Making Property Taxes More Affordable
Property taxes are one of the biggest concerns facing Kansas families, farmers, and small businesses. I believe we need to continue looking for ways to make property taxes more affordable while giving taxpayers a greater voice in how their money is spent.
One important step was the work done by Senator Caryn Tyson on Revenue Neutral several years ago. That effort helped bring greater transparency to the property-tax process and made taxpayers more aware of how local government budgets and property taxes are connected.
What We Have Already Accomplished
During the 2025–2026 legislative sessions, the Kansas Legislature took several important steps to reduce the tax burden on Kansans, including:
- Eliminating the state sales tax on groceries.
- Freezing property taxes for qualifying seniors and disabled veterans.
- Eliminating the state income tax on Social Security benefits.
- Eliminating the 1.5 mills of property tax previously retained by the State of Kansas. Kansas no longer retains that property-tax revenue.
- Exempting certain personal property from taxation beginning with tax year 2026, including qualifying watercraft and motors, personal-use trailers, snowmobiles, ATVs, certain off-road motorcycles, golf carts, motorized bicycles, electric bicycles and scooters, and certain mobility devices.
- Passing SB 269, which created a path toward lower individual income-tax rates.
These are meaningful steps, but we are not finished.
