Kansas Property Tax Appeals: 30 Days From Your Notice

How Kansas Property Tax Appeals Work

Kansas gives you two chances to appeal your property's value each year: an equalization appeal of the valuation notice you get in the spring, and a payment under protest appeal when you pay the tax. All property is valued annually as of January 1, and most is valued at fair market value. The Department of Revenue's equalization guide covers residential and commercial land and buildings in counties without a Hearing Officer or Panel, so your county may add steps. Ask your county appraiser. Kansas Department of Revenue: Equalization Appeals guide Kansas Department of Revenue: Tax Appeals

The Deadline: 30 Days From the Notice

Counties mail valuation notices from mid-February through early April. To appeal, contact the county appraiser's office within 30 days from the date the notice was mailed. The state notes that in a year when your appraised value does not change, a county may use an alternative form of notification, and it says to contact your county appraiser by March 1 for more on that. Kansas Department of Revenue: Equalization Appeals guide

One rule to know before you start: if you begin an appeal and then abandon it, you cannot pay taxes under protest or appeal again for the same property and tax year.

Step 1: The Informal Meeting

The appeal begins with an informal meeting with the county appraiser or a designee. The county has to produce the evidence that supports its value, and you explain why you think it is wrong. The county then mails you the written results.

Before the meeting, ask the county appraiser for the property record card and the cost report. Check that the square footage, rooms, construction and condition are right. For a home, the county can also give you a comparable sales report listing up to five similar homes. Drive by those homes, and if they are not similar, photograph them. Kansas Department of Revenue: Equalization Appeals guide

Step 2: BOTA Small Claims

If the informal result does not satisfy you, you can appeal to the Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA). A single-family residence must go to the Small Claims Division before the full board. Small Claims appeals are heard by one hearing officer. File the BOTA form within 30 days from the mailing date of the informal meeting results. The form is usually part of the results notice. Filing fees may apply, and you send a copy to the county appraiser. The county must initiate the production of evidence, and the guide says there is no presumption that the county's value is correct.

You can appeal a Small Claims decision to the full three-member BOTA, again within 30 days of mailing, filing a copy with the county clerk and the county appraiser. BOTA usually issues a written summary decision within 14 days after the hearing. After that, parties can ask for a full opinion within 21 days, and a petition for review to the Kansas Court of Appeals, or an appeal to district court, is due within 30 days. BOTA's decision notice explains the rights that apply, because the guide calls them complex. Kansas Department of Revenue: Equalization Appeals guide

The Appraisal Option

Instead of going to BOTA after the informal meeting, you can file a third-party fee simple appraisal with the county appraiser within 60 days of the mailing of the informal result. It must be by a Kansas certified residential or general real property appraiser and reflect value as of January 1 of the year you are appealing. The county has 15 days to review it and mail a supplemental notice. If you are still unsatisfied you have 30 days to appeal to BOTA. BOTA must also accept one appraisal by a certified general real property appraiser with a January 1 effective date that values the property below the county's mass appraisal. Kansas Department of Revenue: Equalization Appeals guide

What to Bring

The state suggests recent sales of similar property (similar condition, quality, style, age and location), the sales contract if you bought within the last two or three years, photos and repair estimates for structural damage, and a recent fee appraisal. A recent purchase price is weighed but is not automatically the value, because the county must first decide that the sale was an arm's-length transaction. Kansas Department of Revenue: Equalization Appeals guide

Payment Under Protest

If you did not appeal the valuation notice for that property and year, you can appeal when you pay. Counties mail tax statements from November through December 15. A protest must be filed when the taxes are paid, or no later than December 20 if all or part was paid before then. If an escrow or tax service agent paid before December 20, the protest is due by January 31 of the next year. You use a written form from the county treasurer or BOTA and file it with the county treasurer. December 20, 2026 is a Sunday and the guide does not say whether the date moves, so file earlier or ask your county treasurer. Kansas Department of Revenue: Payment Under Protest guide

If You Win

If a final appeal decision on or after January 1, 2026 lowers your value, then for the next five years the county appraiser must review the mass appraisal of your property. If the value in any of those years rises by more than 5 percent (new construction, change in use or change in classification excluded), the appraiser must either adjust the value based on your appeal or order an independent appraisal by a Kansas certified appraiser. Kansas Department of Revenue: Equalization Appeals guide

Where the Windows Stand Now

The 2026 valuation-notice window has passed. The payment-under-protest date of December 20, 2026 is the live one, and it only works if you did not already appeal the spring notice for that parcel. The next valuation notices arrive from mid-February 2027, and your 30 days start the day each notice is mailed. The Johnson and Sedgwick County guides below show the December countdown.

Where Grove Hopper Fits

Grove Hopper is a research tool. We look at your property, flag whether it looks over-assessed and prepare your appeal documents. You review, sign and file them yourself. We are not attorneys, accountants or a tax firm. The free check is at the top of this page.

Pick your county below for its appraiser and appeal details.