Rental Property Taxes in Kansas (2026 Guide)

1. Property Tax: the 11.5% Residential Ratio

Kansas taxes property on an assessment ratio set in the state constitution, not on full market value. Under Kansas Constitution Article 11, §1, real property used for residential purposes — including rental housing — is assessed at 11.5% of its fair market value. A county mill levy is then applied to that assessed amount.

Layered on top is the 20-mill statewide school finance levy that every parcel pays. Residential property gets an exemption from that levy on the first $75,000 of appraised value (K.S.A. 79-201x), but the exemption applies to the property regardless of who lives there — Kansas does not have a separate worse ratio for rentals the way some states do.

2. Income Tax (Two Brackets, Top 5.58%)

Kansas's 2024 reform moved the individual income tax to a two-bracket structure: 5.20%, then 5.58% at the top. Your rental net income flows into Kansas tax the same way it flows into your federal return:

• Federal adjusted gross income is the starting point (K.S.A. 79-32,117), with Kansas-specific add-backs and subtractions on top.
• Top marginal rate is 5.58% — modest relative to most income-tax states.
• Schedule E net income from your rentals carries into federal AGI and therefore into the Kansas base, so an accurate federal return drives an accurate Kansas return.

3. Capital Gains Taxed as Ordinary Income

Kansas does not give capital gains a preferential rate. A long-term gain on a rental sale is taxed as ordinary Kansas income at the same brackets as everything else — up to 5.58%. There is no Kansas equivalent of the federal long-term capital-gains rate or of the deductions some states allow, so plan disposition years with the full ordinary rate in mind.

4. Bonus Depreciation: Kansas Conforms

This is a genuine advantage. Because Kansas starts from federal AGI (K.S.A. 79-32,117), it conforms to federal bonus depreciation under §168(k) — there is no add-back. The bonus depreciation you claim federally flows straight through to your Kansas return, so a cost-segregation study or a large §168(k) write-off cuts both your federal and Kansas tax in the same year.

5. No Transfer Tax (or Mortgage Fee)

Kansas has no real-estate transfer tax — it is one of the few states to have abolished one entirely, so a rental sale or purchase carries no percentage transfer levy. Kansas also repealed its mortgage-registration tax, which was phased down to $0 by 2019 (K.S.A. 79-3102). Buying or selling Kansas rentals means you pay only ordinary recording fees, not a tax on the price or the loan.

6. LLC Fees (Biennial Report)

A Kansas LLC files an Information Report with the Secretary of State every two years (biennially), not annually — due April 15 of the LLC's odd- or even-year cycle. The filing fee is modest (filed online at sos.ks.gov, with a small surcharge for paper), and the Secretary of State reduced business filing fees in 2026, so Kansas is an inexpensive state to hold rentals in an LLC.

7. Rent Control

Kansas prohibits local rent control statewide (K.S.A. 12-16,120). No county, municipality, or township may enact, maintain, or enforce any ordinance controlling the amount of rent charged for privately owned residential or commercial property. You set rents at market.

8. Security Deposit Rules

• Unfurnished — capped at one month's rent (K.S.A. 58-2550).
• Furnished — capped at 1.5 months' rent; if pets are allowed, you may collect an additional deposit of up to 0.5 month's rent.
• Return within 14 days of determining deductions, but in no event more than 30 days after the tenancy ends, possession is delivered, and the tenant demands return — with a written itemized statement of any deductions.

9. How SheltrIQ Helps Kansas Landlords

Kansas's rules favor landlords who track the details — SheltrIQ keeps your return accurate on the current law:

• Two-bracket income modeling — applies the 5.20%/5.58% schedule from a federal-AGI base, so your Kansas liability is exact.
• Bonus-depreciation pass-through — because Kansas conforms to §168(k), SheltrIQ carries your federal bonus depreciation straight into the Kansas calculation with no add-back to reverse.
• Disposition modeling — taxes a rental sale's gain at the full Kansas ordinary rate (no preferential break), so disposition-year planning is realistic.
• AI Schedule E classification — sorts each expense to the right line so your Kansas income starts from an accurate federal return.