Providing property tax exemptions for certain personal property including watercraft, marine equipment, off-road vehicles, motorized bicycles and certain trailers.

Session of 2025
HOUSE BILL No. 2014
By Committee on Taxation
Requested by Representative Fairchild
1-15
AN ACT concerning property taxation; relating to exemptions; providing
exemptions for certain personal property including watercraft, marine
equipment, off-road vehicles, motorized bicycles and certain trailers;
amending K.S.A. 79-213 and 79-5501 and repealing the existing
sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
New Section 1. (a) The following described property, to the extent
herein specified, is hereby exempt from all property or ad valorem taxes
levied under the laws of the state of Kansas:
(1) Any off-road vehicle that is not operated upon any highway;
(2) any motorized bicycle, electric-assisted bicycle, electric-assisted
scooter, electric personal assistive mobility device and motorized
wheelchair as such terms are defined in K.S.A. 8-126, and amendments
thereto;
(3) any trailer having a gross weight of 15,000 pounds or less that is
used exclusively for personal use and not for the production of income;
and
(4) any marine equipment.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Marine equipment" means any watercraft trailer designed to
launch, retrieve, transport and store watercraft and any watercraft motor
designed to operate watercraft on the water;
(2) "off-road motorcycle" means any motorcycle as defined in K.S.A.
8-126, and amendments thereto, that has been manufactured for off-road
use only and is used exclusively off roads and highways; and
(3) "off-road vehicle" means:
(A) Any all-terrain vehicle, recreational off-highway vehicle and golf
cart as such terms are defined in K.S.A. 8-126, and amendments thereto;
and
(B) any off-road motorcycle and snowmobile.
(c) The provisions of this section shall apply to all taxable years
commencing after December 31, 2025.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 79-213 is hereby amended to read as follows: 79-213.
(a) Any property owner requesting an exemption from the payment of ad
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HB 2014 2
valorem property taxes assessed, or to be assessed, against their property
shall be required to file an initial request for exemption, on forms
approved by the state board of tax appeals and provided by the county
appraiser.
(b) The initial exemption request shall identify the property for which
the exemption is requested and state, in detail, the legal and factual basis
for the exemption claimed.
(c) The request for exemption shall be filed with the county appraiser
of the county where such property is principally located.
(d) After a review of the exemption request, and after a preliminary
examination of the facts as alleged, the county appraiser shall recommend
that the exemption request either be granted or denied, and, if necessary,
that a hearing be held. If a denial is recommended, a statement of the
controlling facts and law relied upon shall be included on the form.
(e) The county appraiser, after making such written recommendation,
shall file the request for exemption and the recommendations of the county
appraiser with the state board of tax appeals. With regard to a request for
exemption from property tax pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 79-201g
and 82a-409, and amendments thereto, not filed with the board of tax
appeals by the county appraiser on or before the effective date of this act,
if the county appraiser recommends the exemption request be granted, the
exemption shall be provided in the amount recommended by the county
appraiser and the county appraiser shall not file the request for exemption
and recommendations of the county appraiser with the state board of tax
appeals. The county clerk or county assessor shall annually make such
adjustment in the taxes levied against the real property as the owner may
be entitled to receive under the provisions of K.S.A. 79-201g, and
amendments thereto, as recommended by the county appraiser, beginning
with the first period, following the date of issue of the certificate of
completion on which taxes are regularly levied, and during the years
which the landowner is entitled to such adjustment.
(f) Upon receipt of the request for exemption, the board shall docket
the same and notify the applicant and the county appraiser of such fact.
(g) After examination of the request for exemption and the county
appraiser's recommendation related thereto, the board may fix a time and
place for hearing, and shall notify the applicant and the county appraiser of
the time and place so fixed. A request for exemption pursuant to: (1)
Section 13 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas; or (2)
K.S.A. 79-201a Second, and amendments thereto, for property constructed
or purchased, in whole or in part, with the proceeds of revenue bonds
under the authority of K.S.A. 12-1740 through 12-1749, and amendments
thereto, prepared in accordance with instructions and assistance which
shall be provided by the department of commerce, shall be deemed
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approved unless scheduled for hearing within 30 days after the date of
receipt of all required information and data relating to the request for
exemption, and such hearing shall be conducted within 90 days after such
date. Such time periods shall be determined without regard to any
extension or continuance allowed to either party to such request. In any
case where a party to such request for exemption requests a hearing
thereon, the same shall be granted. Hearings shall be conducted in
accordance with the provisions of the Kansas administrative procedure act.
