Key figures
Kansas payroll
2026, with sources
Withholding in two brackets
SB 1, passed in the 2024 special session, collapsed Kansas’s individual income tax to two brackets, 5.2% and 5.58%, and the Department confirmed no SB 269 reduction for 2026. Register for withholding on the Business Tax Application, collect a Kansas K-4 from each employee, file KW-5 deposit reports on the schedule KDOR assigns, and file the KW-3 annual return, electronically, by January 31 — even in a year with no Kansas withholding.
Unemployment insurance
Register with the Kansas Department of Labor when the first Kansas employee is hired. A new non-construction employer pays 1.75% for its first 24 months of experience; construction employers pay 5.55%. Employers moving or expanding from another state can request an alternate rate based on their prior state’s rate.
The 2026 taxable wage base is $15,100 — 25% of the statewide average annual wage under HB 2570 — and the percentage rises each year to 40% in 2030. A startup with three Kansas engineers pays about $264 per person in 2026 at the new-employer rate, on a base that will keep growing.
Minimum wage, new hires and the state line
Kansas’s minimum wage is $7.25, the same as the federal rate, and there is no state paid sick leave or family leave program. Report new hires to the Kansas New Hire Directory within 20 days. Workers’ compensation is required once gross annual payroll passes $20,000.
The Kansas City metro is the trap: a company with an office in Overland Park and employees who live in Kansas City, Missouri owes Missouri the 1% KCMO earnings tax on those residents. Kansas itself has no local payroll tax.
Deadlines
- On the schedule KDOR assignsWithholding deposit reportKW-5
- Jan 31Annual withholding return with W-2s and 1099sKW-3
- Last day of the month after the quarterQuarterly UI wage report to KDOL
The federal baseline
This page covers what Kansas adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
Common questions
Why is the Kansas wage base going up?
HB 2570 (2024) tied the taxable wage base to the statewide average annual wage instead of a fixed $14,000. It is 25% of that wage from 2026 — $15,100 — and steps up to 30% in 2028, 35% in 2029 and 40% in 2030. Expect the Kansas unemployment cost per employee to rise each year through 2030 even if the rate doesn’t.
Is there a city tax in Kansas City, Kansas?
No. Kansas has no local income or payroll taxes for employers to withhold, including in Kansas City, Kansas — unlike Kansas City, Missouri across the state line, which withholds a 1% earnings tax.
Payroll next door
- NENebraska payrollNebraska’s minimum wage is $15.00 in 2026 and rises 1.75% a year from 2027. Paid sick time applies at 11 employees, and new employers pay 1.25% on $9,000.
- MOMissouri payrollMissouri’s 2026 minimum wage is $15.00 with no inflation indexing after HB 567, and the Prop A sick leave mandate is gone. Kansas City and St. Louis add a 1% earnings tax.
- OKOklahoma payrollOklahoma withholds at up to 4.5% in 2026 and charges new employers 1.5% on a $25,000 wage base — high for the region. There is no local payroll tax or paid leave program.
- COColorado payrollWithholding, UI and FAMLI are three accounts with three quarterly filings. FAMLI is 0.88% in 2026, and Denver adds a higher minimum wage and a monthly head tax.
How Kansas compares
- No tax on wagesStates with no state income tax on wagesKansas: withholds state income tax. 9 of 51 states are on the list.
- Paid leave payrollStates with a paid leave or disability payroll programKansas: no state program. 16 of 51 states are on the list.
- Local payroll taxStates with city, county or district payroll taxesKansas: state-level only. 14 of 51 states are on the list.
Founder guides on this
- PeopleContractor or employee? Classification for startupsContractor or employee depends on control, not the contract. The IRS test, state rules, 1099s, payroll registration and the cost of getting it wrong.
- ComplianceFirst-year compliance calendar for a Delaware C-corpDelaware franchise tax, 1099s, the federal return, payroll filings, state annual reports and sales tax: the deadlines a young C-corp misses most, by month.
More of the Kansas guide
- AccountingAccounting and state tax in KansasCorporate tax, conformity to federal rules, apportionment and what it does to your books
- 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
- 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.