Key figures
Kansas accounting
2026, with sources
A normal tax and a surtax
Kansas taxes corporations in two layers: a 3.5% normal tax on all Kansas taxable income (cut from 4% for tax years from 2024) and a 3% surtax on income above $50,000. The return is the K-120, starting from federal taxable income with Kansas modifications. SB 269 (2025) added contingent rate cuts tied to revenue, but they reach individuals first and corporations only after every individual rate falls to 4%; for tax year 2026 the Department published no reduction at all.
For a startup’s deferred-tax math, the useful split is $50,000: below it the Kansas rate is 3.5%, above it 6.5%.
Three factors now, one factor in 2027
Kansas is one of the last states still apportioning most corporate income with an evenly weighted three-factor formula — sales, property and payroll. HB 2231, signed April 24, 2025, moves most corporations to a single sales factor, with market-based sourcing for services and intangibles, for tax years beginning January 1, 2027. Taxpayers that had elected the two-factor (property and sales) formula may break that election.
The change cuts both ways. Take a 20-person SaaS company with all of its payroll and property in Overland Park and 4% of its sales to Kansas customers. Under three factors, about two-thirds of its income is Kansas income (100% payroll, 100% property, 4% sales, averaged). Under single sales factor from 2027 it is about 4%. A company with few Kansas employees but many Kansas customers sees the opposite.
What it means for the provision
A company with Kansas operations should remeasure its Kansas deferred tax balances for the 2027 apportionment change in the period HB 2231 was enacted, not when it takes effect — that is when the expected Kansas rate on future reversals changed. For most loss-making startups that remeasurement lands inside a full valuation allowance, but it still belongs in the rate reconciliation.
Deadlines
- 15th day of the 4th month after year endCorporation income tax returnK-120
- QuarterlyEstimated tax paymentsK-120ES
The federal baseline
This page covers what Kansas adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
Common questions
What is Kansas’s corporate tax rate in 2026?
3.5% on all Kansas taxable income plus a 3% surtax on the part above $50,000, so 6.5% at the margin once income passes $50,000. SB 269 (2025) lowers rates when revenue beats an inflation-adjusted base, but individual rates are cut first, and the Department confirmed there is no reduction for tax year 2026.
When does Kansas move to single sales factor?
From tax years beginning January 1, 2027, under HB 2231. Until then Kansas still uses an evenly weighted three-factor formula, which is why a company with its team in Kansas and its customers elsewhere pays more Kansas tax today than it will after the switch.
Accounting next door
- NENebraska accountingNebraska taxes corporate income at a flat 4.55% for 2026, falling each year, with single-sales-factor apportionment, market sourcing and combined reporting.
- MOMissouri accountingMissouri taxes corporations at a flat 4% on income apportioned by a single sales factor, with services sourced to the customer. There is no franchise tax.
- OKOklahoma accountingOklahoma taxes corporations at a flat 4%, apportions by three equal factors, repealed its franchise tax after 2023, and wants Form 512 30 days after the federal due date.
- COColorado accountingA flat 4.4% corporate income tax on federal taxable income, apportioned on sales. Conformity is rolling, with a 2026 decoupling from the federal FDDEI deduction.
Founder guides on this
- US GAAPUS GAAP for early-stage startups, in plain EnglishAccrual accounting, revenue recognition (ASC 606), leases (ASC 842), stock compensation and capitalized software: what each means for a small company.
- R&D taxThe R&D tax credit and Section 174A for startupsEngineering salaries can earn a federal R&D credit against payroll tax, and Section 174A lets you deduct US research again. What qualifies, what to track.
- FundraisingAudit-ready books before your Series AInvestors, lenders and auditors ask for the same things: accrual statements, reconciled accounts and support for every balance. How to be ready first.
More of the Kansas guide
- ReceivablesReceivables and sales tax in KansasSales tax registration, economic nexus, whether SaaS is taxable, and collecting from customers
- PayablesPayables and contractors in KansasPaying vendors and contractors: 1099 filing, use tax, contractor tests and withholding
- PayrollPayroll taxes and employer rules in KansasWithholding, unemployment insurance, paid leave, minimum wage and the rules on paydays
- ComplianceCompliance and filings in KansasRegistering to do business, annual reports, franchise tax and the filing calendar
- AdvisoryAdvisory: credits and decisions in KansasCredits, incentives and the decisions that are cheaper to get right the first time
Sources
Checked against each agency’s own page on . Rates and thresholds change, usually on January 1.
General information for US companies, not tax, legal or accounting advice for yours. Rules and thresholds change; confirm the specifics with a CPA or the agency before you act on them.