Kansas Homestead Refund: How Three Property Tax Relief Programs Compare
Kansas doesn't run one homestead program; it runs three. Each one has its own income limit and its own formula, and you can only collect one per household, so choosing the right form can make a difference of hundreds of dollars.
AT A GLANCE
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Three programs, one refund
The Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) runs all three under the Kansas Homestead Act. They work very differently:
K-40H Homestead | K-40PT SAFESR | K-40SVR Seniors and Disabled Veterans | |
|---|---|---|---|
Income limit (2025) | $43,389 | $25,380 | $58,041 |
Who qualifies | 55+, blind or disabled, disabled veteran, parent of a child under 18, certain surviving spouses | 65+ all year | 65+ or disabled veteran for the whole base year, or a qualifying surviving spouse |
How the refund is figured | A percentage of your property tax, based on income | 75% of property tax paid on time | This year's tax minus your base-year tax |
Maximum | $700 | No cap stated | No cap stated |
Social Security in income | 50% counted | 100% counted | Not counted (uses Kansas AGI) |
Only one claim per household. A married couple, or two or more people sharing a home, file a single claim. Married couples who own and live in separate homes can each file on their own income.
KDOR's free WebFile software works out which of the three gives you the largest refund.
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Rules that apply to all three
You were a Kansas resident for the whole year.
You owned and lived in your home. KDOR says your name must be on the deed. A contract for deed counts; a rent-to-own contract does not.
The home is valued at no more than $350,000. For K-40SVR, the value test is applied to the base year.
Mobile homes, farms and home businesses
Mobile or manufactured home on rented land: you can claim the personal property tax on the home, but not tax on the lot you rent.
Farm homes: if the house is on a farm covered by one tax statement, only the general tax on the homesite counts.
Renting out rooms or running a business from home: you can claim only the tax on the part you live in. The booklet has a short worksheet that splits tax by the number of rooms.
What property tax counts
Use the general property tax from your real estate statement. Leave out special assessments for streets, sewers or utilities, sewer service charges, interest and late charges.
Kansas property tax is paid in two halves. For the 2025 tax, the first half was due December 20, 2025 and the second May 10, 2026. You enter the total of both, whether or not you've paid it yet. The exception is SAFESR, which counts only tax paid on time.
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K-40H: the Homestead refund
This is the broadest of the three. Besides the income and ownership rules, you need one of these for the entire year:
You were 55 or older. For the 2025 claim, that means born before January 1, 1970.
You were blind or totally and permanently disabled, at any age.
A dependent child lived with you all year and was under 18 the whole year. The child must have been born before January 1, 2025, for the 2025 claim.
You're a disabled veteran: honorably discharged (or general discharge under honorable conditions) with a service-connected rating of 50% or more.
You're the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran, or of a service member who died in the line of duty during active service, and you haven't remarried.
How the refund is figured
Add up your household income (more on that below).
Take your general property tax, capped at $700.
Multiply by the refund percentage for your income from the table below.
Refunds under $5 aren't paid.
Household income | Refund percentage |
|---|---|
$0 to $6,000 | 100% |
$6,001 to $8,000 | 96% to 92% |
$8,001 to $10,000 | 88% to 84% |
$10,001 to $12,000 | 80% to 76% |
$12,001 to $14,000 | 72% to 68% |
$14,001 to $16,000 | 64% to 60% |
$16,001 to $18,000 | 55% to 50% |
$18,001 to $20,000 | 45% to 40% |
$20,001 to $22,000 | 35% to 30% |
$22,001 to $24,000 | 25% to 20% |
$24,001 to $26,000 | 15% to 10% |
$26,001 to $43,389 | 5% |
$43,390 and over | 0% |
The booklet's table moves in $1,000 steps; each row above combines two (for example, $6,001 to $7,000 is 96%). Use the booklet's exact table when you file.
Your refund is based on your household income and can be up to $700.
What counts as household income for K-40H
Household income is generally all taxable and nontaxable income of everyone in the household. That includes wages, self-employment and farm income, the federal EITC, interest and dividends, pensions, unemployment, workers' compensation, alimony, TAF and general assistance, net rents, and scholarships not paid straight to the school. If someone lived with you part of the year, count their income only for those months.
Social Security: only 50% of Social Security and SSI counts for K-40H. Disability payments from Social Security, SSI, the VA and Railroad Retirement aren't counted at all. And if you received Social Security disability before reaching full retirement age, the Social Security you get after that age stays excluded.
You can't subtract net operating losses or capital losses to lower your income.
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K-40PT: SAFESR for low-income seniors
SAFESR stands for Kansas Property Tax Relief for Low Income Seniors. It's narrower but can pay much more:
You were 65 or older all year. For 2025, that means born before January 1, 1960.
Household income was $25,380 or less.
The refund is 75% of the general property tax you paid on time on your home.
