Kansas payroll withholding, tax year 2026

Source-cited draft. Built from the KDOR Withholding FAQ statutory frequency table, Pub. KW-100 Kansas Withholding Tax Guide, the KW-3 e-file specifications, the KW-110 withholding duty notice, the KDOR K-4 information page and K.S.A. 79-32,121, read on 2026-10-28. No accountant has reviewed it. Do not run a payroll from it without review by a qualified Kansas professional.

Tax year: the calendar year. Authority: Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR). Currency: US dollars. Governing act: K.S.A. 79-3294 et seq. (Kansas Withholding and Declaration of Estimated Tax Act, per KW-110). Covers Kansas income-tax withholding by employers and other payors.

See also: ks-income-tax, ks-social-contributions, ks-cross-border.

Who this applies to

• Employers must withhold Kansas tax for (a) Kansas residents, whether services are performed inside or outside Kansas, and (b) nonresidents performing services in Kansas (KDOR Withholding page; KW-110).
• Non-wage payors: "Any employer or payor who must withhold Federal Income Tax from payments other than wages made to Kansas residents must also withhold Kansas Tax" (KDOR Withholding page). This sweeps in pensions, annuities and deferred income, interest and dividends, and lottery / gambling winnings when federal withholding applies (KW-100).
• Registration: withholding employers must file the Kansas business tax application CR-16 before the first wage payment (KW-110).
• No K-4 on file: the employer must withhold at the single rate with no allowances (K-4 information page).

Rates, bands and thresholds

Item	Rate or amount	Tax year	Source
Allowance value (TY2025+ tables)	$2,320 per allowance, tied to the K.S.A. 79-32,121 exemptions ($9,160 single / $18,320 married)	2026	Pub. KW-100; K.S.A. 79-32,121
Default with no K-4	Single, zero allowances	2026	KDOR K-4 information
KW-5 frequency: Annual	Withholding ≤ $200 a year; due January 25	2026	KDOR Withholding FAQ
KW-5 frequency: Quarterly	$200.01 – $1,200; due the 25th after quarter close	2026	KDOR Withholding FAQ
KW-5 frequency: Monthly	$1,200.01 – $8,000; due the 15th of the following month	2026	KDOR Withholding FAQ
KW-5 frequency: Semi-Monthly	$8,000.01 – $100,000; 1st–15th due the 25th, 16th–end due the 10th of the next month	2026	KDOR Withholding FAQ
KW-5 frequency: Quad-Monthly	≥ $100,000.01; within 3 banking days of the 7th, 15th, 21st and last day; EFT required	2026	KDOR Withholding FAQ
E-filing mandate	51+ employees / payees must e-file W-2s / KW-3	2026	KW-3 e-file specs

Frequency changes take effect January 1 (KDOR Withholding FAQ).

The taxable base

• Employee certificate: Kansas Form K-4 sets the allowances. The "married" allowance is optional — spouses may claim "single" for two-earner joint accuracy; dependents are counted once; extra flat-dollar withholding is allowed (K-4 information page).
• Computation methods: the percentage formula (rate tables applied to the net wage after allowances) or the wage-bracket tables; above the last bracket of a wage table the percentage formula is mandatory (Pub. KW-100).
• Allowance deduction: each K-4 allowance removes $2,320 a year from the wage before the rate tables apply (Pub. KW-100; K.S.A. 79-32,121).
• Non-wage payments subject to federal withholding carry Kansas withholding too (see Who this applies to).

Deadlines and filing

Obligation	When	Source
CR-16 registration	Before the first wage payment	KW-110
Form K-4	At hire or when taxable payments begin; review annually and on marital / allowance changes	KDOR K-4 information
KW-5 deposit reports	Per the frequency table above; required for every period even with zero withholding; annual filers still file an annual KW-5 (KW-3 does not replace it); file and pay electronically	KDOR Withholding FAQ; Pub. KW-100
KW-3 + W-2 / 1099 annual reconciliation	January 31 of the following year ("The annual return, W-2s and 1099s are due by January 31 of the following year" — KW-100; "All 2025 KW-3Es must be filed by January 31, 2026" — KW-3 e-file specs)	Pub. KW-100; KW-3 e-file specs
Media	W-2 / KW-3 magnetic media no longer accepted	KW-3 e-file specs

Penalties and interest

• Failure to withhold or pay over: the employer is liable for the tax plus penalties under the withholding act (K.S.A. 79-3294 et seq.); K.S.A. 79-32,107(a) applies the K.S.A. 79-3228 income-tax penalties and interest to withholding noncompliance (K.S.A. 79-32,107). The old 79-32,173 was repealed in 1988 (K.S.A. 79-32,173).
• Worker misclassification: "Penalties may be imposed on persons who knowingly and intentionally mis-classify an employee as an independent contractor and fail to report state income tax withholding or unemployment insurance contributions" (Pub. KW-100).
• KDOR maintains an Employment Tax Delinquencies page (KDOR business navigation).

