when a nonresident has $600 or more of "Missouri nonresident adjusted gross income" -- meaning income from sources within Missouri. Under Section 143.181.2, RSMo, income is Missouri-source when it is attributable to "a business, trade, profession, or occupation carried on in this state." Because the Applicant performed every telehealth session from an out-of-state office and had no other Missouri-based business activity, the Department concluded the Applicant's profession was carried on wholly outside Missouri, so none of the income was Missouri-source income for filing purposes -- even though the clients themselves were in Missouri and the license was Missouri-issued.

The ruling also addressed a related worry: Missouri can suspend an MFT license under Section 324.010, RSMo, for failing to file required state income tax returns. The Department clarified that this licensing statute only reaches a licensee who was actually required to file and didn't -- it doesn't create an independent filing obligation. Even so, the Department noted nonresident licensees are "highly encouraged" to file voluntarily, since the Department can otherwise estimate a nonresident's Missouri tax and send notices based on that estimate, and it need not assume non-filing was proper before notifying the licensing board.

What this means for you

Nonresident telehealth or remote professionals licensed in Missouri

Holding a Missouri professional license does not, by itself, trigger a Missouri filing requirement. What matters is whether you actually carry on your profession in Missouri. If you perform all your work remotely from an office outside Missouri, have no employees or property in Missouri, and have no other Missouri-connected business activity, your income is likely not "derived from sources within" Missouri, so the $600 nonresident filing threshold in Section 143.481, RSMo, may not be triggered even if your Missouri-client income exceeds that amount.

If your facts are different

This ruling depended heavily on specific facts: services performed exclusively from an out-of-state office, no employees, no Missouri property, and no other Missouri income-generating activity. If you have any in-person presence in Missouri, employees or contractors working in Missouri, or other Missouri business activity, the analysis could come out differently -- and no regulation yet exists under Section 143.181.5, RSMo, for apportioning income from a profession carried on partly within and partly without Missouri.

Why filing anyway may still be wise

Even where the Department concludes you're not legally required to file, the ruling notes the Department "highly encourages" nonresident Missouri licensees to file voluntarily. Without a return on file, the Department may estimate your Missouri tax liability and send notices based on that estimate, and licensing boards may be notified of apparent non-filing under Section 324.010, RSMo. Filing (even a return showing no Missouri tax due) can avoid that friction.

Tax professionals advising nonresident licensees

The key statutory chain is Section 143.481, RSMo (filing trigger) → Section 143.181.1 and .2, RSMo (defining Missouri-source income by reference to where the business, trade, profession, or occupation is "carried on") → Section 143.181.5, RSMo (apportionment where a profession is carried on partly within and partly without Missouri, for which no regulation yet exists). Advise clients that the professional-license angle (Section 324.010, RSMo) is a licensing consequence tied to an existing filing obligation, not an independent one.

Common questions

Q: Does having a Missouri professional license by itself mean I owe Missouri income tax?
A: No. The license itself doesn't create Missouri-source income. What matters is whether your profession is actually carried on in Missouri -- physical presence, employees, property, or other business activity there. In this ruling, none of that existed, so the license alone didn't trigger a filing requirement.

Q: My Missouri clients paid me more than $600 -- doesn't that automatically require a Missouri return?
A: Not necessarily. The $600 threshold in Section 143.481, RSMo, applies only to income that is Missouri-source ("Missouri nonresident adjusted gross income"). If you performed the work entirely from outside Missouri with no other Missouri activity, the income may not be Missouri-source at all, regardless of the dollar amount or where your clients are located.

Q: Could my Missouri license get suspended if I don't file a Missouri return?
A: Section 324.010, RSMo, allows suspension only for failing to file when you were legally required to file. If you weren't required to file (as in this ruling's facts), non-filing shouldn't trigger that consequence -- but the Department noted it may still estimate your tax and send notices, and encourages voluntary filing to avoid confusion.

