Beginning with the 2026 tax year, Kansans who own off-road vehicles, small trailers, and boats will see their personal property tax bills drop thanks to new exemptions approved under House Bill 2231. While many residents may welcome the savings, the tax relief doesn’t come without some trade-offs.
After all, those taxes help public entities provide services.
Allen County Appraiser Danielle Louk said the changes exempt what the state classifies as “all other tangible personal property,” including off-road vehicles such as ATVs, UTVs, golf carts, off-road motorcycles, snowmobiles, and even motorized bicycles.
“The most common thing, I think, will be the ATVs,” Louk noted.
Marine equipment — including boats — will also be exempt.
Another major exemption affects personal-use trailers with a gross weight of 15,000 pounds or less. “The ones that have the higher gross weights, they will stay on,” Louk said, adding that most of the heavier trailers are commercial.
LOUK NOTED that for 2025, the new law will make a difference of about $84,000 less for Allen County. This includes cities, townships, and the county government.
“Those funds have to come from somewhere,” Louk explained, noting that local governments may now need to adjust their mill levies — the rates applied per $1,000 of assessed property value — to recoup lost revenue. Allen County currently levies 59.559 mills.
“In exempting these personal property items, you’re just shifting the burden.”
HOUSE BILL 2231 includes several other tax relief measures beyond property exemptions. These include an additional $2,320 personal exemption for head-of-household filers and a matching increase in exemptions for disabled veterans which began in the 2024 tax year. Corporate tax changes included in the bill are set to take effect after 2026 and could adjust how multi-state companies calculate income taxes.
The county appraiser’s office will notify affected taxpayers directly. Louk said she plans to send letters informing personal property owners of the new exemptions. She will also send questionnaires to owners of heavier trailers to verify which remain taxable so she doesn’t accidentally leave something on that shouldn’t be exempted.
She noted that another recent change — reducing the penalty for failing to file personal property forms — has already made the process easier. The penalty dropped from 50% to a maximum of 12.5%. “Lowering that penalty I thought was great,” Louk said. Annual filing for personal property is no longer required unless something has changed.
Though the exemptions will reduce taxes for many residents, Louk noted that the broader challenge remains: balancing revenue needs without disproportionately burdening any group.
“It’s not solving the overall issue,” she said, of balancing the county’s budget.
“We’ll still have to pay taxes, but maybe just not on these specific things.”