Kansas State Income Tax Rate: Brackets, Credits, and Filing

Kansas state income tax rates are 5.2% on the first $23,000 of taxable income and 5.58% on income above that, with the bracket cutoff doubled to $46,000 for married couples filing jointly. Those two rates took effect for the 2024 tax year, replacing the earlier three-bracket system, and they still apply for 2025 returns.

What You’ll Actually Pay

Kansas uses a two-bracket graduated system under K.S.A. 79-32,110. The rate depends on your Kansas taxable income, not your gross pay, and the bracket cutoff depends on your filing status.¹

For single filers, heads of household, and married individuals filing separately:

Up to $23,000: 5.2% of Kansas taxable income
Over $23,000: $1,196 plus 5.58% of the amount above $23,000

For married couples filing jointly:

Up to $46,000: 5.2% of Kansas taxable income
Over $46,000: $2,392 plus 5.58% of the amount above $46,000

A worked example makes this concrete. A single filer with $50,000 in Kansas taxable income owes $1,196 on the first $23,000, plus 5.58% of the remaining $27,000 ($1,506.60), for a total of $2,702.60.

The old three-tier structure (3.1%, 5.25%, and 5.7%) applied through the 2023 tax year and is no longer in use.¹

Standard Deduction and Personal Exemptions

Kansas sets its own standard deduction and personal exemption, separate from the federal amounts, and both are subtracted before the tax rate is applied. For the 2025 tax year, the standard deduction is:²

Single: $3,605
Married filing jointly: $8,240
Head of household: $6,180
Married filing separately: $4,120

These figures are noticeably smaller than the federal standard deduction, which surprises some filers. You can itemize on the Kansas return instead if your itemized deductions come out higher.

Each filer also gets a personal exemption on top of the standard deduction:²

Single, head of household, or married filing separately: $9,160
Married filing jointly: $18,320
Each dependent: $2,320 additional

Kansas adds another $2,320 exemption for each child born during the tax year, including stillborn children, and for each qualified disabled veteran claimed on the return.²

How Kansas Calculates Taxable Income

Kansas starts with your federal adjusted gross income, applies state-specific additions and subtractions to get Kansas adjusted gross income (KAGI), and then subtracts your standard or itemized deduction and personal exemptions. The result is the Kansas taxable income the rates apply to.³

The most common addition is interest on bonds issued by other states or their local governments. Municipal bond interest from Missouri or Colorado, for example, is tax-free federally but taxable in Kansas. Interest on Kansas-issued bonds stays exempt.

The biggest subtraction affects retirees. Starting with the 2024 tax year, Social Security benefits included in federal adjusted gross income are fully exempt from Kansas income tax, regardless of how much you earn.⁴ Before 2024, the exemption applied only when federal AGI was $75,000 or less; that cap is gone. Other subtractions cover certain retirement benefits and contributions to qualifying state savings plans, all reported on Schedule S with your Form K-40.

Who Owes Kansas Income Tax

Your connection to the state determines how much of your income Kansas can reach.

Residents

A resident is anyone domiciled in Kansas. If you spend more than six months of the tax year in the state, Kansas law presumes residency unless you can prove otherwise.⁵ Residents owe Kansas tax on all income from every source, wherever earned.

Part-Year Residents

If you moved into or out of Kansas during the year, you file as a part-year resident. You owe Kansas tax on everything earned while you lived in the state, plus any Kansas-source income earned after you left.⁶

Nonresidents

Live elsewhere but earned income from Kansas sources? You still have to file. Kansas calculates the tax as though you were a resident, then multiplies it by the ratio of your Kansas-source income to your total income.¹ The allocation goes on Schedule S, Part B.

One boundary worth flagging: the non-military spouse of a nonresident servicemember stationed in Kansas does not owe Kansas income tax on wages earned in the state, provided they’re only in Kansas because of military orders. The exemption does not cover the servicemember’s own Kansas-source income.⁴

Credits That Cut the Bill

Credits come off your tax directly, so they’re worth more per dollar than deductions.

If you qualified for the federal earned income tax credit, Kansas gives you a state credit equal to 17% of the federal amount.⁴ Only full-year Kansas residents qualify, and every person on the return, including dependents, must have a valid Social Security number. A single dependent with an ITIN disqualifies the whole return from the credit.

Kansas residents with federal AGI of $30,615 or less may claim the food sales tax credit, worth $125 per qualifying exemption. You qualify if you are at least 55, blind, disabled, or have a dependent child under 18 who lived with you all year.⁷

Smaller credits exist for adoption expenses (25% of the federal adoption credit, with additional percentages when the child was a Kansas resident or has special needs) and for teachers who buy classroom supplies ($250). Community service and charitable distribution credits round out the list.

Filing, Extensions, and Late Payment

The Kansas individual return is Form K-40, due April 15 for calendar-year filers.⁸ Most people file electronically through the Kansas Customer Service Center, which handles submission, payment, and refund tracking in one account.⁹ Paper returns by mail are still accepted.

A federal extension on Form 4868 automatically extends your Kansas deadline; attach a copy when you eventually file. An extension buys time to file, not time to pay. Any balance still due after April 15 starts accruing interest right away, and you’ll avoid a separate late-payment penalty only if at least 90% of your total tax was paid by the original deadline.⁴

Late payments carry both a penalty and interest at the same time. The penalty is 1% per month on the unpaid balance, capped at 24%. Interest for 2026 runs at 8% per year, or 0.67% for any month or fraction of a month. Neither figure compounds on the other, but both compound on the underlying tax, so a small balance can grow quickly across a year.¹⁰

If you can’t pay in full, file the return on time anyway. The failure-to-file penalty is separate from and generally harsher than the failure-to-pay penalty, so getting the paperwork in by April 15 limits how much the bill can grow while you work out the money.

Self-employed workers and others without Kansas withholding should also watch the estimated tax threshold: if your expected Kansas tax after withholding and credits is $500 or more, you owe quarterly estimated payments on Form K-40ES, due April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15.¹¹

1
Justia Law. Kansas Code 79-32,110 – Tax Imposed, Classes of Taxpayers, Schedules of Tax Rates
2
Kansas Department of Revenue. 2025 Individual Income Tax Booklet
3
Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 79-32,117 – Kansas Adjusted Gross Income of an Individual
4
Kansas Department of Revenue. Frequently Asked Questions About Individual Income
5
Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 79-32,109 – Definitions
6
Kansas.gov. Part B – Nonresident Income Allocation
7
Kansas.gov. Food Sales Tax Credit
8
Kansas Department of Revenue. Tax Calendar of Due Dates
9
Kansas Department of Revenue. Electronic Filing Options for Individual Income and Business Taxes
10
Kansas Department of Revenue. Penalty and Interest
11
Kansas Department of Revenue. 2025 Individual Estimated Tax K-40ES