In a decision during the special session on June 18th, Kansas lawmakers and Governor Kelly reached a consensus on significant income tax reforms and approved a $1.23 billion tax cut over the next three years. The proposal, which will take effect for the current tax year, includes consolidating Kansas income tax brackets, raising standard deductions, and exempting social security income from state taxes. Despite the compromise reached, many legislators expressed frustration, feeling the cuts did not go far enough to benefit taxpayers. While there are several changes within this bill, there are a couple that are more likely to be impactful to taxpayers across the state. These are summarized below:
- Exempting Tax on Social Security: This is definitely a win for many retirees in Kansas. Under previous law, anyone earning $75,000 was taxed by the state for the full amount of their Social Security benefits. Now, every retiree will receive SS benefits with no state income tax.
- Increased Standard Deduction & Personal Exemption: Below is a breakdown of the increases set to take effect. Deductions and exemptions are portions of your income that become exempt from tax by the state.
- Change in Standard Deduction:
- from $3500 to $3,605 (single filing status)
- from $8000 to $8,240 (joint filing status)
- Change in personal exemption:
- OLD LAW = $2,250 per person
- NEW LAW = $9,160 (single filing status) or $18,320 (joint filing status) PLUS $2320 for each dependent
- Change in Standard Deduction:
Here’s a summary from the Kansas Legislature Research Department.
For more information check these news articles:
https://www.kwch.com/2024/06/18/tax-bill-passes-34-4-kansas-senate/