Missouri Workforce Training Tax Credits: What Employers Can Claim

$1,500 credit per eligible intern or apprentice.

$1,500 per intern or apprentice, $9,000 maximum per company per year, $1 million program cap. If requests exceed the cap, businesses under 5 years old get priority.

The employer, as a credit against its Missouri income tax. It is not refundable, cannot be sold or transferred, and cannot be carried forward.

• The number of interns or apprentices this year must exceed your average over the previous 3 years
• Interns: at least 60 hours a month for 2 consecutive months, enrolled in a Missouri school with at least 30 credit hours
• Apprentices: in a USDOL-registered apprenticeship and past one year, 144 hours of instruction per year, and 2,000 on-the-job hours overall
• You must do business in the intern's or apprentice's field of study

For qualifying expansions, retention of the state withholding of the new jobs for 5 or 6 years. Six years applies to existing Missouri companies operating at least 10 years.

Zone Works and Rural Works: 2 new jobs and $100,000 investment. Statewide Works: 10 new jobs. Wages must reach 80% to 90% of county average wage. Mega Works pays 6% to 7% of new payroll.

The employer, by keeping state withholding tax on new jobs or by tax credits.

• For-profit or non-profit business
• Not eligible: gambling, food and drinking places, public utilities, healthcare and social services, and others
• Not delinquent on taxes
• Meet the jobs, investment and wage minimums within 2 years

Not available for new hires starting work after December 31, 2025, per the IRS page as of September 2026.

For past hires: generally up to $2,400 per hire, 40% of up to $6,000 of wages.

The employer, as a federal tax credit.

• Only people who began work on or before December 31, 2025
• Missouri job centers still list WOTC as an employer incentive; follow the IRS page for current status