Kansas state income tax
Kansas income tax rates for 2025 and 2026: 5.2% and 5.58%
Kansas taxes income at two rates: 5.2% on the first $23,000 of taxable income for a single filer ($46,000 joint) and 5.58% above that, for both 2025 and 2026. A 2025 law can cut the rates when revenue beats an inflation-adjusted target, but the Department of Revenue says no cut applies for 2026 or 2027. Social Security has been fully exempt since 2024.
Kansas tax brackets for 2025 and 2026
Kansas has had two brackets since a 2024 special session law: 5.2% and 5.58%, set in K.S.A. 79-32,110. They are the same for 2025 and 2026, and the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) uses them in its 2026 estimated tax worksheet. Heads of household and married filing separately use the single brackets.
Senate Bill 269, passed in 2025 over the governor’s veto, cuts the rates in steps when state revenue grows faster than an inflation-adjusted base, down to a floor of 4%. KDOR has announced that revenue fell short both years, so there is no rate cut for 2026 (Notice 25-06) or 2027 (Notice 26-11, October 15, 2026). Bills in 2026 to cut rates further or raise the standard deduction died in committee.
| Rate | Single, head of household, married filing separately | Married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|
| 5.2% | $0 – $23,000 | $0 – $46,000 |
| 5.58% | Over $23,000 | Over $46,000 |
How Kansas figures your tax
A Kansas return, Form K-40, starts from federal adjusted gross income, makes Kansas additions and subtractions on Schedule S, then takes off the Kansas standard deduction or itemized deductions and an exemption allowance. You can itemize in Kansas even if you did not itemize federally, and Kansas allows property taxes in full, with no SALT cap.
For example, a single filer with $60,000 of wages has $47,235 of Kansas taxable income after the $3,605 standard deduction and $9,160 exemption. The tax is 5.2% of the first $23,000 plus 5.58% of the rest, about $2,548, for 2025 or 2026.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Standard deduction: single | $3,605 |
| Standard deduction: married filing jointly | $8,240 |
| Standard deduction: head of household | $6,180 |
| Standard deduction: married filing separately | $4,120 |
| Extra standard deduction, 65 or older or blind (each) | $850 single or head of household; $700 married |
| Exemption allowance | $9,160 single, head of household or married filing separately; $18,320 joint |
| Additional exemptions | $2,320 per dependent, for head of household, for each child born in the year and for a 100% disabled veteran |
Tips, overtime and the federal changes of July 2025
The July 2025 federal tax law (Public Law 119-21) created deductions for 2025 through 2028 for qualified tips (up to $25,000), overtime pay (up to $12,500, or $25,000 joint), car loan interest (up to $10,000) and an extra $6,000 for people 65 or older. They are taken after federal AGI, on line 13b of Form 1040, and Kansas starts from AGI, with no matching subtraction on Schedule S, so none of them lowers Kansas tax. Kansas bills to exempt tips (SB 277) and overtime (SB 311) died in committee in April 2026.
Does Kansas tax Social Security and retirement income?
Kansas subtracts these on Schedule S. Nonresidents who once worked in Kansas do not owe Kansas tax on their retirement benefits.
- Social Security: fully exempt since tax year 2024, at every income level; the old $75,000 AGI limit is gone.
- Federal and military retirement: federal civil service retirement, military retirement and Thrift Savings Plan payments from federal service are exempt.
- KPERS and other Kansas public plans: KPERS annuities and certain other Kansas public retirement benefits are exempt, as is Railroad Retirement.
- Other retirement income: private pensions, IRA and 401(k) withdrawals are taxed, since they are not on the exempt list.
Kansas tax credits and refunds for homeowners
Credits come off the tax; the earned income credit and the homestead and senior refunds can be paid to you.
- Earned income tax credit: 17% of the federal credit, refundable, for full-year residents.
- Child and dependent care credit: 50% of the federal credit since 2024, for residents.
- Food sales tax credit: ended after tax year 2024; it cannot be claimed on 2025 or later returns.
- Homestead refund (K-40H): up to $700 for 2025 for homeowners and renters with household income of $43,389 or less who are 55 or older, blind or disabled, have a dependent child under 18, or are disabled veterans; the home cannot be valued over $350,000.
- Senior property tax refunds: SAFESR (K-40PT) for homeowners 65 or older with household income of $25,380 or less, and K-40SVR, which freezes property tax at a base year for seniors and disabled veterans with household income of $58,041 or less for 2025.
- Credit for tax paid to another state: for residents, including tax paid to a local government in another state.
