Kansas Veteran Benefits 2026: Property Tax Exemptions and Military Retired Pay Tax

The state benefits Kansas gives veterans and their surviving spouses: property tax exemptions, how the state taxes military retired pay, and other benefits, each with who qualifies, the amount, how to apply and the official source.

Kansas has no outright property tax exemption for disabled veterans. Instead, veterans with a 50%+ service-connected rating can claim state-paid refunds: the Homestead Refund (K-40H, up to $700, household income $43,389 or less for 2025) or the 'freeze' refund (K-40SVR), which pays back any rise in the home's tax over its base year when household income is $58,041 or less (2025) and the base-year appraised value is $350,000 or less. Military retired pay is fully exempt from Kansas income tax, and 50%+ disabled veterans get free license plates and registration, with a free permanent hunting and fishing license at 30%+. (sources)

Official sources Checked against official sources on November 4, 2026. This page lists only benefits confirmed on an official state or federal page; counties and cities may offer more.

Property tax exemptions
Military retired pay tax
Other veteran benefits
Common questions

Property tax exemptions for veterans in Kansas

Kansas property tax benefits for veterans and surviving spouses (checked November 4, 2026)
Benefit	Who qualifies	Amount	How to apply	Source
Homestead Property Tax Refund (K-40H), disabled veteran category	Kansas-domiciled homeowner for all of the prior year who is a disabled veteran: honorable or general (under honorable conditions) discharge, line-of-duty disability, and a 50% or higher service-connected rating. Household income must be $43,389 or less for claim year 2025 (statutory base $27,600, indexed annually). Homes appraised above $350,000 do not qualify. VA disability compensation is not counted as income. A surviving spouse of a disabled veteran who was receiving the benefit keeps it until remarriage; surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty also qualify.	A percentage of the general property tax, with tax counted up to $700, so the refund is at most $700 a year. For 2025 the refund percentage runs from 100% at household income of $6,000 or less down to 5% at $26,001 to $43,389.	File Form K-40H with the Kansas Department of Revenue. For 2025 taxes, file after December 31, 2025 and no later than April 15, 2026. Only one claim (K-40H, K-40PT or K-40SVR) is allowed per household.	Kansas Department of Revenue, 2025 Homestead and Property Tax Relief Claim booklet (K-40H, K-40PT, K-40SVR); statutory basis K.S.A. 79-4502, 79-4508, 79-4509, 79-4522, 79-4505
Property tax 'freeze' refund for seniors and disabled veterans (K.S.A. 79-4508a, KDOR form K-40SVR)	Kansas-domiciled homeowner for all of the prior year who is a disabled veteran with a 50% or higher service-connected rating (or is 65 or older). Household income must be $58,041 or less for calendar year 2025 (base $50,000, indexed since 2023), measured from tax year 2025 as total Kansas AGI of the household. The home's appraised value in the base year must be $350,000 or less. A surviving spouse keeps the benefit until remarriage. It cannot be claimed in the same year as the K-40H homestead refund or the SAFESR credit for the same property.	Refund equal to the home's property tax for the year minus its base-year tax, so increases above the base year are refunded in full. The base year is the year the claimant first qualified, or 2021 for anyone who qualified earlier. There is no $700 cap.	File Form K-40SVR with the Kansas Department of Revenue by April 15 of the year after the taxes were levied (April 15, 2026 for 2025 taxes).	K.S.A. 79-4508a, Alternative amount of claim (as amended by L. 2025, ch. 123); 2025 limit $58,041 per KDOR Notice 25-05 (https://ksrevenue.gov/taxnotices/notice25-05.pdf)

Is military retired pay taxed in Kansas?

Kansas state income tax on military retired pay (checked November 4, 2026)
Treatment	Amount or limit	Source
Fully exempt. Retirement benefits earned for service in the U.S. armed forces are subtracted from federal AGI when computing Kansas AGI.	No dollar cap: 100% of military retired pay is excluded.	kslegislature.gov

For the dollars this treatment adds to (or saves on) a retiree’s state tax in 2026, see the military retirement tax by state study; for the pension itself, the military retirement pay calculator.

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Other Kansas veteran benefits

Vehicles and license plates

Kansas: vehicles and license plates for veterans
Benefit	Who qualifies	Amount	Source
Free registration and a distinctive disabled veteran license plate, plus an ID card for accessible parking	Kansas-resident veteran with an honorable or general discharge, a line-of-duty disability and a 50% or higher service-connected rating. Covers a passenger vehicle, a truck of 20,000 lbs or less, or a motorcycle that the veteran owns or leases.	Registration and plate are free of charge. A person who transports the veteran can get the plate for the regular registration fee, with no additional plate fee.	kslegislature.gov

Hunting, fishing and other licenses

Kansas: hunting, fishing and other licenses for veterans
Benefit	Who qualifies	Amount	Source
Free permanent hunting and fishing license	Kansas-resident veteran with an honorable or general discharge, a line-of-duty disability and a 30% or higher service-connected rating.	Free of charge, permanent. All hunting and fishing rules still apply.	kslegislature.gov

