TOPEKA – The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Kansas counties and the many services they provide all Kansans. One of the services that county governments oversee are property tax payments, which are due annually in May and December.
While some state deadlines have been extended due in part to the statewide stay-at-home order that expired on May 3, the property tax payment deadline of May 11 has not been extended, Barton County Treasurer Jim Jordan said.
“I feel for taxpayers,” he said. “This is a tough deal.”
Here is why the deadline remains in place. By statute, Kansas counties are responsible for the collection and distribution of taxes to all taxing districts, including the state, cities, school districts, community colleges, libraries, water districts, drainage districts and more, Jordan said.
“All these entities depend on this tax money,” he said. Now, most of these bodies are planning their 2020 budget knowing the pandemic will land a significant wallop.
Kansas county commissioners only set the mill levy or tax rate for the county portion of taxes, which in 2019 equaled just 29.13% of the total property taxes collected statewide. The remaining tax rates are set by the other taxing entities.
For this reason, county governments cannot discharge or waive any tax collections, Jordan said. Property tax deadlines are set by statute and cannot be changed at the local level.
“We’ve gotten a lot of calls,” he said. “We do everything in our office to work with people, but there is not much we can do.”
This would have to be changed at the state level, and Jordan doesn’t foresee that happening.
As he looks down the road, Jordan said he is also worried about the second half taxes due in December should there be another spike in COVID-19.
How Property Tax Dollars are Distributed (2019) – taxing District, total and percent of total:
Barton County
• State – $415,881.12, 0.88%
• County – $12,116,894.61, 25.68%
• City – $7,203,908.36, 15.27%
• Township – $2,664,490.72, 5.65%
• USD General – $5,055,188.34, 10.72%
• USD Other – $6,830,984.46, 14.48%
• Community College – $9,147,544.67, 19.39%
• Cemetery – $234,924.55, 0.50%
• Extension – $234,516.98, 0.50%
• Fire – $177,866.68, 0.38%
• Hospital – $951,338.29, 2.02%
• Library – $252,342.15, 0.53%
• Tax Increment – $113,265.62, 0.24%
• Watershed – $37,114.34, 0.08%
• Misc. – $1740,297.45, 3.69%
State total
• State – $57,370,629, 1.12%
• County – $1,493,948,732, 29.13%
• City – $834,193,579, 16.26%
• Township – $88,549,109, 1.73%
• School – $711,734,511, 13.88%
• School other – $1,301,475,169, 25.38%
• Community College – $260,712,086, 5.08%
• Municipal university – $3,699,079, 0.07%
• Airport – $6,111,393, 0.12%
• Ambulance – $859,603, 0.02%
• Cemetery – $7,472,510, 0.15%
• Community building – $59,380, <0.01%
• Drainage – $5,277,028, 0.10%
• Extension district – $10,498,943, 0.20%
• Fire – $79,009,752, 1.54%
• Hospital – $26,978,065, 0.53%
• Improvement – $1,826,751, 0.04%
• Industrial – $47,334, <0.01%
• Library – $84,748,302, 1.65%
• Lighting – $12,033, <0.01%
• Parks and recreation – $34,327,971, 0.67%
• Rural highway – $7,412,210, 0.14%
• Sewer – $313,385, 0.01%
• Tax increment – $55,918,911, 1.09%
• Water – 6,248, <0.01%
• Watershed – $4,714,508, 0.09%
• Misc. – $51,627,603, 1.01%
Source: Kansas Department of Revenue, www.ksrevenue.org/PVDMAPS/Statewide.pdf)
The actual distribution of collected tax dollars varies by location and by county. To find out more about how personal property tax dollars are distributed within a county of residence, visit the Kansas Department of Revenue website at www.ksrevenue.org/PVDMap.html and select that county from the list.