Cross-border points

• The resident-employee rule means Kansas withholding follows the employee's residence even for work performed out of state — multi-state employers must not net this against other states' nonresident withholding without credit analysis (see ks-cross-border).
• Nonresident employees working in Kansas: withhold Kansas; their home state may credit Kansas tax.
• W-2 state box reporting: single-state reporting per wage-source rules (KW-3 e-file specs).

Worked examples

Example 1: deposit frequency band check

An employer withholds $9,500 a year. That is $1,500 above the monthly band's $8,000 cap and $90,500 below the semi-monthly $100,000 cap, so the semi-monthly band applies: Jan 1–15 withholding is due January 25, Jan 16–31 is due February 10 (KDOR Withholding FAQ).

name: KS withholding frequency band
inputs:
  annual_wh: 9500
  m_top: 8000
  sm_top: 100000
steps:
  - over_monthly_band: annual_wh - m_top
  - headroom_under_semimonthly_cap: sm_top - annual_wh
expected:
  over_monthly_band: 1500
  headroom_under_semimonthly_cap: 90500

Example 2: percentage-formula allowance credit

An employee claims 2 allowances on Form K-4 and is paid monthly. The annual allowance amount is 2 × $2,320 = $4,640, so $386.67 a month comes off gross pay before the rate tables apply.

name: KS K-4 allowance deduction
inputs:
  allowances: 2
  per_allowance: 2320
steps:
  - annual_credit: per_allowance * allowances
  - monthly_credit: annual_credit / 12
expected:
  annual_credit: 4640
  monthly_credit: 386.6666666666667

Ask the client first

1. Is a K-4 on file for every Kansas-withholding employee? The single-zero default often surprises.
2. Resident employees working remotely from other states? Kansas withholding is still required on residents.
3. Non-wage payments to Kansas residents (pensions, contractor payments with federal withholding)? The Kansas duty mirrors the federal one.
4. Annual Kansas withholding total? It sets the KW-5 frequency.
5. E-file readiness: KCSC portal, KW-3E / W-2 spec formats; 51+ payees must e-file.

Sources

Source	URL	Read on
KDOR Withholding FAQ (statutory filing-frequency table)	https://www.ksrevenue.gov/faqs-withholding.html	2026-10-28
Pub. KW-100 Kansas Withholding Tax Guide (KW-3 / W-2 / 1099 due Jan 31, KW-5 every period, percentage formula vs wage-bracket tables, $2,320 allowance, misclassification)	https://ksrevenue.gov/pdf/kw100.pdf	2026-10-28
KW-3 / W-2 e-file specifications (Jan 31 deadline; 51+ e-file mandate; no magnetic media)	https://www.ksrevenue.gov/pdf/KW-3ECSV.pdf	2026-10-28
KW-110 withholding duty notice (resident / services-in-Kansas rule, CR-16, K.S.A. 79-3294 et seq.)	https://www.ksrevenue.gov/pdf/kw-110.pdf	2026-10-28
K.S.A. 79-32,121 (personal exemptions $9,160 / $18,320 / $2,320)	https://ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch79/079_032_0121.html	2026-10-28
K.S.A. 79-32,107 (penalties and interest, withholding noncompliance)	https://ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch79/079_032_0107.html	2026-10-28
K.S.A. 79-32,173 (repealed 1988)	https://ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch79/079_032_0173.html	2026-10-28
KDOR Withholding (duty, non-wage payor rule)	https://www.ksrevenue.gov/bustaxtypeswh.html	2026-10-28
KDOR K-4 information (allowance design, single-zero default)	https://www.ksrevenue.gov/k4info.html	2026-10-28
KDOR business navigation (Employment Tax Delinquencies page)	https://www.ksrevenue.gov/business.html	2026-10-28

Not yet confirmed: the current withholding penalty tier percentages (79-32,173 was repealed in 1988; the successor sections and the K.S.A. 79-3228 percentages are not yet archived); a citation for the statement that Kansas has no withholding reciprocity agreement with neighboring states; the exact K.A.R. regulation that assigns filing frequency; KDOR's enforcement detail for employment-tax delinquencies.

Contributed by Jeff Watts.