Q: Can I rely on this ruling for my own situation?
A: Not directly. This is a letter ruling binding on the Department only with respect to the specific Applicant, only for three years from its date, and only as long as the facts and the underlying law don't change. If your facts differ in any way -- for example, any in-person Missouri presence, employees, or other Missouri business activity -- the outcome could be different. Consult a licensed Missouri tax professional about your own facts.

Q: What if my profession is carried on partly inside and partly outside Missouri?
A: The ruling notes that Section 143.181.5, RSMo, calls for apportionment and allocation "under regulations to be prescribed by the director of revenue" in that situation, but no such regulation has yet been issued. That scenario wasn't presented here (the Applicant worked wholly outside Missouri), so it remains unresolved.

Citations and references

Statutes and regulations:

• Section 143.481, RSMo (annual Missouri individual income tax return filing requirement; $600 nonresident threshold)
• Section 143.181.1, RSMo (Missouri nonresident adjusted gross income defined)
• Section 143.181.2, RSMo (income derived from or connected with Missouri sources, including a business/profession/occupation carried on in Missouri)
• Section 143.181.5, RSMo (apportionment for a profession carried on partly within and partly without Missouri; no regulation yet promulgated)
• Section 324.010, RSMo (MFT license suspension for delinquent taxes or failure to file)
• Sections 143.571, 143.961.1, and 143.971.2, RSMo (Director's authority to require nonresidents to provide information, records, or returns)
• Section 536.021.10, RSMo, and 12 CSR 10-1.020 (letter ruling authority and procedure)

Case law cited in the ruling:

• Crum v. Vincent, 493 F.3d 988, 994 (8th Cir. 2007) (Section 324.010, RSMo, reaches failure to file only when obligated to do so under Missouri law)

Source

• Landing page: Missouri DOR Rulings Search
• Ruling: LR 8384

Original ruling text

Dear Applicant:

This is a letter ruling issued by the Director of Revenue under Section 536.021.10, RSMo, and Missouri Code of State Regulations 12 CSR 10-1.020, in response to your letter dated January 14, 2026.

The facts as presented in your letter ruling request and in a subsequent telephone call are summarized as follows:

Applicant is a nonresident telehealth professional who holds a Missouri Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) license in order to provide telehealth services to Missouri clients remotely. Applicant resides and physically practices marriage and family therapy in another state. Applicant has only a small number of clients physically located in Missouri. The total income resulting from these clients exceeded $600 in both 2024 and 2025. Applicant performed all services for these clients exclusively on a remote basis using Applicant's office located outside of Missouri.

Applicant's business of providing telehealth service is operated by Applicant directly as a sole proprietorship, and is not a limited liability company, partnership, S corporation, C corporation, or any other kind of business entity. Applicant has no employees, business-related property, or other income-generating activity associated with Missouri apart from the Applicant's provision of telehealth services to Applicant's Missouri-based clients. Applicant has sufficient income that, in the relevant tax years Applicant is required to file a federal income tax return.

ISSUE:

Is a nonresident individual subject to the annual Missouri individual income tax return filing requirement, if the nonresident: holds a Missouri MFT license, operates a sole proprietorship exclusively outside of Missouri, generates more than $600 in income from the provision of telehealth services remotely to Missouri-based clients, has no other income-generating activity associated with Missouri, and is required to file a federal income tax return?

RESPONSE:

No. A nonresident individual is not subject to the annual Missouri individual income tax return filing requirement if the nonresident who holds a Missouri MFT license, operates a sole proprietorship exclusively outside of Missouri, generates more than $600 in income from the provision of telehealth services remotely to Missouri-based clients, has no other income-generating activity associated with Missouri, and is required to file a federal income tax return.

The annual Missouri individual income tax return filing requirement is primarily set forth in Section 143.481, RSMo, which requires that:

An income tax return with respect to the tax imposed by sections 143.011 to 143.996 shall be made by the following: [...]

(2) Every nonresident individual who has a Missouri nonresident adjusted gross income (Missouri adjusted gross income derived from sources within this state) of six hundred dollars or more, or a greater amount as prescribed by the director of revenue and who is required to file a federal income tax return[.]

