Property tax in Douglas County, Kansas
In Douglas County, the property tax bill comes from the Douglas County Treasurer's Office. The 2026 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due December 20, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Douglas County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Douglas County, Kansas is $3,776 a year, which is about 1.22% of the county's median home value of $309,400. That effective rate is lower than the typical Kansas county (1.51%) and higher than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Douglas County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Douglas County Treasurer's Office. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Douglas County Appraiser's Office, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
The Douglas County Appraiser values homes and mails value notices by March 1; the County Treasurer sends one bill covering the county, cities, school districts and other taxing districts, and passes the money on to each. Online payments through the county's property search carry a $1.49 e-check fee or a card fee. Mail payments to the Douglas County Treasurer, P.O. Box 668, Lawrence, KS 66044, with your record ID number on the check. The Homestead and Safe Senior refunds the County Clerk helps with are State of Kansas programs, not county ones.
When are property taxes due in Douglas County?
For the 2026 bill, Douglas County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due December 20, 2026 and the last May 10, 2027. A first half of real estate tax not paid by the December due date starts drawing interest the next day, and can still be paid with interest until May 10; after May 10 the full year's tax plus interest is due. The state sets the rate by calendar year: for 2026 it is 13% a year on late real estate tax (15% on a late amount of $10,000 or more), and the 2027 rate has not been published yet. Real estate tax still unpaid on the last business day in July adds a $15 advertising fee, and tax unpaid by the first Tuesday in September goes on the delinquent tax roll and becomes a lien on the property, with a further $1 fee.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First half (or full amount) | December 20, 2026 | You may pay the full year or the first half by this date. The county says statements should arrive by mid-November, though in 2025 it mailed them on December 5. December 20, 2026 is a Sunday. Kansas law moves a real estate tax due date that falls on a Saturday or Sunday to the next business day, so in 2026 the first half is on time if paid by Monday, December 21, 2026; the county applied the same rule last year, when it set the first-half deadline at Monday, December 22, 2025. |
| Second half | May 10, 2027 | May 10, 2027 is a Monday. If you paid only the first half, the county mails a second-half statement in April. |
From Douglas County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Douglas County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Douglas County's average effective rate of 1.22% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $3,775 / year
Property tax in Douglas County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $3,776 |
| Median home value | $309,400 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.22% |
| Typical Kansas county rate | 1.51% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Douglas County compare in Kansas?
Among Kansas's 105 counties, Douglas County has the 93rd highest effective property-tax rate: 92 rank higher and 12 rank lower. That places it among the least taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 710th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Kansas county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Douglas County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Douglas County's 25,246 owner-occupied homes, 64.8% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 85% pay at least $2,000, and 4.4% pay under $800. Another 2.2% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 1,106 | 4.4% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 1,058 | 4.2% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 1,076 | 4.3% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 5,107 | 20.2% |
| $3,000 or more | 16,354 | 64.8% |
| No property tax paid | 545 | 2.2% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,842 and owners without one pay $3,642. That is within 10% either way, so in Douglas County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Douglas County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $3,776 is about 3.3% of the median income of Douglas County homeowner households, $114,643 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 50.1% of Douglas County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Douglas County?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,746 in 2015-2019 to $3,776 in 2020-2024, a 37.5% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 55.2%, from $199,400 to $309,400. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Douglas County
Douglas County borders 7 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee County, KS | 1.5% | $2,705 | $180,900 |
| Osage County, KS | 1.49% | $2,343 | $156,800 |
| Franklin County, KS | 1.41% | $2,810 | $198,700 |
| Miami County, KS | 1.27% | $3,643 | $287,700 |
| Jefferson County, KS | 1.26% | $2,733 | $216,900 |
| Douglas County, KS (this county) | 1.22% | $3,776 | $309,400 |
| Leavenworth County, KS | 1.21% | $3,424 | $282,900 |
| Johnson County, KS | 1.14% | $4,447 | $391,200 |
How is a home assessed in Douglas County?
Kansas assesses homes at 11.5% of market value in every county, Douglas County included. How Kansas assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Douglas County?
Only against one levy. Kansas exempts the first $75,000 of appraised value from the 20 mill statewide school levy, worth roughly $173 a year at most, applied automatically. That is the Kansas rule, and it applies in Douglas County. Kansas's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Kansas programs, Douglas County runs its own:
- Douglas County Property Tax Rebate (pilot program): A Douglas County rebate, separate from the state's Homestead and Safe Senior refunds, for homeowners who own and live in their home, are 65 or older or a disabled veteran, have a home appraised at no more than $350,000 that is not a short-term rental, and have household income at or below the Kansas Homestead Refund limit or HUD's Very Low Income limit, whichever is higher (for 2026, $43,389 for one or two people up to $68,350 for eight). The 2026 application window ran January 15 to April 15, 2026, with applications filed at the County Clerk's Office, and the county says to check back in 2027. Apply by April 15.
How to appeal your Douglas County property assessment
In Douglas County you appeal to the Douglas County Appraiser's Office (informal appeal or payment under protest); its decision can then be appealed to the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA). The deadline: There are two ways to appeal a value at the county level, and you may use only one per tax year. An informal appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date the Notice of Value was mailed; notices go out by March 1, so the 2026 window closed at the end of March. The route still open for 2026 is paying under protest: turn in the Payment Under Protest form with your tax payment by the December 20 deadline (December 21 in 2026, since the 20th is a Sunday) or the May 10, 2027 deadline. If a mortgage company pays your taxes, the form is due by January 31, 2027. A protest cannot be filed if you already appealed the value that tax year. Both routes lead to a phone meeting with an appraiser and a decision letter; if you are not satisfied, you can appeal to BOTA. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Kansas's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Kansas rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Kansas page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Douglas County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Kansas income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Kansas actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Douglas County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Douglas County, Kansas: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.