The goal of the Kansas Truth in Taxation revenue-neutral law passed in 2021 was to make local officials think twice about raising property taxes, and new data shows it’s working as intended.
Data from the Kansas Department of Revenue shows that, on average, 21 of the state’s 105 counties didn’t increase property taxes each year 
before revenue-neutral (1998 through 2021). The number of counties not increasing property taxes in the four years since revenue-neutral is 31 each year, and the last two years averaged 46 counties.
The number of counties with no increase or less than a 3% increase was 45 before revenue-neutral, 55 since the law went into effect, and the last two years averaged 64 counties that didn’t increase property taxes more than 3%.
At the other end, the highest increases are coming down.
Between 1998 and 2021, an average of 19 counties imposed tax increases exceeding 10%; the average has dropped to 15 counties between 2022 and 2025, and only 13 over the last two years.
Over 62% of all taxing authorities hold revenue-neutral
Annual data on each city, township, school district, and other local governments aren’t available, but we know that 271 cities and a few dozen school districts didn’t increase property taxes in 2025, based on their 2024 revenue-neutral hearings.
Overall, more than 62% of local government units in Kansas didn’t raise property taxes last year, and almost 73% held steady or had increases below 3%. The first year of revenue-neutral hearings in 2021 saw about 68% hold steady or have increases below 3%.
The portion of governments with increases over 10% has dropped from about 15.4% to 12.5%.
While the success of revenue-neutral continues to build, much more must be done.
The Senate passed a constitutional amendment to place a 3% annual limit on increases in taxable assessed valuation, and the assessed value stays with the property when it is sold. The House passed a bill that makes tax increases above a certain limit subject to cancellation with a protest petition; the concept is good, but the bill needs several amendments to make it favorable to taxpayers.
The House and Senate tax committees are taking testimony on each other’s proposed changes this week.
