Panel narrows homestead property-tax relief: exempts Social Security, raises income and appraisal caps

The Kansas Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee on an undisclosed date amended and advanced legislation expanding eligibility for the homestead property tax refund for seniors and disabled veterans.

The committee voted to exclude Social Security payments from the program's household-income calculation by defining income for the benefit as Kansas adjusted gross income (KAGI); it also raised the household income threshold to $80,000 and, after an amendment, set the claimant homestead appraised-value cap at $450,000 with the base year established as 2024. Committee members then placed the bill's provisions into House Bill 22-31 and voted to recommend HB 22-31 favorably as amended.

Committee staff described the bill as a change to the Homestead Property Tax Refund Act and to the property tax freeze for certain seniors and disabled veterans. "Senate bill number 215 relates to the homestead property tax refund act and would exclude social security payments from household income and increase the household income and appraised value thresholds," Amelia said during the overview.

Eddie, a committee analyst, explained why the committee adopted Kansas adjusted gross income as the income definition: "The program as it exists today has its own unique definition of income... this would replace that income definition with just Kansas adjusted gross income to kind of simplify." Committee members said the change is intended to make eligibility easier to understand and to align application paperwork with the state tax return.

Senator Peck moved an amendment changing the appraised-value cap offered in the bill. "The $595,000 appraised value seems to be a little bit excessive to me, and I would like to implement this base year a little quicker... that we change the base the appraised value... from 595,000 to 450,000... and establish the base year as last year 2024," Peck said. The motion was seconded and adopted by the committee.

Committee debate and voting were procedural and by voice; the committee recorded the motions, seconds and that the motions carried. The committee ultimately moved the amended contents of Senate Bill 215 into House Bill 22-31 and voted to pass HB 22-31 as amended out of committee.

What the changes would do

- Exclude Social Security payments from the household-income calculation for the homestead/ property tax freeze program by defining income as Kansas adjusted gross income for eligible household members. - Increase the household-income threshold for eligibility to $80,000 (the bill retains an annual cost-of-living adjustment provision). - Set the upper limit of an eligible claimant's homestead appraised value at $450,000, with the base year established as 2024; the committee rejected a higher $595,000 figure in favor of the $450,000 amendment.

What the committee did not do or could not resolve today

- Committee members noted the bill affects only the specific homestead property tax freeze program and does not change other Homestead Act definitions unless later amended. - Fiscal numbers tied to alternate definitions or earlier appraised-value thresholds were discussed in committee documents but were not debated to the point of altering the final set of amendments beyond those the committee adopted.

Speakers and motions

Senator Peck proposed the Kansas adjusted gross income definition and later the amendment lowering the appraised-value cap to $450,000 and setting a 2024 base year; his motions were seconded and adopted. Amelia and Eddie (committee staff/analyst) provided the explanatory overview and fiscal context. Other senators participated in discussion and voice votes during the meeting.

Next steps

The committee voted to place the bill language into House Bill 22-31 and recommended HB 22-31 favorably as amended; the measure will move to the next Senate stage for further action.