Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas Senate Bill SB225

Filed/Introduced

8/8/26

Introduced

2/6/25

Refer

2/7/25

Caption

Requiring counties to purchase homesteads at the appraised values set by county appraisers upon applications made by the owners under certain conditions.

Summary

SB 225 would create a new option for certain Kansas homeowners to sell their primary-residence homestead to the county at the property’s appraised value, as determined by the county appraiser for the tax year in which the application is filed. The bill applies only to homesteads occupied as the owner’s primary residence and allows the owner to apply to the county board of commissioners for a mandatory county purchase, provided the owner has no delinquent property taxes and has owned and occupied the home for at least 24 months. If more than one person owns the homestead, all owners must agree to the sale and be able to convey fee simple title. Once a qualifying application is received, the county must enter into a sales contract and complete the transaction, including payment, within 120 days. Counties would also be required to create and distribute application forms through the county appraiser, county clerk, and county treasurer. The bill defines “homestead” broadly to include traditional homes, parts of multi-unit or mixed-use buildings used as a residence, and manufactured or mobile homes with associated land.

Impact

The bill would add a new statutory process governing county acquisition of owner-occupied homesteads and would impose a mandatory purchase obligation on counties for qualifying applications beginning January 1, 2026. It would affect county government operations, county appraisers, county clerks, and county treasurers by requiring them to administer applications and process sales, and it would create a new pathway for homeowners to convert their homestead into cash at appraised value rather than selling on the open market.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or recorded vote information is available, so the bill’s sentiment cannot be measured from debate or roll call history. Based on the text alone, the measure appears designed to provide homeowners with a guaranteed sale option and a predictable valuation mechanism, which may appeal to property owners seeking liquidity or an exit from homeownership. At the same time, the mandatory nature of the county purchase requirement suggests potential administrative and fiscal concerns for local governments.

Contention

The main likely points of contention are the financial and operational burden on counties, since they would be required to buy qualifying homesteads at appraised value and close within 120 days. Counties may also be concerned about the scope of the obligation, the availability of funds, and the possibility of being forced to acquire properties they do not need or want. On the homeowner side, the eligibility limits—especially the 24-month ownership and occupancy requirement and the prohibition on delinquent property taxes—may be seen as necessary safeguards by supporters but restrictive by those who want broader access to the program.

Latest KS SB225 Activity

View All Events: KS 2025-2026 Regular Session SB225

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Previously Filed As

KS HB2003

Establishing the veterans' valor property tax relief act providing for an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, modifying the definition of household income and increasing the appraised value threshold for eligibility of seniors and disabled veterans related to increased property tax claims and citing the section as the homeowners' property tax freeze program, providing property tax exemptions for certain personal property including watercraft, marine equipment, off-road vehicles, motorized bicycles and certain trailers, excluding internal revenue code section 1031 exchange transactions as indicators of fair market value, providing for certain exclusions from the prohibition of paying taxes under protest after a valuation notice appeal and providing four prior years' values on the annual valuation notice.

KS SB5

Authorizing counties to impose an earnings tax.

KS HB2004

Authorizing counties to propose an earnings tax for ballot question.

KS SB2

Eliminating the income limit to qualify for the subtraction modification exempting social security benefits, increasing the income tax credit amount for household and dependent care expenses, establishing the veterans' valor property tax relief act providing for an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, citing the increased property tax homestead refund claim section as the homeowners' property tax freeze program, decreasing the normal privilege tax rate, increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy, decreasing the rate of ad valorem tax imposed by a school district; providing for certain transfers to the state school district finance fund, reducing the state rate of tax on sales of food and food ingredients and modifying the percent credited to the state highway fund from revenue collected.

KS SB1

Modifying income tax rates for individuals, exempting all social security benefits from Kansas income tax, increasing the Kansas standard deduction and the Kansas personal exemption, increasing the income tax credit amount for household and dependent care expenses, decreasing the privilege tax normal tax, excluding internal revenue code section 1031 exchange transactions as indicators of fair market value for property tax valuation purposes, increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy, providing for certain transfers to the state school district finance fund and abolishing the local ad valorem tax reduction fund and the county and city revenue sharing fund.

KS HB2001

Authorizing the secretary of commerce to enter into agreements with major professional sports franchises to establish STAR bond projects for a major professional sports complex, providing for additional revenue sources, expanding the powers and discretion of the secretary and making other changes to the STAR bonds financing act to facilitate such projects, limiting the secretary’s authority to approve such projects to one year unless extended by the legislative coordinating council, authorizing the Kansas development finance authority to issue STAR bonds for such projects, transferring funds under certain circumstances from the state gaming revenues fund to the attracting professional sports to Kansas fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, and, if approved by the legislative coordinating council, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.

KS SB6

Providing a sales tax exemption for sales of electricity to residential premises by municipally owned or operated utilities.

KS SB7

Authorizing federally licensed firearm dealers, in addition to county sheriffs, to receive applications for concealed carry licenses and forward such applications to the attorney general, prohibiting sheriffs from assessing any fee related to application services and allowing dealers to assess a fee related to application services not to exceed $20.

KS SCR1604

Proposing to amend section 1 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas to limit property tax valuation increases for real property and personal property mobile homes.

KS SB4

Requiring all advance voting ballots be returned by 7:00 p.m. on election day.

Similar Bills

TX HB982

Relating to the authority of a taxing unit other than a school district, county, municipality, or junior college district to establish a limitation on the amount of ad valorem taxes that the taxing unit may impose on the residence homesteads of certain low-income individuals who are disabled or elderly and their surviving spouses.

NJ A2752

Prohibits homestead property tax rebates and credits and ANCHOR property tax benefits from being paid to property owners who move out of State.

FL S0276

Homestead Property Tax Benefits for Long-term Owners and Permanent Residents

NH HB304

Relative to labeling requirements for food produced in homestead kitchens.

TX HB3212

Relating to providing for a reduction of the appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem tax purposes for the first tax year in which the owner qualifies the property for a residence homestead exemption based on the amount by which the limitation on increases in the appraised value of a residence homestead reduced the appraised value of the owner's former residence homestead for the last tax year in which the owner qualified the former residence homestead for a residence homestead exemption.