In all instances where the board sets a request for exemption for hearing,
the county shall be represented by its county attorney or county counselor.
(h) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (g), in the event of a
hearing, the same shall be originally set not later than 90 days after the
filing of the request for exemption with the board.
(i) During the pendency of a request for exemption, no person, firm,
unincorporated association, company or corporation charged with real
estate or personal property taxes pursuant to K.S.A. 79-2004 and 79-
2004a, and amendments thereto, on the tax books in the hands of the
county treasurer shall be required to pay the tax from the date the request
is filed with the county appraiser until the expiration of 30 days after the
board issued its order thereon and the same becomes a final order. In the
event that taxes have been assessed against the subject property, no interest
shall accrue on any unpaid tax for the year or years in question nor shall
the unpaid tax be considered delinquent from the date the request is filed
with the county appraiser until the expiration of 30 days after the board
issued its order thereon. In the event the board determines an application
for exemption is without merit and filed in bad faith to delay the due date
of the tax, the tax shall be considered delinquent as of the date the tax
would have been due pursuant to K.S.A. 79-2004 and 79-2004a, and
amendments thereto, and interest shall accrue as prescribed therein.
(j) In the event the board grants the initial request for exemption, the
same shall be effective beginning with the date of first exempt use except
that, with respect to property the construction of which commenced not to
exceed 24 months prior to the date of first exempt use, the same shall be
effective beginning with the date of commencement of construction.
(k) In conjunction with its authority to grant exemptions, the board
shall have the authority to abate all unpaid taxes that have accrued from
and since the effective date of the exemption. In the event that taxes have
been paid during the period where the subject property has been
determined to be exempt, the board shall have the authority to order a
refund of taxes for the year immediately preceding the year in which the
exemption application is filed in accordance with subsection (a).
(l) The provisions of this section shall not apply to: (1) Farm
machinery and equipment exempted from ad valorem taxation by K.S.A.
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79-201j, and amendments thereto; (2) personal property exempted from ad
valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-215, and amendments thereto; (3) wearing
apparel, household goods and personal effects exempted from ad valorem
taxation by K.S.A. 79-201c, and amendments thereto; (4) livestock; (5) all
property exempted from ad valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-201d, and
amendments thereto; (6) merchants' and manufacturers' inventories
exempted from ad valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-201m, and amendments
thereto; (7) grain exempted from ad valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-201n,
and amendments thereto; (8) property exempted from ad valorem taxation
by K.S.A. 79-201a Seventeenth, and amendments thereto, including all
property previously acquired by the secretary of transportation or a
predecessor in interest, which is used in the administration, construction,
maintenance or operation of the state system of highways. The secretary of
transportation shall at the time of acquisition of property notify the county
appraiser in the county in which the property is located that the acquisition
occurred and provide a legal description of the property acquired; (9)
property exempted from ad valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-201a Ninth,
and amendments thereto, including all property previously acquired by the
Kansas turnpike authority which is used in the administration,
construction, maintenance or operation of the Kansas turnpike. The Kansas
turnpike authority shall at the time of acquisition of property notify the
county appraiser in the county in which the property is located that the
acquisition occurred and provide a legal description of the property
acquired; (10) aquaculture machinery and equipment exempted from ad
valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-201j, and amendments thereto. As used in
this section, "aquaculture" has the same meaning ascribed thereto by
K.S.A. 47-1901, and amendments thereto; (11) Christmas tree machinery
and equipment exempted from ad valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-201j, and
amendments thereto; (12) property used exclusively by the state or any
municipality or political subdivision of the state for right-of-way purposes.
