State guide · KS
Kansas sales tax and property tax
Kansas took its state grocery tax from 6.5% to zero in three steps, and it taxes a house on barely a ninth of what the appraiser says it is worth.
Facts read on official Kansas pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- State sales tax
- 6.5%
- Local sales taxes
- Yes, by address
- Groceries
- Exempt from the state rate
- Clothing
- Taxed like other goods
- Median property tax
- $2,983
- Effective property rate
- 1.25% · #10 of 51
Kansas finished cutting its state tax on food on January 1, 2025: groceries went from 6.5% to 4% in 2023, 2% in 2024 and 0% since, so food for home now carries no state tax at all, though the state rate alone does not switch off city and county taxes on it. Everything else pays the 6.5% state rate, of which 18% has gone to the state highway fund since 2025, plus local taxes: a city can levy up to 2% for general purposes and 1% for special purposes, a county generally up to 1%. Clothing is taxed, prescription drugs and home heating are exempt, and Kansas holds no sales tax holiday. On property, Kansas assesses homes at 11.5% of appraised value, and since 2024 the first $75,000 of a home's value is outside the statewide school levy. Median homeowners paid $2,983 on $238,700 homes in the 2024 Census survey, 1.25% of value, which ranks Kansas 10 of 51.
Total to pay
$106.50
Sales tax $6.50 · 6.5% of the price
| Price before tax | $100.00 |
| State tax · 6.5% | $6.50 |
| Local tax · 0% | $0.00 |
| Total | $106.50 |
Rule applied: general state rate. How this is calculated.
Sales tax in Kansas
The food change is worth seeing in dollars. A $220 week of groceries carried $14.30 of state tax before 2023; today the state share is $0.00. In a town where city and county taxes still reach food, say 2% together, the receipt would show $4.40. The Kansas grocery definition is generous: bread, bagels, cakes, cookies and other bakery items count as food when sold without utensils, as do unheated items sold by weight or volume and food that still needs cooking. Hot and prepared food stays at the full rate.
Local rates are built from statute K.S.A. 12-189. A city may add up to 2% for general purposes and another 1% for a special purpose, and a special-purpose tax lapses after ten years unless renewed. A countywide tax is limited to 1%, with exceptions written into the law for named counties that may go higher. The state collects all of it. Inside a redevelopment district created under K.S.A. 74-8921, an extra 2% applies until the district's bonds are repaid. A $450 lawn mower owes $29.25 of state tax before those local pieces; ask your city clerk or check a recent local receipt for the local share, then enter it above.
Gas, electricity, propane, coal and firewood used to heat a home are exempt from the state rate, and so is energy for farm use. Items bought out of state without Kansas tax owe the 6.5% compensating use tax.
What the state charges, item by item
| Item | State rate | Local tax | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most goods | 6.5% | yes | State retailers' sales tax of 6.5% (K.S.A. 79-3603); since January 1, 2025, 18% of it goes to the state highway fund. The state rate on food and food ingredients is 0% since January 1, 2025 (K.S.A. 79-3603d). Cities and counties add local sales taxes. |
| Groceries (food for home) | 0% | yes | The state rate on food and food ingredients fell from 6.5% to 4% on January 1, 2023, 2% on January 1, 2024 and 0% on January 1, 2025. Prepared food stays taxable, except bakery items, unheated food sold by weight or volume and food needing further cooking when sold without utensils. The state 0% rate does not by itself remove local sales taxes. |
| Clothing | 6.5% | yes | No clothing exemption; clothing is tangible personal property taxed at 6.5% plus local tax. |
| Prescription drugs | 0% | no | |
| Residential gas, electricity, heat and heating fuels (propane, LP gas, coal, wood) | 0% | State rate 0% for noncommercial residential use and agricultural use. | |
| Sales within a redevelopment district established under K.S.A. 74-8921 | 2% | Additional 2% tax until the district's bonds are paid. |
Local sales taxes
Levied by city retailers' sales taxes (general and special purpose) and countywide retailers' sales taxes, administered and collected by the state. K.S.A. 12-189: a city rate may not exceed 2% for general purposes plus 1% for special purposes (special-purpose city taxes expire after 10 years); a countywide rate may not exceed 1%, with statutory exceptions allowing 1.25% to 2% or more in named counties.
Sales tax holidays in 2026
Kansas has no sales tax holiday.
Worth knowing about Kansas sales tax
- Kansas phased its state grocery tax down from 6.5% to 4% (2023), 2% (2024) and 0% on January 1, 2025. source
- Bread, bagels, cakes, cookies and other bakery items count as groceries at 0% when sold without eating utensils. source
- A city can levy up to 2% general plus 1% special-purpose sales tax, and special-purpose taxes expire after 10 years. source
- Since January 1, 2025, 18% of the state sales tax is dedicated to the state highway fund. source
- Home heating (residential gas, electricity, propane, wood) is exempt from the state sales tax. source
Property tax in Kansas
Kansas sorts property into classes and taxes each on a different slice of its appraised value. Homes are assessed at 11.5%, commercial and industrial real estate at 25%, vacant lots at 12%, other real property at 30%, and farmland at 30% of its agricultural use value rather than its market price. On the Census median home of $238,700, the residential slice is $27,451, so each mill a county, city, township or school district levies costs the owner about $27.45 a year.
The statewide school levy works differently since a 2024 special session. The first $75,000 of a home's appraised value is exempt from that one levy, which takes $8,625 of assessed value out of its reach on every house, automatically and with no form to file. All the other levies, local school levies included, still apply to the full assessed value, so the saving is real but narrow. Commercial owners do not get it, which widens the gap the class system already creates between a house and a shop of the same value.
Put together, 1.25% of value is what Kansas owners pay at the median, which on a $325,000 house means roughly $4,063 a year. County treasurers set the billing calendar, so the due dates and any installment plan are on your county's statement. Relief programs run by the Department of Revenue, such as income-based refunds, were not readable on official pages when this page was checked, so they are not described here.
Property tax on a home in Kansas
Typical bill per year
$2,984
| Per month | $249 |
| Median effective rate in Kansas | 1.25% |
| Median bill paid | $2,983 |
Census median ratio; your county, city and school district set the real levy.
| Census figure | Kansas |
|---|---|
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | $238,700 |
| Median real estate taxes paid | $2,983 |
| with a mortgage | $3,329 |
| without a mortgage | $2,568 |
| Effective rate (tax ÷ value) | 1.25% |
| Rank by effective rate (1 = highest) | 10 of 51 |
| Rank by median bill | 23 of 51 |
How the taxable value is set
Assessed value is a percentage of appraised value set by class: residential real property 11.5%; commercial and industrial real property 25%; agricultural land 30% of its use value; vacant lots 12%; other real property 30%. Who levies the tax: counties, cities, townships, school districts (including the statewide school levy under K.S.A. 72-5142) and special districts
Worth knowing about Kansas property tax
- Kansas homes are assessed at 11.5% of appraised value, versus 25% for commercial and industrial property. source
- The first $75,000 of a home's appraised value has been exempt from the statewide school levy since tax year 2024 (2024 special session law). source
- Farmland is taxed on its agricultural use value, not its market value. source