The Kansas Tax Computation Schedule is the short worksheet in the K-40 instruction booklet that converts the taxable income on Line 7 of your return into the tax amount on Line 8. It applies Kansas’s two-bracket rate structure (5.2 percent and 5.58 percent) using a shortcut formula so you don’t have to split your income between brackets by hand.
The Rates the Schedule Is Built On
Kansas replaced its three-bracket system in 2024 with a two-tier structure under K.S.A. 79-32,110. The rates took effect for tax year 2024 and apply to every year after.1Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 79-32,110 – Tax Imposed; Classes of Taxpayers; Schedules of Tax Rates
For single filers, head of household, and married filing separately:
- 5.2 percent on Kansas taxable income up to $23,000
- 5.58 percent on Kansas taxable income above $23,000
For married couples filing jointly:
- 5.2 percent on Kansas taxable income up to $46,000
- 5.58 percent on Kansas taxable income above $46,000
The joint-filer threshold is exactly double the single-filer threshold, so the brackets themselves do not create a marriage penalty.
The Worksheet Formulas by Filing Status
The schedule in the 2025 instruction booklet gives you a one-line calculation for each filing status. Start with the amount on Line 7 of Form K-40.
Single, Head of Household, or Married Filing Separately
If Line 7 is $23,000 or less, multiply by 0.052. That is your tax. Enter it on Line 8.
If Line 7 is $23,001 or more, multiply the entire amount by 0.0558, then subtract $87. Enter the result on Line 8. The $87 subtraction corrects for the fact that your first $23,000 was actually taxed at the lower 5.2 percent rate, not 5.58 percent.2Kansas Department of Revenue. 2025 Individual Income Tax Booklet
Married Filing Jointly
If Line 7 is $46,000 or less, multiply by 0.052. That is your tax.
If Line 7 is $46,001 or more, multiply the entire amount by 0.0558, then subtract $175. Enter the result on Line 8.2Kansas Department of Revenue. 2025 Individual Income Tax Booklet
A Worked Example
Say you are single with $40,000 of Kansas taxable income on Line 7. Multiply $40,000 by 0.0558, which gives $2,232. Subtract $87, leaving $2,145. That is the figure for Line 8.
Done the long way, the math is $23,000 × 5.2 percent = $1,196, plus $17,000 × 5.58 percent = $948.60, for a total of $2,144.60. The shortcut formula produces the same result, with a small rounding difference. The reason the subtraction amount is $87 for single filers and $175 for joint filers is that doubling the bracket doubles the correction.
When You Must Use the Schedule Instead of the Tax Tables
If your Kansas taxable income is $100,000 or more, the K-40 instruction booklet directs you to use the Tax Computation Schedule rather than the Tax Tables. Below $100,000, either method works; the tables just pre-calculate the same formula at set income intervals.3Kansas Department of Revenue. 2025 Kansas Individual Income Tax
How Line 7 Gets Built
The schedule starts with Line 7, so a quick orientation on how you arrive there matters. Kansas uses your federal adjusted gross income as the starting point, then applies Kansas-specific additions (such as state tax refunds you deducted federally) and subtractions (such as Social Security benefits, which Kansas does not tax). That gives you Kansas adjusted gross income.
From there you subtract personal exemption allowances. For tax year 2024 and after, the amounts are $9,160 for single, head of household, or married filing separately; $18,320 for married filing jointly; and $2,320 for each dependent. An additional $2,320 is allowed for a child born during the tax year and for certain 100-percent disabled veterans.4Kansas Department of Revenue. Frequently Asked Questions About Individual Income
Then you subtract either the Kansas standard deduction or Kansas itemized deductions, whichever is larger. For tax year 2025 the standard deduction is $3,605 single, $8,240 married filing jointly, $6,180 head of household, and $4,120 married filing separately.2Kansas Department of Revenue. 2025 Individual Income Tax Booklet These are smaller than the federal standard deduction, which catches some filers by surprise. If you itemized federally, you can itemize in Kansas, and it is often worth checking both ways. Whatever remains is your Kansas taxable income on Line 7, which is the number you feed into the computation schedule.
What Happens After Line 8
The schedule produces a gross tax figure, not your final bill. Several Kansas credits reduce the Line 8 amount directly.
The Kansas earned income tax credit is worth 17 percent of your federal EITC and is available only to filers who were Kansas residents the entire year. If you do not know your federal EITC amount by the filing deadline, Kansas instructs you to file without the credit and amend later.4Kansas Department of Revenue. Frequently Asked Questions About Individual Income
The food sales tax credit is nonrefundable and worth $125 per qualifying exemption. To claim it you must be a Kansas resident all year with federal AGI of $30,615 or less, and you must be age 55 or older, blind, disabled, or have a dependent child under 18 who lived with you all year. Because it is nonrefundable, it can reduce your tax to zero but will not generate a refund on its own.5Kansas Department of Revenue. Food Sales Tax Credit
Your Kansas filing status must match your federal status, with one exception: if you file as qualifying surviving spouse federally, Kansas treats you as head of household, which affects which bracket threshold and exemption amount you use in the schedule.4Kansas Department of Revenue. Frequently Asked Questions About Individual Income