Douglas County property tax rebates surge for seniors, disabled veterans

Douglas County will send $156,123 back to seniors and disabled veterans through its property tax rebate program this year, more than five times the $30,624 paid out in the pilot round. The average rebate climbed to $393 from $281, and 397 applicants qualified after 475 people applied, a sign that more residents learned about the relief and made it through the process.

The money is going to low-income county residents who are 65 or older or who are disabled veterans. For 2026, the maximum rebate rose to $400 per household, or the county portion of the property tax bill, whichever is less. That matters because the program does not cover the full bill. It only offsets the county share, not the school, city, library or parks levies that also land on local homeowners.

Douglas County Commission members approved the pilot on Oct. 2, 2024, and the program launched in January 2025. In that first year, about 81% of the 135 applicants were eligible, and the county awarded nearly $31,000 in total. The pilot was funded with $500,000 from general fund reserves, giving county leaders room to test whether a narrowly targeted rebate could reach homeowners on fixed incomes without creating a broad new tax break.

County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said staff believed changes in outreach helped more eligible residents apply this year. The county also moved to align income counting with the state homestead refund rules and adjusted eligibility guidelines to broaden access. Applications were due April 15, and rebates are scheduled to be mailed by July 2026.

The program remains unusual in Kansas. Douglas County officials have said Johnson County is the only other county in the state with a similar property-tax relief effort, which makes the county’s larger 2026 payout notable for both its scale and its policy reach. As property tax bills keep squeezing fixed-income households, this rebate has become a small but concrete form of local relief for older homeowners and disabled veterans who qualify.