Property Tax Deadline Impacts Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

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NEWS RELEASE

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 6, 2020

 

News Contact: Kimberly Qualls, (785) 213-4717 or qualls@kansascounties.org

Property Tax Deadline Impacts Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

 

Topeka, Kan. – The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Kanas Counties and the many services that they provide all Kansans. One of the services that county governments oversee are property tax payments, which are due annually in May and December. While some state deadlines have been extended due in part to the statewide stay at home order that expired on May 3, the property tax payment deadline of May 11 has not been extended.

 

Here is why. By statute, Kansas counties are responsible for the collection and distribution of taxes to all 27 taxing districts, including the state, cities, school districts, community colleges, libraries, water districts, drainage districts, and more. (See Figure A below) Kansas County Commissioners only set the mill levy or tax rate for the county portion of taxes, which in 2019 equaled just 29.13 percent of the total property taxes collected statewide. The remaining tax rates are set by the other taxing entities. For this reason, county governments cannot discharge or waive any tax collections. Property tax deadlines are set by statute and cannot be changed at the local level. 

 

The actual distribution of collected tax dollars varies by location and by county. To find out more about how your personal property tax dollars are distributed within your county of residence, visit the Kansas Department of Revenue website at https://www.ksrevenue.org/PVDMap.html and select your county from the list.

Figure A.  How Property Tax Dollars are Distributed (2019)

Taxing District

Total

% of Total

State

$57,370,629

1.12%

County

$1,493,948,732

29.13%

City

$834,193,579

16.26%

Township

$88,549,109

1.73%

School

$711,734,511

13.88%

School Other

$1,301,475,169

25.38%

Community College

$260,712,086

5.08%

Municipal University

$3,699,079

0.07%

Airport

$6,111,393

0.12%

Ambulance

$859,603

0.02%

Cemetery

$7,472,510

0.15%

Community Building

$59,380

<0.01%

Drainage

$5,277,028

0.10%

Extension District

$10,498,943

0.20%

Fire

$79,009,752

1.54%

Hospital

$26,978,065

0.53%

Improvement

$1,826,751

0.04%

Industrial

$47,334

<0.01%

Library

$84,748,302

1.65%

Lighting

$12,033

<0.01%

Parks & Recreation

$34,327,971

0.67%

Rural Highway

$7,412,210

0.14%

Sewer

$313,385

0.01%

Tax Increment

$55,918,911

1.09%

Water

$6,248

<0.01%

Watershed

$4,714,508

0.09%

Misc.

$51,627,603

1.01%

Source: Kansas Department of Revenue: https://www.ksrevenue.org/PVDMAPS/Statewide.pdf)

The Kansas Association of Counties is a quasi-public agency, which seeks to advance the public interest by promoting effective, responsive county government in Kansas. Founded in 1975, as an instrumentality of its member counties, KAC serves county governments through: legislative representation, technical assistance, leadership, and professional education.

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