Kansas Senate Bill SB215

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25
• Refer: 2/6/25

Caption

Excluding social security payments from household income and increasing the household income and appraised value thresholds for eligibility of seniors and disabled veterans related to increased property tax homestead claims.

Summary

SB 215 would expand Kansas’s homestead property tax refund program for qualifying seniors and disabled veterans. The bill changes the definition of “household income” so that Social Security benefits are excluded when determining eligibility, and it raises the income and property-value limits for claimants. Under the bill, the household income cap would increase from $50,000 to $80,000, and the appraised value cap for the homestead would increase from $350,000 to $595,000. The bill also provides for future inflation or market-based adjustments to those thresholds in later years. The measure applies to claimants who are Kansas residents and are age 65 or older, or who are disabled veterans, and it preserves eligibility for surviving spouses until remarriage. It also continues the rule that a claimant cannot receive this refund for the same property if they already received the regular homestead property tax refund or the SAFESR senior tax credit for that tax year. The amended thresholds would begin applying with tax year 2025, and the bill repeals and replaces the existing version of the statute governing these claims.

Impact

SB 215 would amend K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 79-4508a, part of the Kansas Homestead Property Tax Refund Act, to broaden eligibility for increased property tax refunds. By excluding Social Security from household income and raising both the income and appraised-value thresholds, the bill would likely allow more seniors and disabled veterans to qualify for relief and potentially increase state refund payments. It would also create an ongoing mechanism for adjusting the eligibility thresholds over time, tying income limits to federal cost-of-living changes and appraised-value limits to statewide residential valuation trends.

Sentiment

The bill’s overall policy direction appears supportive of tax relief for older Kansans and disabled veterans, with the caption and text reflecting an intent to expand access to the homestead refund program. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate, amendments, or formal opposition in the available record. Based on the bill text alone, the measure is framed as a targeted benefit expansion rather than a controversial structural tax change.

Contention

The main points of potential contention are fiscal cost and eligibility expansion. Supporters would likely emphasize that Social Security should not count against seniors’ ability to qualify for property tax relief and that the higher income and property-value caps better reflect current housing and living costs. Opponents, if any, would likely focus on the increased state revenue loss from broader eligibility and the possibility that the higher thresholds extend benefits to households that are less financially constrained than under current law. The bill also interacts with existing homestead and SAFESR benefits, so administration and overlap with other property tax relief programs could be another area of concern.