Partly taxed
How Kansas taxes retirement income
Kansas exempts Social Security and a long list of public pensions. Pensions from the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, the Kansas Police and Firemen’s Retirement System, Kansas teachers’ retirement annuities, the Kansas Highway Patrol and judges’ systems are not taxed. Neither are federal civil service and military retirement, including the Thrift Savings Plan, or Railroad Retirement.
Retirement annuity contracts bought for faculty and staff at Kansas Board of Regents universities are exempt too, as are distributions from a KPERS lump sum rolled into another retirement account.
Everything else is taxed at Kansas’s rates of 5.2% and 5.58%. That includes pensions from other states’ systems, company pensions, and 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) and IRA withdrawals. A teacher who retires from Missouri’s system and moves to Kansas pays Kansas tax on that pension, while a KPERS retiree next door does not.
Questions
Does Kansas tax KPERS pensions?
No. KPERS annuities and other Kansas public retirement systems are exempt.
Does Kansas tax pensions from other states?
Yes. Only Kansas public systems and federal retirement are exempt.
Does Kansas tax Social Security?
No. Social Security has been fully exempt since 2024.