Does Kansas tax Social Security benefits?

It depends on your federal adjusted gross income. For 2024, Kansas exempts all Social Security benefits when your federal AGI is $75,000 or less. Above that threshold, the federally taxable portion of your benefits is also taxable in Kansas.

Are KPERS and public pensions taxed in Kansas?

No. Distributions from the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) and other qualifying federal, military, and state public pensions are fully exempt from Kansas income tax, regardless of your income level.

How are 401(k) and IRA withdrawals taxed in Kansas?

Private pensions and IRA or 401(k) distributions are fully taxable in Kansas as ordinary income, taxed at the 2024 brackets of 3.1%, 5.25%, and 5.7%. Kansas does not offer a general private-pension exclusion.

What is the $75,000 Social Security cliff?

Kansas's Social Security exemption is a cliff, not a phase-out: at or below $75,000 federal AGI your benefits are fully exempt, but a dollar over can make the federally taxable portion fully taxable in Kansas. Retirees near the line should plan distributions carefully.

Does this calculator include deductions?

It applies the Social Security and public-pension exemptions but not the Kansas standard deduction or personal exemptions, which would further reduce your tax. Treat the result as an upper-bound estimate of tax on your retirement income.

Kansas Retirement Income Tax Calculator

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Kansas is friendlier to some retirees than others. Public pensions are exempt, Social Security is exempt below an income cliff, but private pensions and retirement-account withdrawals are taxed in full. This calculator applies each rule so you can see exactly how Kansas treats your retirement income mix.

How it works

Kansas exempts retirement income in two ways and taxes the rest:

Social Security  → exempt if federal AGI <= $75,000, otherwise taxable
KPERS / public   → fully exempt
Private pension  → taxable
IRA / 401(k)     → taxable

Taxable retirement income is then run through the 2024 Kansas brackets: 3.1 percent up to 15,000 dollars, 5.25 percent to 30,000 dollars, and 5.7 percent above that (single schedule). The Social Security exemption is a cliff at 75,000 dollars of federal AGI, not a gradual phase-out.

Example

A retiree with 20,000 dollars of Social Security, 30,000 dollars from a 401(k), and a 70,000-dollar federal AGI keeps the Social Security exempt (AGI under 75,000). Only the 30,000-dollar 401(k) draw is taxed: 3.1% on 15,000 (465 dollars) plus 5.25% on the next 15,000 (787.50 dollars), about 1,252.50 dollars.

Notes

This is an estimate, not tax advice. It does not apply the Kansas standard deduction or personal exemptions, which lower the tax, and it treats the Social Security exemption as a clean cliff at 75,000 dollars of federal AGI. Military and KPERS pensions are exempt. Confirm at ksrevenue.gov.