The state agency or the governing body of the municipality or political
subdivision shall at the time of acquisition of property for right-of-way
purposes notify the county appraiser in the county in which the property is
located that the acquisition occurred and provide a legal description of the
property acquired; (13) machinery, equipment, materials and supplies
exempted from ad valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-201w, and amendments
thereto; (14) vehicles owned by the state or by any political or taxing
subdivision thereof and used exclusively for governmental purposes; (15)
property used for residential purposes which is exempted pursuant to
K.S.A. 79-201x, and amendments thereto, from the property tax levied
pursuant to K.S.A. 72-5142, and amendments thereto; (16) from and after
July 1, 1998, vehicles which are owned by an organization having as one
of its purposes the assistance by the provision of transit services to the
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elderly and to disabled persons and which are exempted pursuant to
K.S.A. 79-201 Ninth, and amendments thereto; (17) from and after July 1,
1998, motor vehicles exempted from taxation by K.S.A. 79-5107(e), and
amendments thereto; (18) commercial and industrial machinery and
equipment exempted from property or ad valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-
223, and amendments thereto; (19) telecommunications machinery and
equipment and railroad machinery and equipment exempted from property
or ad valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-224, and amendments thereto; (20)
property exempted from property or ad valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-
234, and amendments thereto; (21) recreational vehicles exempted from
property or ad valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-5121(e), and amendments
thereto; (22) property acquired by a land bank exempt from property or ad
valorem taxation pursuant to K.S.A. 12-5909 or K.S.A. 19-26,111, and
amendments thereto; and (23) property belonging exclusively to the
United States and exempted from ad valorem taxation by K.S.A. 79-201a
First, and amendments thereto, except that the provisions of this
subsection (l)(23) shall not apply to any such property that the congress of
the United States has expressly declared to be subject to state and local
taxation; (24) watercraft exempted from property or ad valorem taxation
by K.S.A. 79-5501, and amendments thereto; and (25) property exempted
from property or ad valorem taxation by section 1, and amendments
thereto.
(m) The provisions of this section shall apply to property exempt
pursuant to the provisions of section 13 of article 11 of the constitution of
the state of Kansas.
(n) The provisions of subsection (k) as amended by this act shall be
applicable to all exemption applications filed in accordance with
subsection (a) after December 31, 2001.
(o) No exemption authorized by K.S.A. 79-227, and amendments
thereto, of property from the payment of ad valorem property taxes
assessed shall be granted unless the requesting property owner files an
initial request for exemption pursuant to this section within two years of
the date in which construction of a new qualifying pipeline property
began. The provisions of this subsection shall be applicable to all requests
for exemptions filed in accordance with subsection (a) after June 30, 2017.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 79-5501 is hereby amended to read as follows: 79-
5501. (a) On and after Commencing July 1, 2013, and through December
31, 2025, watercraft shall be appraised at fair market value determined
therefor pursuant to K.S.A. 79-503a, and amendments thereto, and
assessed at the percentage of value as follows: (1) 11.5% in tax year 2014;
and (2) 5% in tax year years 2015 and all tax years thereafter through
2025. On and after January 1, 2014, the levy used to calculate the tax on
watercraft shall be the county average tax rate. In no case shall the
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HB 2014 6
assessed value of any watercraft, as determined under the provisions of
this section, cause the tax upon such watercraft to be less than $12.
(b) As used in this section, the term "watercraft" means any
watercraft designed to be propelled by machinery, oars, paddles or wind
action upon a sail for navigation on the water which, if not for the
provisions of this section, would be properly classified under subclass 5 or
6 of class 2 of section 1 of article 11 of the Kansas constitution. This
section shall not be construed as taxing any watercraft which otherwise
would be exempt from property taxation under the laws of the state of
Kansas. Each watercraft may include one trailer which is designed to
launch, retrieve, transport and store such watercraft and any nonelectric
motor or motors which are necessary to operate such watercraft on the
water.
(c) Any watercraft which is designed to be propelled through the
water through human power alone shall be exempt from all property or ad
valorem taxes levied under the laws of the state of Kansas.
(d) The "county average tax rate" means the total amount of general
property taxes levied within the county by the state, county and all other
taxing subdivisions divided by the total assessed valuation of all taxable
property within the county as of November 1 of the year prior to the year
of valuation as certified by the secretary of revenue.
(e) On and after January 1, 2026, all watercraft shall be exempt from
all property or ad valorem taxes levied under the laws of the state of
Kansas.
Sec. 4. K.S.A. 79-213 and 79-5501 are hereby repealed.
Sec. 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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