What did 2001 Senate Bill 44 change about the Kansas Homestead Property Tax Refund and Certificates of Eligibility?

Plain-English summary

2001 Senate Bill 44 (Sections 1-3), effective April 12, 2001, changed the Kansas Homestead Property Tax Refund law:

• Section 1 (K.S.A. 79-4501): removed outdated language about "certain female persons of qualifying age who are the surviving spouses ... so long as they remain unmarried." No practical impact — the Department had already read the statute broadly and hadn't denied claims based on gender or remarriage.
• Section 2 (K.S.A. 79-4504): homestead refund claims are now paid from the income tax refund fund, instead of from specially appropriated funds that could run short and delay claims.
• Section 3 (K.S.A. 79-4521): gives the Department of Revenue sole authority to issue Certificates of Eligibility. The Director of Taxation issues a Certificate to each claimant who received a refund for the prior year; county clerks no longer issue them.

The notice then describes the six-step Certificate of Eligibility process: (1) mid-October, the Department mails tally sheets/check lists to county treasurers and clerks; (2) early November, it mails a Refund Advancement Letter and Certificate to qualifying prior-year recipients with no outstanding balances; (3) the claimant takes the Certificate and property tax statement to the county clerk for review, then to the county treasurer to pay part or all of the first half of property tax (the claimant signs and assigns the anticipated refund, up to the first half actually due); (4) counties return tally sheets, Certificates, and statements — treasurers now send copies to the Director by December 31 each year; (5) in January the Department reviews the Certificates; (6) around mid-February, eligibility checks are printed and mailed to the counties.

What this means for you

If you're a Kansas homeowner who got a homestead refund last year, from 2001 the Department (not the county clerk) issues your Certificate of Eligibility, and you can use it at the county treasurer to cover up to the first half of your property taxes — reviewed by the county clerk first. Because refunds now come from the income tax refund fund, you're less likely to see a claim held up waiting for an appropriation.

Common questions

Q: Who issues the Certificate of Eligibility now?
A: Only the Department of Revenue; county clerks no longer have that authority.

Q: Who gets a Certificate automatically?
A: Each claimant who received a homestead property tax refund for the prior year and has no outstanding balance due the Department.

Q: How is the Certificate used?
A: To pay up to the first half of the claimant's current-year property taxes at the county treasurer, after county clerk review.

Q: Where do refunds come from now?
A: The income tax refund fund, so claims are no longer delayed by inadequate special appropriations.

Citations and references

• 2001 Senate Bill 44, Sections 1-3 -- homestead refund changes (effective April 12, 2001).
• K.S.A. 79-4501; K.S.A. 79-4504; K.S.A. 79-4521 -- eligibility, funding, and Certificates of Eligibility.

Subject

2001 Changes to the Homestead Property Tax Refund Law

Source

• Landing page: Kansas Department of Revenue Policy Information Library
• Original document: Notice 01-03

Original ruling text

Notice
Notice Number: 01-03
Tax Type: Homestead Property Tax Refunds
Brief Description: 2001 Changes to the Homestead Property Tax Refund Law.
Keywords:
Approval Date: 04/12/2001

Body:
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

                                                       NOTICE 2001-03

                 2001 CHANGES TO THE HOMESTEAD PROPERTY TAX REFUND LAW

Sections 1-3 of Senate Bill 44, passed by the 2001 Kansas Legislature, relate to Homestead Property Tax Refund Claims. These
provisions are effective April 12, 2001.

Section 1 of the bill amends K.S.A. 79-4501 to remove certain outdated language related to claims being submitted by “certain
female persons of qualifying age who are the surviving spouses of husbands who died during marriage, who own or rent their
homestead, so long as they remain unmarried.” This deletion will have no impact on the homestead property tax refund program.
The Department of Revenue has followed a broader interpretation of the intent of the statute, and hasn’t denied a homestead property
tax refund claim to an eligible claimant because of their gender, or because they were a surviving spouse who remarried.

