Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. Kansas has no estate tax for a person who dies in 2026. The Kansas Department of Revenue’s Notice 10-07 says the estate tax was repealed for estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2010, and that for those estates “no tax is or will be due from these estates”. The federal exclusion is $15,000,000 for 2026.
Putting a loan in writing? The interest limit, the signing rules and the time limit to sue, from the state’s own statutes: Kansas promissory note.
Deeding a home to a family member while you are alive? What Kansas requires, from its own documents: Kansas quitclaim deed requirements.
Naming a beneficiary on a brokerage account or a vehicle title is covered here: transfer-on-death registration in Kansas.
Inheriting from, or planning for, someone in this state? Whether the state has an inheritance tax, from its own tax documents: Does Kansas have an inheritance tax?.
Kansas estate tax at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| State estate tax | None |
| Why | The Kansas estate tax was repealed for estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2010 |
| State estate tax return | The Department will not process returns for deaths after December 31, 2009 |
| State inheritance tax | None: replaced by an estate tax in 1998; no inheritance tax in force |
| Federal estate tax basic exclusion amount, 2026 | $15,000,000 |
| Source | Kansas Department of Revenue; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
Why Kansas has no estate tax
The notice says the Legislature has not enacted any estate tax provisions for decedents dying after December 31, 2009, and that the Department “will not process estate tax returns filed for them”.
Does Kansas have an inheritance tax?
A second notice (10-08) recalls that Kansas used to have an inheritance tax: “In 1998 the inheritance tax was replaced with an estate tax”. The documents read describe no inheritance tax in force today.
CMG’s inheritance tax by state page covers the beneficiary side.
What applies to a Kansas estate instead
Federal estate tax is separate. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, section 70106, increased the “basic exclusion amount to $15,000,000 for calendar year 2026”.
An estate of $3,000,000 in Kansas owes $0 of state estate tax, and $3,000,000 is below the federal $15,000,000.
Probate: Kansas probate cost. Retirement accounts: how Kansas taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
Common mistakes
- Filing a Kansas estate tax return for a death after 2009; the Department says it will not process one.
- Assuming the state answer settles the federal one, or the answer for property held in another state.
Related: estate tax by state, inheritance tax by state, and probate cost by state.
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Answer againSources
- Notice 10-07: Kansas Estate Tax Repealed for Estates of Decedents Dying on or After January 1, 2010: https://www.ksrevenue.gov/taxnotices/notice10-07.pdf
- Notice 10-08: Sunset of the Kansas Estate Tax Pick-Up Tax and Stand Alone Estate Tax: https://ksrevenue.gov/taxnotices/notice10-08.pdf
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 5, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and an estate attorney, a tax preparer or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.