Report: 31.6 percent of county's real estate is tax-exempt

A total of 31.6 percent of real estate in Jackson County was tax exempt last year, which was the third highest percentage among the 100 counties reporting in the state, according to a recent report shared by the Kansas Association of Counties. 

Sean Robertson, Saline County appraiser, compiled the report which notes that nearly $43 billion worth of appraised real estate values were exempt from paying taxes in Kansas last year.

According to the report, a total of $427,451,940 in appraised values were exempt in Jackson County last year. This number represents the value of the property and not the amount of taxes that would have been generated if those properties weren’t tax exempt. 

The top five counties with the highest total of exempt value percentages in 2024 were Morton (41.7 percent), Riley (40.4 percent), Jackson (31.6 percent), Clark (31.2 percent) and Marion (25.2 percent), it was reported. 

“There are widely varying reasons for the percentages of exempt property in each county. Morton County’s high exemption percentage is due to approximately 20 percent of the land area being taken up by the Cimarron National Grassland,” Robertson said. “Riley’s is due mainly to property owned by Kansas State University and Tuttle Creek Reservoir. Jackson’s is due to Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation land and the accompanying casino.

“Clark’s is not as straightforward, but I believe it is due to the very limited amount of appraised taxable property (second lowest only behind Comanche), which makes a nominal amount of exempt property seem large as a percentage of the total.

“Marion’s is due to having a reservoir and accompanying wildlife area, a college (Tabor in Hillsboro) and a large community sports/aquatic center.”

KAC officials noted that property owners with exempt properties are not exempt from county services “so the lost revenue must be collected elsewhere.”

It was recently reported at a Jackson County Commission meeting that between 70 to 75 percent of the district court clerk’s annual budget is used for casino-related court cases.

According to the tax exemption report, seven Kansas counties had more than $1 billion worth of exempt appraised values last year -Riley, Saline, Wyandotte, Shawnee, Douglas, Leavenworth and Johnson.

According to the report, Lincoln County had the smallest percentage of tax exempt property at 5.5 percent. 

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