This article was updated after the governor signed the bill.

Kansans will see income and property tax relief after a tax cut plan became law.

Passing taxes has been a headache all session, but lawmakers returned to Topeka on Tuesday and approved a plan that was negotiated by the Democratic governor and Republican leaders in the Legislature. 

Here is how the approved plan compares to the others. 

The final compromise plan 

• A dual income tax rate. People making under $46,000 are taxed at 5.2%. Kansans making over $46,000 are taxed at 5.58%. That replaces the three income tax brackets of 3.1%, 5.25% and 5.7%. 
• Elimination of taxes on Social Security benefits. 
• Raises property tax exemptions from $40,000 to $75,000
• Doubles the child care tax credit for families
• Does not speed up the elimination of food sales tax

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers walked away from the plan frustrated. Some are still upset that the state doesn’t have a flat tax on income, but others say more property tax relief should have been passed. 

Other plans offered up to $100,000 in property tax exemptions. Those plans were vetoed each time. Frustrated lawmakers ultimately approved the plan because multiple veto fights have torpedoed any tax breaks for Kansans until now. 

“This is the last train out of town, but I’ll be back (next year) to work on real property tax relief that our citizens deserve,” said Rep. Bill Clifford, a Garden City Republican. 

Kelly hasn’t yet said if she’d support additional tax cuts next year. The total plan will cost around $380 million a year. Kelly told lawmakers she wouldn’t support any plan that cost more than $425 million a year.

Kansas Republicans’ flat-tax plan

• Tax all income at 5.25%. Income at or under $6,150 a year per person or $12,300 for couples would have been tax-free. 
• Exempt Social Security benefits from the state income tax.
• Eliminate the tax on food sales on April 1 instead of Jan. 1, 2025. 
• Increase property tax exemptions to $100,000 of appraised value.  
• Raise personal exemptions and other various proposals. Read the full tax plan here. 

That plan would have cut state tax revenue $1.6 billion over three years. It had little Democratic support and opposition from three key Republican senators to uphold the governor’s veto. 

Supporters of the plan said it simplifies the tax code and gives everyone tax cuts. But opponents said one income tax bracket benefits the rich. 

Kelly said well before the session she would never support a flat tax on income, but Republicans thought they had the votes to override a veto. The veto override was three votes short in the House and never made it to the Senate. 

Laura Kelly’s first tax-cut proposal  

• No cuts to income tax rates.
• Increasing standard deductions to $5,000 for individual taxpayers and $10,000 for married couples. That would be up from $3,500 for singles and $8,000 for couples. 
• Increase property tax exemptions to $100,000 of appraised value.  
• Exempt Social Security benefits from the state income tax.
• Immediately cut sales tax on groceries, diapers and feminine hygiene products. 
• Create a four-day, back-to-school sales tax holiday in August. Clothing and school supplies would qualify.
• Read the full tax plan here.

The governor’s plan would cost the state $1 billion over three years. It almost fit Kelly’s requirement of costing less than $425 million per year. The plan averages out under that mark, but the first year would cost just under $450 million. 

The plan got a committee hearing, but Republicans were worried about what items qualified as a back-to-school expense. Kelly’s first tax plan was pitched as a compromise, but Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Parker Republican, didn’t buy it. 

“I wasn’t contacted,” said Tyson, the chair of the Senate tax committee, during the hearing. “Actually, nobody on this committee was contacted in the negotiations on that tax bill. I’d just like to point that out.”

A bipartisan, dual-rate tax plan 

• Only two income tax brackets. Kansans making below $23,000 and married couples making below $46,001 would be taxed at 5.15%. Anything above is taxed at 5.55%. 
• Exempt Social Security benefits from the state income tax.
• Increase property tax exemptions to $100,000 of appraised value. 
• Eliminate food sales tax on April 1 instead of Jan. 1, 2025. 
• Increase standard deductions among other proposals. Read the full tax plan here.

The proposal cost $1.5 billion over three years, including a hefty $636.7 million cost in fiscal year 2025. Each year after would cost $458 million to $468 million. That was too much for Kelly. 

“Legislators must consider the legislation’s affordability beyond their next election,” Kelly said in her veto statement. “Send me a tax package that gives Kansans the relief they desperately need while not putting the state on the path to bankruptcy. ”

Kansas currently has three income tax brackets of 3.1%, 5.25% and 5.7%. Some lawmakers want just one tax bracket. Other lawmakers want three brackets with reductions to each one. So legislators compromised and settled on two brackets. 

The plan sailed through the Kansas House 119-0. The Senate was one vote short of overriding the veto. 

Laura Kelly’s second tax-cut plan

• Lower income tax brackets to 3%, 5.2% and 5.65%. 
• Eliminate food sales tax on April 1 instead of Jan. 1, 2025. 
• Increase property tax exemptions to $125,000 of appraised value. 
• Increase standard deductions to $10,000, $7,500 and $5,000.
• Increase personal deductions and other proposals. Read the full tax plan here.

Kelly proposed the plan when she vetoed the dual-income tax plan. The plan got no attention in the final hours of session and a new tax plan was passed.  

The second bipartisan, dual-rate tax plan 

• Only two income tax brackets. Individuals making $23,000 and married couples making less than $46,001 would be taxed at 5.2%. Kansans earning more would get taxed at 5.57%.  
• Exempt Social Security benefits from the state income tax.
• Increase property tax exemptions to $100,000 of appraised value. 
• Eliminate food sales tax on April 1 instead of Jan. 1, 2025. 
• Increase standard deductions and other proposals. Read the full tax plan here.

The plan costs $1.4 billion in the first three years. It’s a carbon copy of the other dual-rate tax plan with minimal changes to drop the price slightly. Instead of a $636 million cost in year one, it’ll be a $600 million cost with an around $430 million cost the years after that. 

Lawmakers crafted the plan in the final hours of session. Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, was disappointed to see a proposal so similar to the vetoed plan despite Kelly’s concerns over the cost. 

“(Senate) President Ty Masterson and (House) Speaker Dan Hawkins had the opportunity to put a compromise tax cut on the floor that was fiscally responsible and did not jeopardize our state’s long term fiscal health,” she said in a statement. “They failed to do so.” 

This plan passed with similar support as the other plan and was vetoed, which triggered the special session.