Income Taxes in Kansas
Kansas's income tax is genuinely distinctive for a real, completed 2024 reform this record credits directly: a former three-bracket system (3.1%/5.25%/5.7%) simplified into two brackets topping out at 5.58%, paired with a full exemption of Social Security income for all residents regardless of income.
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Learn moreA simple two-bracket system, retroactive to 2024
2024 Senate Bill 1 -- negotiated between Democratic Governor Laura Kelly and Republican legislative leadership and signed in late June 2024 during a special legislative session that passed 121-2 in the House and 34-4 in the Senate -- replaced Kansas's former three-bracket income tax (3.1%/5.25%/5.7%) with a simpler two-bracket system retroactive to tax year 2024: 5.20% on the first $23,000 of taxable income for single filers ($46,000 married filing jointly), and 5.58% on income above that threshold. This record independently verifies the 5.20%/5.58% structure remains Kansas's current law for tax year 2026, confirmed against the Tax Foundation's own 2026 Kansas page.
A real, full Social Security exemption for all residents
Kansas fully exempts Social Security retirement income from state income tax for ALL residents, regardless of income level, as of a June 20, 2024 law change -- part of the same broader 2024 tax-reform package -- eliminating the prior $75,000 federal-AGI threshold above which Social Security benefits had been subject to the state's former top rate of 5.7%. This pass's research estimates this change saves Kansas retirees a combined approximately $100 million annually, part of a broader package projected to deliver roughly $2 billion in tax relief over five years.
Other retirement income does not carry the same blanket exemption
Other retirement income -- 401(k), IRA, and pension distributions -- does NOT carry a comparable blanket exemption and generally remains subject to Kansas's standard 5.20%/5.58% income tax brackets. A prospective retiree should confirm the current treatment of any specific retirement-account type directly rather than assuming Kansas's Social Security exemption extends to all retirement income.
Kansas's labor-market backdrop
Kansas's unemployment rate ran a real, current 3.8% (seasonally adjusted) as of July 2026, essentially unchanged from June 2026 and up only modestly from 3.7% a year earlier, alongside a 66.7% labor force participation rate -- a real, current, genuinely solid labor-market reading, though closer to the national average than a standout low-unemployment state.
Key takeaways
- Kansas's income tax is a two-bracket system for 2026: 5.20% up to $23,000 single/$46,000 joint, 5.58% above -- under 2024 Senate Bill 1, retroactive to 2024.
- Social Security retirement income is fully exempt from Kansas state income tax for all residents, regardless of income, as of a June 20, 2024 law change.
- 401(k), IRA, and pension income does not carry the same blanket exemption and generally remains subject to Kansas's standard brackets -- confirm directly.
- Kansas's 3.8% unemployment rate (July 2026) held essentially steady month-over-month, with 66.7% labor force participation.
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