The key language above is that income, in a sufficient amount ($600 or a higher amount prescribed by the Director) must be "Missouri nonresident adjusted gross income [,]" that is, "Missouri adjusted gross income derived from sources within this state[.]"

Under Section 143.181.1, RSMo, "Missouri nonresident adjusted gross income shall be that part of the nonresident individual's federal adjusted gross income derived from sources within Missouri[.]" More specifically, it is the sum of:

(1)    The net amount of items of income, gain, loss, and deduction entering into his or her federal adjusted gross income which are derived from or connected with sources in this state [...]; and

(2)    The portion of the modifications described in section 143.121 which relate to income derived from sources in this state, including any modifications attributable to him or her as a partner.

Under Section 143.181.2, RSMo, income "derived from or connected with sources within this state are those items attributable to: [...] (2) A business, trade, profession, or occupation carried on in this state[.]" Under Section 143.181.5, RSMo, "[i]f a business, trade, profession, or occupation is carried on partly within and partly without this state, the items of income and deduction derived from or connected with sources within this state shall be determined by apportionment and allocation under regulations to be prescribed by the director of revenue."

Therefore, whether Applicant has derived income from Missouri sources for purposes of the return-filing requirement depends on whether the income is attributable to a business, trade, profession, or occupation carried on in Missouri. No regulation addressing the apportionment of income from a profession carried on partly within and partly without Missouri has yet been promulgated under Section 143.181.5, RSMo. Here, Applicant is physically located at Applicant's office outside of Missouri when performing telehealth services for Applicant's Missouri clients, operates the sole proprietorship exclusively outside of Missouri, and has no other income-generating activity attributable to Missouri. In light of the foregoing, Applicant's profession is carried on wholly outside of Missouri and Applicant's income is therefore not derived from sources within Missouri for purposes of determining Applicant's Missouri return-filing requirement. Applicant is not required to file a Missouri individual income tax return under Section 143.481, RSMo.

Applicant's letter ruling request mentions Section 324.010, RSMo, which requires that an MFT license be suspended if the licensee "is delinquent on any state taxes or has failed to file state income tax returns in the last three years[.]" This statute does not change the conclusion stated above. In this context, the reference to a licensee who has failed to file state income tax returns entails that the licensee failed to comply with a legal requirement to file a state income tax return. "The conduct prohibited by section 324.010 is plain from its language-failing to pay taxes or file a tax return when obligated to do so under Missouri law ." See Crum v. Vincent, 493 F.3d 988, 994 (8th Cir. 2007) (emphasis added).

As a practical matter, nonresidents holding a Missouri MFT license are highly encouraged to file a Missouri individual income tax return, even when not required to do so by statute. The Department need not assume that a licensee's non-filing was proper when notifying a licensing entity under Section 324.010, RSMo, concerning a licensee's failure to file state income tax returns. Likewise, in the absence of a Missouri individual income tax return, the Department may estimate the nonresident licensee's Missouri individual income tax and send notices based on that estimate. Sections 143.571, 143.961.1, and 143.971.2, RSMo, generally give the Director the authority, subject to Missouri's jurisdiction, to require nonresidents to provide information, render statements, keep records, and even make returns. The Director's exercise of that authority is distinct from the annual Missouri individual income tax return requirement.

This letter ruling is binding upon the Department of Revenue with respect to Applicant for three (3) years from the date of this letter and is subject only to statutory changes by the General Assembly and to changes in the interpretation of law by the courts or administrative tribunals.  If a change occurs, the taxpayer who relies upon an outdated interpretation may be subject to additional taxes, interest and penalties, which may be imposed prospectively from the date of the change.  For this reason, the interpretation set forth above should be reviewed on a regular basis.  Please note that any change in or deviation from the facts as presented and inferred above will render this ruling inapplicable.

Should additional information be needed, please contact Legal Counsel Vickie Adiele, General Counsel's Office, Post Office Box 475, Jefferson City, Missouri 65105-0475, email ([email protected]).

Sincerely,

Trish Vincent