Glossary of Terms

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Acquisition value

Other state — CaliforniaA property assessment method that only reassesses a property to full market value when it's sold, rather than every year. Between sales, its assessed value can rise only by a small, fixed percentage regardless of the actual market. Kansas doesn't use this method.

Appraised value

Kansas termThe county appraiser's estimate of what a property would sell for on the open market. This is the starting point for calculating a tax bill.

Assessed value

Kansas termA percentage of the appraised value, set by state law based on property type — owner-occupied residential property is assessed at 11.5%, for example, while agricultural land is valued on productivity rather than market value. The tax rate is applied to this number, not the full appraised value.

Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA)

Kansas termThe Kansas state agency that hears formal property valuation appeals beyond the county level. Its "Small Claims Division" handles simpler cases without requiring a lawyer; its regular division handles larger and more complex disputes, with decisions appealable to the Kansas Court of Appeals.

Concurrence

Legislative processThe step where one chamber agrees to changes the other chamber made to a bill or resolution after it already passed the first chamber. A resolution amended in the Senate, for instance, has to go back to the House for concurrence before it's considered fully passed.

Constitutional amendment resolution

Kansas termThe specific type of legislative action required to change the Kansas Constitution — distinct from an ordinary bill. It requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate, does not go to the Governor for a signature, and goes directly to a statewide vote.

Equalization appeal

Kansas termAn appeal filed in response to the Notice of Value a county mails each spring, disputing the appraised value itself before a tax bill is calculated. Must be filed within 30 days of the notice.

Homestead exemption

Kansas + other statesA reduction in a home's taxable value, typically available to owner-occupied primary residences. Kansas offers property tax relief programs targeted at homeowners (refund programs for seniors and disabled veterans, see Relief Programs); this guide's references to homestead exemptions in other states (Texas, Florida) describe a different, broader mechanism than Kansas currently uses.

Land value tax / split-rate tax

Other states — Pennsylvania, Detroit proposalA tax that applies more heavily to the value of land itself than to buildings and improvements — the opposite of a standard property tax, which can penalize building or renovating. A "split-rate" tax applies this idea partially, taxing land at a higher rate than buildings rather than exempting buildings entirely.

Levy

Kansas termThe act of imposing a tax, or the amount of tax imposed. "The county's levy" refers to the mill rate that county has set for the year.

Mill levy (or "mill rate")

Kansas termThe tax rate, expressed in mills. One mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. A property's tax bill is its assessed value multiplied by the total mill levy of every taxing district it falls under (school district, county, city, etc.).

Non-Enumerated Spending (NOS)

Outside proposal — not Kansas lawA term from the "Runtime Republic" framework (see Other Proposed Frameworks), an outside group's proposal. It refers to any government spending that can't be traced to a specific constitutional or legal authority, which that framework would deny automatic funding.

Payment under protest

Kansas termAn appeal filed at the time you pay your tax bill (by December 20, or January 31 if paid through an escrow/tax service), disputing the value after the fact. You can use this route or the equalization appeal in a given year, not both.

Property classification

Kansas termThe category a property is sorted into under Kansas law (residential, commercial, agricultural land, etc.), which determines its assessment percentage. Different classes are assessed — and therefore taxed — at different rates on the same appraised value.

Revenue neutral rate ("Truth in Taxation")

Kansas termA mill levy that would raise the exact same total dollar amount as the prior year, even if property values changed. Kansas law requires a taxing district to publish notice, hold a public hearing, and take a recorded vote before adopting a rate higher than this — it's a transparency requirement, not a cap, since a jurisdiction can still exceed it after providing notice.

Sovereign wealth fund / dedicated trust fund

Other states — North Dakota, AlaskaA permanent fund built from a specific ongoing revenue source (oil and mineral royalties, for example) rather than from a tax increase, whose investment earnings are used to pay down or eliminate another tax over time.

Tax lid

Kansas term, repealedA former Kansas law (undone by 2021's Senate Bill 13) that capped how much local governments could increase property tax collections year over year without voter approval. Its repeal left the revenue neutral rate process as the only statewide guardrail on local levy growth.

Tax rate compression

Other state — TexasA term for the state using its own general revenue to directly buy down local school district property tax rates, lowering bills without cutting the services those rates fund.

Taxing district

Kansas termAny local government entity authorized to levy property tax — school districts, counties, cities, townships, and special districts like fire, library, hospital, or parks and recreation.

Valuation cap

Kansas termA legal limit on how much a property's assessed value can increase in a single year, regardless of how much the market value actually rose. This is different from a levy cap, which limits the tax rate itself rather than the value it's applied to.

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