News & Events

Change to Personal Property Filing Requirements

This is a courtesy notification from the county appraiser’s office that filing requirements for personal property as prescribed in K.S.A. 79-306 were changed as of July 1, 2024. Previously, all Kansas taxpayers were required to list, sign, and submit a personal property rendition on an annual basis to the county appraiser’s office no later than March 15 for all tangible personal property located in the county as of January 1.

The 2024 Kansas Legislature passed Senate Bill 410, which amends K.S.A. 79-306 and removes the annual reporting requirement for taxpayers with an accurate rendition on file. As amended, K.S.A. 79-306 now includes the following statement:
If a person has filed an initial statement listing property with the county appraiser pursuant to this section, no subsequent annual statement shall be required to be filed with the county appraiser regarding such property unless there is a change to report relating to the property previously listed or the statement.

Thus, if a current and accurate personal property rendition is on file in the county appraiser’s office, there is no longer a requirement to file an annual rendition. However, if there are any changes to report, the taxpayer is still required to file a rendition for that tax year in order to avoid any penalties.

Examples of changes that are statutorily required to be reported to the appraiser’s office include the purchase of any new personal property, the sale of any personal property, and changes to the address or use of any personal property.

Please contact the county appraiser’s office at 620-694-2915 with any questions or concerns.

Revenue Neutral Rate Notices

Every year in the summer, you should receive an interesting – and perhaps hard to understand – notice in the mail from Reno County. Pursuant to K.S.A. 79-2988, the county mails the required Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) Notice to all property owners.

The law requires counties to send taxpayers a notification of the revenue neutral rate compared to the proposed tax rates for each taxing entity that has expressed its intent to exceed its revenue neutral rate.

This mailing is simply a notification; it is not a tax bill, and you are not being asked or required to pay anything. This is also not a new or updated valuation notice, so you cannot appeal your valuation at this time. It is simply for informal purposes only, to notify taxpayers of public hearings that could affect their property taxes. This notice provides the dates, times, and locations for public hearings to be held by each taxing authority intending to exceed their revenue neutral rate.

Your total property tax bill is determined by the yearly budgets set by the various taxing entities that have jurisdiction in your area. These entities can include (but may not be limited to): city, county, school district, community college, library, township, other improvement districts such as a recreation commission, or fire district. So, if one entity increases its budget by 10%, that does not necessarily mean that your property taxes will increase by 10%, because that entity is just one portion of your total property tax bill.

The revenue neutral rate is the mill levy required to generate the exact same amount of property tax dollars next year as the year before, but using the current year's total assessed valuation. For example: If a taxing entity collected $1,000,000 of property tax revenue in the current year, being revenue neutral means they plan to only collect $1,000,000 in the next year as well. But if a taxing jurisdiction plans to collect more property tax dollars in the next budget year compared to the current year, even if it’s just $1 more, they would exceed revenue neutral and are therefore required by law to hold a public hearing.

This notice and its contents were crafted by the Kansas Legislature to promote transparency in government. If you have questions or comments about the legislation requiring the notice, you should contact your state representative and/or state senator directly. If you have questions about the budget hearings, you should contact the appropriate taxing entity directly, or reach out to the Reno County Clerk’s office. If you have questions about the valuation or assessed value, you should reach out to the Reno County Appraiser’s office. If you have questions about the Reno County budget, contact the Reno County Administrator.

Find your legislator: www.kslegislature.org

Reno County Clerk: 620-694-2934

Reno County Appraiser: 620-694-2915

Reno County Administration: 620-694-2929

Notification of Annual Valuation

Annual valuation notifications are mailed on or before March 1 of each year (KSA 79-1460). Per KSA 79-503a, real property is appraised at its fair market value as it exists on the first day of January each year. However, per KSA 79-1476, land devoted to agricultural use is valued at a use value determined by the State of Kansas, and not market value.

Appeals

KSA 79-1448 allows for any taxpayer to appeal the classification or valuation set by the county appraiser. Per this statute, the latest date to file an informal appeal on your property is within 30 days of the postmark on the envelope the original valuation notification was sent in. The statutory deadline for the annual notice of value mailing is March 1, however, in some years they may go out before this date. If you do not appeal within this 30-day window, you may still appeal your valuation by making a Payment Under Protest at the time taxes are due in December. This may be done by filing a protest with the Reno County Treasurer at the time payment is made. However, per KSA 79-2005, you may not file both an Equalization Appeal and a Payment Under Protest for the same tax year. Appeal and Declaration of Representative forms can be found on our Forms page.

Results of the Market Trend Analysis for Reno County for the Assessment Year 2026

Valuation Date: January 1, 2026

Pursuant to K.S.A. 79-1460a

Multiple studies of the residential real estate market indicated there is an overall upward inflationary trend county-wide, though specific areas may be above or below the overall trend. A study of the commercial real estate market indicated a slight upward inflationary trend in some areas and a steady to slight downward trend in others. A study of the real estate market for vacant lots indicated a general upward trend in some areas. Values on specific properties may not follow general trends because of changes to the property, correction of descriptive information, or adjustment of values based on sales. Value notices will be mailed on or before March 1, 2026 this year.

Current Appraiser Staff News

The field appraiser staff are constantly working on the annual 17% re-inspection process. The Property Valuation Division of the Department of Revenue of the State of Kansas requires us to re-inspect each parcel once every six years. This amounts to approximately 6,500 parcels. You can see what part of the county is under this 17% by checking the "Appraisal Reinspection Cycle" on our maps page. This inspection process includes data collection on: residential, vacant, agricultural, multi-family, and commercial properties.

All Reno County field appraisers can be identified with a Reno County photo ID badge and are driving clearly marked Reno County vehicles. Property owners with questions may contact the Reno County Appraiser's Office at 620-694-2915.

Personal Property

Kansas law requires owners of taxable tangible personal property to report it annually to the county appraiser on or before March 15th of each year. If you own personal property located in Reno County but you reside elsewhere, property must still be reported in Reno County. Oil and Gas renditions must be submitted to the county appraiser by April 1 of each year.