Section 2 of the bill amends K.S.A. 79-4504 to provide that homestead property tax refund claims will now be paid through the
income tax refund fund. Previously, refund claims were paid from “funds appropriated for such purposes”, and those funds would
occasionally be inadequate to pay all claims. As a result, some claims were held up until additional funds were appropriated by the
legislature. This change will eliminate that concern.

Section 3 of the bill amends K.S.A. 79-4521 that concerns the issuance and use of Certificates of Eligibility. Prior to the amendment,
any person who owned a homestead and believed they would be entitled to a refund could apply to the county clerk of the county in
which the homestead was located for a Certificate of Eligibility. After the county clerk was satisfied the claimant would be eligible
for a refund the clerk was to make out the Certificate on forms provided by the Department of Revenue. After the county clerk had
issued the Certificate, the claimant could present the Certificate to the county treasurer to apply the anticipated refund toward the
claimant’s first half property taxes.

The amendments made by Section 3 of the bill gives sole authority to grant a Certificate of Eligibility to the Department of Revenue.
The new language provides that the Director of Taxation shall issue a Certificate of Eligibility for refund to each claimant who
received a refund of property taxes for the prior year. County clerks no longer have authority to issue Certificates of Eligibility.

In light of these changes, the current process involving Certificates of Eligibility will follow these steps.

Step One: In mid-October the Department of Revenue will mail tally sheets and check lists to county treasurers and county clerks.

Step Two: During the first part of November the Department of Revenue will mail a Refund Advancement Letter and a Certificate
of Eligibility to homeowners who received a homestead refund last year and who have no outstanding balances due to the
department.

Step Three: The homestead claimant who has received a Certificate of Eligibility will take the Certificate and property tax statement
to the county clerk for review. Once approved, the claimant will take the completed Certificate to the county treasurer to pay part or
all of the first half of their property tax.

Prior to presenting the Certificate of Eligibility to the county treasurer, the claimant is to sign the Certificate, and also assign, in the
space provided on the Certificate, the anticipated refund to the county to pay up to the first half of the property taxes on the
claimant’s homestead for the year in which the Certificate is issued. The claimant must also submit the Certificate to the county clerk
of the county in which the homestead is located for review. The county clerk is to review the claim, based on proof of eligibility
prescribed in rules and regulations adopted by the Secretary of Revenue, to determine whether the claimant will be eligible for the
refund.

If the county clerk is satisfied the claimant will be eligible, the county clerk is to sign the certificate and return it to the claimant. The

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claimant can then present it to the county treasurer. The county treasurer is to accept the Certificate in lieu of payment of that portion
of the first half of taxes on the claimant’s homestead in the current year which equals the amount of the homestead property tax
refund received by the claimant for taxes levied in the preceding year. Use of the Certificate is limited to the amount of the first half
of the property taxes actually due.

Step Four: Tally sheets. Certificates and property tax statements are to be returned by the counties to the Department of Revenue.
Section 3 of Senate Bill 44 removes the prior requirement that county treasurers immediately send copies of Certificates of
Eligibility they receive to the Director of Taxation. Instead, county treasurers are now required to send a copy of each Certificate to
the Director by December 31st of each year.

Step Five: During January the Department of Revenue will review the Certificates to ensure that all certificates are complete.

Step Six: Around the middle of February eligibility checks are printed and mailed to the counties.

To obtain additional copies of this or any other notice call the Kansas Department of Revenue’s voice mail forms request line at
(785) 296-4937 or download them from our web site: www.ink.org/public/kdor. If you have any questions about this notice or the
homestead property tax refund program, please contact our Taxpayer Assistance Center.
Taxpayer Assistance Center
Docking State Office Building
915 SW Harrison St., 1st Floor
Topeka, KS 66625-0001
In Topeka call: 368-8222
Outside Topeka call toll free: 1-877-526-7738
Fax: (785) 291-3614

Issued: July 13, 2001

Date Composed: 07/12/2001 Date Modified: 10/09/2001

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