Kansas Retirement Income Tax: A Guide for Seniors (2026)

A 2024 law erased one of the harshest features of Kansas tax: the cliff that taxed every dollar of Social Security once your income crossed $75,000.1 Starting with 2024, Social Security is fully exempt for all Kansas retirees regardless of income. The Kansas retirement income tax still treats pensions unevenly, though, with government pensions exempt and most private and out-of-state income fully taxable.

This guide explains the new Social Security rule, which pensions Kansas exempts, and why IRA and 401(k) withdrawals are taxed in full.

In This Guide

• Kansas Retirement Income Tax at a Glance
• How Kansas Decides What Gets Taxed
• Is Your Social Security Taxed in Kansas?
• Which Pensions Are Exempt?
• What About Private Pensions, IRAs, and 401(k)s?
• What the Kansas Retirement Income Tax Change Means for Retirees
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Next Steps

Kansas Retirement Income Tax at a Glance

Kansas now draws a clean line. Social Security is out for everyone. Kansas public-employee and federal pensions are out. Almost everything else, including private pensions, out-of-state government pensions, and retirement account withdrawals, is taxable. The table below shows where each income type lands.1

Kansas runs a two-bracket income tax of 5.2 percent and 5.58 percent.1 Whatever retirement income is taxable falls under that schedule.

How Kansas Decides What Gets Taxed

For years, Kansas had a notorious Social Security "cliff." If your federal adjusted gross income reached $75,000, you did not lose part of the exemption. You lost all of it, and every dollar of Social Security became taxable at once. A single dollar of extra income could trigger thousands in added tax. That cliff is gone. A 2024 law passed in a special session, SB 1, fully exempted Social Security for tax years beginning after December 31, 2023.1

With Social Security settled, the rest of the Kansas retirement income tax turns on pension type. The Kansas Department of Revenue exempts Kansas public-employee and federal pensions in full, while taxing private pensions, out-of-state government pensions, and retirement-account withdrawals. There is no broad senior income exclusion layered on top. The source of the income decides the outcome.

Is Your Social Security Taxed in Kansas?

No. Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2023, Kansas fully exempts Social Security benefits from state income tax.1 The prior rule, which taxed Social Security once federal AGI exceeded $75,000, was removed by SB 1. There is now no income limit at all.

The old cliff was not an abstraction. A retiree who nudged just over $75,000, sometimes because of a single required IRA withdrawal, could suddenly owe Kansas tax on their entire Social Security check, a swing of thousands of dollars on their benefits alone. That is the trap the new rule removes. A couple sitting just above $75,000 used to face full taxation of their benefits. Now they keep every dollar. The rule is simple and applies to all filers regardless of income.1

Which Pensions Are Exempt?

Kansas fully exempts pensions paid by Kansas public-employee retirement systems, including KPERS, and federal pensions.1 That covers retired state and local government workers, teachers in the Kansas system, and federal civil-service retirees living in Kansas.

If your pension comes from a Kansas government employer or the federal government, it is not taxed by Kansas. This is one of the more generous pieces of the system and a real advantage for career public servants who retire in state.

What About Private Pensions, IRAs, and 401(k)s?

Here is where Kansas is less forgiving. The following are all taxable under the regular Kansas schedule:

• Private pensions from non-government employers
• Out-of-state public pensions, meaning government pensions earned in another state
• IRA distributions (traditional)
• 401(k) distributions and similar employer-plan withdrawals

There is no separate exemption for retirement-account income, so traditional IRA and 401(k) withdrawals are taxed in full.1 The out-of-state distinction catches people off guard: a retired government worker who earned a pension in another state and then moved to Kansas does not get the KPERS-style exemption, because the exemption is for Kansas and federal pensions specifically.

If retirement accounts are a major part of your income, plan for that tax. Retirement accounts for care covers how withdrawals interact with funding care.

What the Kansas Retirement Income Tax Change Means for Retirees

The Social Security change is the headline. It genuinely simplifies planning for many Kansas retirees. With the cliff gone, you no longer have to manage income to the dollar to avoid losing the entire exemption. But the pension and account rules still reward some retirees more than others. A KPERS retiree living on Social Security may owe Kansas almost nothing. A retiree living on a private pension and 401(k) withdrawals is taxed on most of it.1

Consider two single Kansas retirees with identical total income. Both draw part of it from Social Security and part from a second source. The first takes that second slice from a KPERS pension. Both the Social Security and the KPERS pension are exempt, so Kansas taxes essentially nothing. The second takes the same slice from a traditional IRA. The Social Security is still exempt. But the full IRA withdrawal is taxable, so the second retiree pays Kansas tax on that slice under the 5.2 percent and 5.58 percent brackets.1 Same total income, very different result, driven entirely by the source. This example is illustrative only and not a prediction of your own outcome.

Before the 2024 change, the picture was even starker, because that second retiree could have been pushed over the $75,000 cliff and lost the entire Social Security exemption on top of the IRA tax.1 Removing the cliff took that compounding penalty off the table.

This is general information, not personalized tax advice. Whether a particular pension counts as a Kansas public pension, an out-of-state pension, or a private pension is the kind of classification worth confirming with the Kansas Department of Revenue or a tax professional. If you are mapping how to fund care from these sources, building a senior care funding plan is a good next step.

Next Steps

If you are retired in Kansas, the first thing to confirm is that the new Social Security rule is reflected on your return; after that, sort your pensions and accounts by type.

• Confirm Social Security is fully exempt for your year; the income cliff is gone.
• Identify your pension source: Kansas public or federal pensions are exempt; out-of-state and private pensions are taxable.
• Plan for tax on IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, which Kansas taxes in full.
• Estimate your bill using the 5.2 percent and 5.58 percent brackets on the taxable portion.1

For the official rules, start with the Kansas Department of Revenue individual income FAQ, which spells out the Social Security and KPERS exemptions. If you need to confirm how a specific pension is classified, contact the Kansas Department of Revenue Taxpayer Assistance Center at 785-368-8222, or ask a tax professional.

If you are weighing how to pay for care, how to pay for senior care lays out the options.

Learn More

Find personalized help making sense of the Kansas retirement income tax at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.