Prejudgment Interest Rules in Kansas
At a glance
| Governing law | K.S.A. 16-201(a) governs qualifying money due; subsection (b) supplies a separate court-awarded tort rate for civil actions filed on or after July 1, 2023. K.S.A. 16-204(e)(1) defines the referenced judgment rate, and § 75-6105(c)-(d) addresses governmental defendants. |
|---|---|
| Interest rate | Money due: 10% a year absent an agreed rate (§ 16-201(a)); contract rate continues through judgment (§ 16-205(a)). Eligible tort suits: two points below the § 16-204(e)(1) judgment rate; 7.75% judgment rate for July 2026–June 2027 means 5.75% tort prejudgment rate (§ 16-201(b); Kansas Secretary of State rate table). |
| When interest starts running | For § 16-201(a) money due, from when the amount became due; for a settled account, from liquidation and ascertainment of its balance. Subsection (b) authorizes tort interest in eligible suits but does not give a universal injury-date trigger. |
| Contract vs. tort claims | Section 16-201(a) covers qualifying money due, including liquidated contract claims under Hamilton v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.; subsection (b) separately permits a court to award tort prejudgment interest in civil actions filed on or after July 1, 2023. |
| Mandatory or discretionary | For tort suits under § 16-201(b), the court decides whether to award interest. Section 16-201(a) says creditors shall be allowed interest on covered money due; Hamilton requires the claimed amount and due date to be fixed or mathematically ascertainable. |
| Simple or compound | Section 16-201 states annual rates without a periodic prejudgment compounding formula. Accrued prejudgment interest becomes part of the judgment on which postjudgment interest runs (Iola State Bank v. Bolan, 235 Kan. 175 (1984)). |
| Claims against the government | K.S.A. 75-6105(c) bars prejudgment interest against a governmental entity or an employee acting within the scope of employment, except for an employee’s actual fraud or malice. Subsection (d) exempts childhood-sexual-abuse claims from § 75-6105. |
| Other exceptions | Civil tort actions filed before July 1, 2023 are outside § 16-201(b). An agreed contract rate displaces § 16-201(a)’s 10% default (§ 16-205(a)); § 75-6105(c)-(d) limits government claims as described above. |
Requirements one by one
Governing law
K.S.A. § 16-201(a) sets the general rate for covered money after it becomes due. Subsection (b), added in 2023, creates a distinct route for civil tort actions filed on or after July 1, 2023. Its rate uses the judgment-rate formula in § 16-204(e)(1).
Interest rate
The general statutory rate is 10% a year when no other rate is agreed (§ 16-201(a)); § 16-205(a) carries a contract's specified rate through payment, subject to lawful limits. For a qualifying tort action, § 16-201(b) subtracts two points from the § 16-204(e)(1) judgment rate. The Kansas Secretary of State lists 7.75% for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, giving a current tort prejudgment rate of 5.75%.
When interest starts running
Section 16-201(a) starts interest on money after it becomes due and on settled accounts from the date the balance is liquidated and ascertained. In Hamilton v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., the Kansas Supreme Court explained that a claim is liquidated when both the amount and due date are fixed or calculable by math.
Contract vs. tort claims
The 2023 tort provision reaches civil tort actions filed on or after July 1, 2023 (§ 16-201(b)). It allows interest when the court determines an award should be made, even though those claims do not use the general 10% rate in subsection (a).
Simple or compound
Section 16-201 states yearly rates without a periodic prejudgment compounding instruction. Iola State Bank v. Bolan holds that accrued prejudgment interest enters the judgment amount, so later postjudgment interest is calculated on the entire judgment.
Claims against the government
Section 75-6105(c) bars prejudgment interest against a governmental entity and, generally, an employee acting within the scope of employment. The employee exception is actual fraud or actual malice. Subsection (d) removes childhood-sexual-abuse claims from § 75-6105's limits.
What trips people up
The tort rate is two percentage points below the published judgment rate, not the judgment rate itself (§§ 16-201(b), 16-204(e)(1)). The July 2026 rate table fixes the current reference rate through June 2027. Filing date matters: the tort route applies only to actions filed on or after July 1, 2023.
Common questions
Does a contract's own interest rate control? Yes, subject to lawful limits. Section 16-205(a) carries a specified contract rate through full payment.
Can a state employee face prejudgment interest? Not for an in-scope act under § 75-6105(c), unless the act involved the employee's actual fraud or actual malice.
Statutes and sources
- K.S.A. 16-201 — https://ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch16/016_002_0001.html (accessed 2026-10-06).
- K.S.A. 16-204(e)(1) — https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch16/016_002_0004.html (accessed 2026-10-06).
- K.S.A. 16-205(a) — https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch16/016_002_0005.html (accessed 2026-10-06).
- K.S.A. 75-6105(c) — https://ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch75/075_061_0005.html (accessed 2026-10-06).
- Kansas Secretary of State judgment-interest rate table — https://sos.ks.gov/general-services/finance-rates.html (accessed 2026-10-06).
- Hamilton v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., 263 Kan. 875, 953 P.2d 1027 (1998) — https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1379049/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- Iola State Bank v. Bolan, 235 Kan. 175, 679 P.2d 720 (1984) — https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1254513/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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