Filing a Kansas state tax return: who, which forms and when
A resident must file if they must file a federal return, or if Kansas AGI is more than their standard deduction plus exemptions: for 2025, $12,765 single, $26,560 married filing jointly and $17,660 head of household under 65. Everyone files Form K-40; nonresidents and part-year residents complete Schedule S Part B to figure the Kansas share. Your Kansas filing status must match your federal one. WebFile, KDOR’s free system, is available if you filed a Kansas return in the past three years.
2025 returns were due April 15, 2026, and 2026 returns are due April 15, 2027. Kansas accepts the federal extension (attach Form 4868) and has no extension form of its own; it is not an extension to pay. If 90% of your tax is paid by April 15, no penalty is assessed.
- Late payment: 1% a month, up to 24%, plus interest of 8% a year for 2026.
- Estimated tax: required if you expect to owe $500 or more after withholding and credits, paid April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15.
- Local taxes: Kansas cities and counties cannot impose an income tax on wages. Some counties and cities still levy a local intangibles tax on investment earnings such as interest and dividends, filed with the county clerk on Form 200.
Where’s my Kansas refund?
Check a Kansas refund with KDOR’s refund status page, using your Social Security number and the exact refund amount in whole dollars, for an income tax or homestead refund. It updates daily, covers only the current year’s original return, and locks you out briefly after too many wrong tries.
KDOR says to allow 16 weeks for a paper return; it gives no standard time for e-filed returns, only that filing electronically is faster, and its refund page currently warns that high demand and reduced staffing mean longer refund timelines this year. A refund taken for a debt to a Kansas agency, the IRS or the Missouri Department of Revenue delays the rest by 10 to 12 weeks.
Living in Kansas and working in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas has no reciprocal agreement with Missouri. A Kansas resident who works in Missouri files a Missouri nonresident return on the Missouri wages and, if the job is in Kansas City, Missouri, owes that city’s 1% earnings tax, usually withheld by the employer. On the Kansas return you report all income and claim the credit for tax paid to another state, which KDOR says includes tax paid to a local government such as Kansas City’s earnings tax; attach the other state’s and the city’s returns. The credit is limited to the Kansas tax on that income.
Missouri residents who work in Kansas file a Kansas nonresident return on the Kansas wages. Married couples who file a joint federal return file jointly in Kansas, and if one spouse is a nonresident, both file as nonresidents.
Kansas return to prepare?
USTAXX prepares federal and Kansas returns, including Schedule S Part B for part-year residents and nonresidents and the credit for Missouri and Kansas City tax when you work across the state line. We are an IRS Authorized e-file provider and work with clients remotely through a secure portal, by phone or video, and in person in Naperville, IL.
Questions people ask
What is the Kansas income tax rate for 2026?
5.2% on the first $23,000 of taxable income for a single filer ($46,000 joint) and 5.58% above that, the same as 2025. KDOR says revenue fell short of the trigger, so there is no rate cut for 2026 or 2027.
Does Kansas tax Social Security?
No. Since 2024 Social Security is fully exempt at every income level. Military, federal and KPERS retirement are also exempt; private pensions and IRA withdrawals are taxed.
Does Kansas tax tips and overtime?
Yes. The federal tips and overtime deductions come after federal AGI, where Kansas starts, and 2026 bills to exempt tips and overtime in Kansas died in committee.
How do I check my Kansas tax refund?
Use KDOR’s refund status page with your Social Security number and the exact refund amount in whole dollars. Paper returns take about 16 weeks, and KDOR warns of longer timelines this year.
I live in Kansas and work in Kansas City, Missouri. Where do I pay tax?
Missouri taxes your Missouri wages, Kansas City adds its 1% earnings tax, and Kansas taxes all your income but gives a credit for the Missouri and Kansas City taxes on the same pay, up to the Kansas tax on it.
Where these rules come from
- Kansas Department of Revenue: 2025 K-40 forms and instructions (PDF)
- Kansas Department of Revenue: 2026 K-40ES (PDF)
- Kansas Department of Revenue: Notice 26-11, no rate reduction for 2027 (PDF)
- Kansas Legislature: K.S.A. 79-32,110 (rates)
- Kansas Department of Revenue: Individual income tax FAQ
- Kansas Department of Revenue: Homestead refund
- Kansas Department of Revenue: Local intangibles tax
- Kansas Department of Revenue: Refund status
General information, current when written, not advice about your situation. Fees and forms change; the official pages above are the authority.