One trade-off: SAFESR counts 100% of Social Security and SSI as income, compared with 50% for K-40H. So a senior whose income is mostly Social Security can be under the Homestead limit and still be over the SAFESR one.
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K-40SVR: the property tax freeze for seniors and disabled veterans
K-40SVR doesn't refund a share of your tax. It refunds the increase since your base year. In effect, it holds your property tax at the base-year amount.
Who qualifies
Household income of $58,041 or less.
You were 65 or older for the entire base year, or a disabled veteran for the entire base year (same 50% rating rule as above), or you're the surviving spouse of someone who was getting K-40SVR benefits as a senior or disabled veteran when they died.
The home's appraised value was $350,000 or less in the base year.
What the base year is
KDOR defines it as the first year you were 65 or older (or a disabled veteran) for the entire year, owned and lived in the home all year, and lived in Kansas all year. If that would be before 2021, your base year is 2021.
KDOR's own example: someone who turned 65 on May 21, 2024, and has owned their Kansas home since 2023 has a base year of 2025. They can first file for the 2026 claim year, between January 1, 2027, and April 15, 2027.
Income works differently here
For K-40SVR, household income is the total Kansas adjusted gross income of everyone in the household. KDOR says Social Security isn't taxed in Kansas, so it isn't included. If household members don't normally file a Kansas return, they may need to fill out a practice ("pro forma") Kansas return just to figure their Kansas AGI.
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Worked examples (our own math)
These use the 2025 rules from the KDOR booklet. They're our calculations, not KDOR figures.
Situation | Program | Math | Refund |
|---|---|---|---|
Age 58, household income $15,500, property tax $1,200 | K-40H | $700 cap x 60% | $420 |
Disabled, income $30,000, property tax $900 | K-40H | $700 cap x 5% | $35 |
Age 70, income $20,000, tax $1,200 paid on time | K-40PT | $1,200 x 75% | $900 |
Same person on K-40H instead | K-40H | $700 cap x 40% | $280 |
Age 72, base-year tax $1,500, 2025 tax $2,100 | K-40SVR | $2,100 minus $1,500 | $600 |
Rows three and four show why the choice of form matters.
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How to file
Wait until the new year. Claims are filed after December 31 and no later than April 15. For your 2026 claim, that's January 1 through April 15, 2027.
Choose how to file. KDOR says first-time filers can file electronically through approved third-party software or on paper. After your first claim, you can use KDOR's free WebFile, which asks for last year's refund amount or an 8-digit access code to verify you.
Paper claims go to Homestead Claim, Kansas Department of Revenue, P O Box 750260, Topeka, KS 66699-0260. Send the original form, not a photocopy, and don't staple anything.
Attach what's required (see the checklist). Don't send your property tax statement, but keep it; KDOR may ask for it later.
Track it. Paper claims normally take 20 to 24 weeks. Check status on ksrevenue.gov with your Social Security number and the exact refund amount in whole dollars.
Before you file
☐ Proof of age or the date your disability began
☐ Disability proof if it isn't already on file: a Social Security disability letter or Schedule DIS signed by a doctor
☐ Disabled veterans and surviving spouses: the original VA disability letter showing the disability date and a rating of 50% or more
☐ Pages 1 and 2 of your federal Form 1040, if you filed
☐ Social Security or SSI statements. First-time filers must enclose their benefit statement or award letter
☐ Statements from DCF and records for any other income, plus a list of other household members' income
☐ Your property tax statement (keep it; don't mail it)
☐ For K-40SVR: your base-year property tax and appraised value
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Things that can shrink or redirect your refund
Delinquent property tax: if you owe back taxes on the home, KDOR sends your entire refund to the county treasurer.
Other state debts: refunds can be taken for child support, student loans, medical bills or income tax owed to Kansas.
Refund Advancement Program: if you check this box, KDOR sends part of next year's expected refund to your county to help pay the first half of next year's property tax. Next year's refund then pays that advance back. If the refund ends up smaller than the advance, you owe the difference.
Form ELG: if you filed Form ELG with your county, your refund is reduced by the ELG amount applied to the first half of your tax.
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Missed a deadline, or filing for someone who died
Late claims: KDOR may accept a claim after April 15 if there's good cause, such as being out of the state or country or a temporary illness, as long as it's filed within four years of the original due date. Include a written explanation and documents.
Deceased claimants: if another household member qualifies, that person files for the household. If not, a claim can be filed for the person who died, with a death certificate, funeral home notice or obituary, plus either probate letters or Form RF-9. The refund is prorated by the month of death, except for a surviving spouse's K-40SVR claim.
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
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More help in Kansas
Related guides
Official sources
Last checked: October 30, 2026. Income limits, qualification rules, the refund percentage table, filing dates, mailing address and phone number come from KDOR's homestead page, its Homestead and K-40SVR FAQs, and the 2025 Homestead booklet.
This is general information, not tax advice. The Kansas Department of Revenue decides who qualifies and how much each refund is.
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