Education

Kansas: education for veterans
Benefit	Who qualifies	Amount	Source
Kansas Military Service Scholarship	Kansas resident who served at least 90 days after Sept. 11, 2001 in international waters or on foreign soil in support of military operations with hostile fire pay (or less than 90 days if injured), with an honorable or general discharge or still serving, and who is accepted at a Kansas postsecondary institution. Renewable while the student stays in good standing.	Scholarship administered by the Kansas Board of Regents. The statute does not set a dollar amount.	kslegislature.gov
Tuition- and fee-free enrollment for dependents of POWs and service members missing in action	Dependents of a prisoner of war or a person missing in action, at Kansas community colleges, technical colleges, Washburn and other state-supported postsecondary institutions.	No tuition or fees, for up to 10 semesters (12 for those who started before July 1, 2005).	kslegislature.gov

Employment

Kansas: employment for veterans
Benefit	Who qualifies	Amount	Source
Veterans' preference for initial employment and first promotion in state, county and city government	Honorably discharged veterans, service-connected disabled veterans, spouses of 100% permanent-and-total disabled veterans, surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty, and spouses of POWs. Retirees at pay grade O-4 or above are excluded unless they retired due to combat wounds or have a 10% or higher rating.	Competent veterans must be preferred for the first hire and first promotion. Veterans who apply and are not hired must be notified within 30 days. Claim the preference by giving the hiring authority a DD-214 or DD-1300.	kslegislature.gov

State veterans homes

Kansas: state veterans homes for veterans
Benefit	Who qualifies	Amount	Source
Kansas Veterans' Home (Winfield) and its long-term care annex at the Wichita VA medical center, run by the Kansas Office of Veterans Services	Eligible veterans, under rules set by the Kansas Office of Veterans Services	Residents pay rates set by the KOVS director, capped at the prior year's per diem cost of care (K.S.A. 76-1952).	kslegislature.gov
Kansas Soldiers' Home at Fort Dodge	Veterans discharged under conditions other than dishonorable who are disabled by disease, wounds, old age or otherwise and cannot earn a living (wartime service, or peacetime service with VA hospital or domiciliary eligibility), plus certain dependent family members; applicants must have been Kansas residents for at least two years. Admission is by application to the Kansas Office of Veterans Services (K.S.A. 76-1908).	Residents pay rates set by the Kansas Office of Veterans Services, capped at the prior year's per diem cost of care (K.S.A. 76-1904a).	kslegislature.gov

Common questions

Does Kansas have a property tax exemption for disabled veterans?

Kansas lists 2 veteran property tax benefits. The main one: Homestead Property Tax Refund (K-40H), disabled veteran category. Who qualifies: Kansas-domiciled homeowner for all of the prior year who is a disabled veteran: honorable or general (under honorable conditions) discharge, line-of-duty disability, and a 50% or higher service-connected rating. Household income must be $43,389 or less for claim year 2025 (statutory base $27,600, indexed annually). Homes appraised above $350,000 do not qualify. VA disability compensation is not counted as income. A surviving spouse of a disabled veteran who was receiving the benefit keeps it until remarriage; surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty also qualify.. Amount: A percentage of the general property tax, with tax counted up to $700, so the refund is at most $700 a year. For 2025 the refund percentage runs from 100% at household income of $6,000 or less down to 5% at $26,001 to $43,389. (Kansas Department of Revenue, 2025 Homestead and Property Tax Relief Claim booklet (K-40H, K-40PT, K-40SVR); statutory basis K.S.A. 79-4502, 79-4508, 79-4509, 79-4522, 79-4505).

How do I apply for the Kansas veteran property tax exemption?

File Form K-40H with the Kansas Department of Revenue. For 2025 taxes, file after December 31, 2025 and no later than April 15, 2026. Only one claim (K-40H, K-40PT or K-40SVR) is allowed per household. (Kansas Department of Revenue, 2025 Homestead and Property Tax Relief Claim booklet (K-40H, K-40PT, K-40SVR); statutory basis K.S.A. 79-4502, 79-4508, 79-4509, 79-4522, 79-4505).

Does Kansas tax military retirement pay?

Fully exempt. Retirement benefits earned for service in the U.S. armed forces are subtracted from federal AGI when computing Kansas AGI. Amount or limit: No dollar cap: 100% of military retired pay is excluded. (kslegislature.gov).

What other benefits do veterans get in Kansas?

Free registration and a distinctive disabled veteran license plate, plus an ID card for accessible parking (kslegislature.gov); Free permanent hunting and fishing license (kslegislature.gov); Veterans' preference for initial employment and first promotion in state, county and city government (kslegislature.gov); Kansas Military Service Scholarship (kslegislature.gov); Tuition- and fee-free enrollment for dependents of POWs and service members missing in action (kslegislature.gov); Kansas Veterans' Home (Winfield) and its long-term care annex at the Wichita VA medical center, run by the Kansas Office of Veterans Services (kslegislature.gov); Kansas Soldiers' Home at Fort Dodge (kslegislature.gov). Who qualifies and the amounts are in the tables above.

Sources

Every row above is copied from the official page linked beside it. Benefits change with new laws and local decisions, so confirm the amount and the deadline with the office that runs the program before you apply. QuantCalc is calculation software, not legal, tax or benefits advice. Last updated November 4, 2026.

Kansas senior property tax relief → Kansas state income tax for retirees → Veteran benefits in every state → Military retirement tax by state 2026 → Military retirement pay calculator → 2026 VA disability rates → Military retiree and VA COLA 2027 → VA loan limits 2026 →