Relating to property tax exemption for vertical housing development projects; and prescribing an effective date.

2025 Regular Session

Kansas expands the Homestead Property Tax Refund to include renters (starting 2025), using 15% of gross rent as a proxy for property taxes.

Chapter 191, (2025 Laws): effective on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Main purpose

HB 2074 expands the Kansas Homestead Property Tax Refund program to allow qualifying renters (not just owners) to claim refunds beginning with tax year 2025. The bill treats a rented dwelling that is a household’s primary residence as a “homestead” for purposes of the refund and provides a simple method to convert rent into an equivalent property-tax amount for the refund calculation.

Key provisions

Defines “homestead” for claims under the main refund statute (K.S.A. 79‑4508) to include dwellings that are rented and occupied as a residence, effective for tax year 2025.

Allows qualifying renters to participate in the Homestead Property Tax Refund program for tax year 2025 and each tax year thereafter.

For renters, prescribes using 15.0% of gross rent paid as a proxy for property taxes paid on the homestead when calculating the refund amount.

Amends multiple sections of the Homestead Property Tax Refund statutes (K.S.A. 79‑4501, 79‑4511, 79‑4522 and K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 79‑4502, 79‑4508, 79‑4509) to implement the change (statutory text modified as part of the bill).

Who is affected

Low‑ and moderate‑income households that rent their primary residence and otherwise meet existing claimant eligibility rules under the Homestead Property Tax Refund (e.g., qualifying by age, disability, veteran status, or household composition as defined in statute).

State agencies: the Kansas Department of Revenue will administer the expanded program and handle additional claims and customer service.

Fiscal and administrative impact (per Division of the Budget / Dept. of Revenue fiscal note)

Estimated increase in eligible households: about 59,713 additional households.

Estimated State General Fund revenue impact: decrease of $14,840,000 annually (FY2026, FY2027, FY2028 — corresponding to claims beginning in tax year 2025).

One‑time implementation cost: $292,787 from the State General Fund in FY2026 (system modifications, outreach/implementation).

Ongoing administrative cost: funding for 2.00 FTE positions; estimated ongoing salaries and wages of $129,052 from the State General Fund in FY2026 (and presumably thereafter).

The Dept. of Revenue notes that existing staff will perform required programming but additional contract programming could be necessary if combined workloads or timelines exceed in‑house capacity.

Effective/timing details

The bill applies to claims for tax year 2025 and each year thereafter (so refunds begin appearing in FY2026).

Relevant legislative timeline (selected): introduced Jan 24, 2025; committee hearing Feb 6, 2025; recorded as passed and transmitted to the Governor and signed (dates in the legislative actions show passage and Governor signature in spring 2025).

Context / notes

The fiscal note observes renters were previously eligible for this refund in earlier years (last available to renters in tax year 2012), and this bill restores/extends that eligibility with a standardized rent‑to‑tax proxy (15% of gross rent).

Claimant eligibility otherwise remains governed by existing Homestead Property Tax Refund statute provisions (age, disability, low‑income with dependents, disabled veteran status, etc.).

Bill