Ezel / Tax Rulings / KS
KS PVD Directive 19-044 Property Tax 2019-08-27

How does a Kansas county record what my property is used for, and can it make up its own codes?

Short answer: It uses a statewide code list, and no, the county cannot make up its own. The directive replaced the old KSCAMA Land Use Codes with the Land Based Classification Standards (LBCS) Economic Function Codes and requires the county appraiser 'to describe the current and predominate economic function of each parcel of real property' using 'the prescribed list.' Counties have no latitude to extend it: 'no changes, alterations, or additions to the LBCS Function Codes can be made by the county,' and 'modification requests shall be submitted to the director in writing.' If a parcel is not in use on January 1, the code 'shall represent the most recent use, intended use, or most likely use of the parcel.'

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2019. Ezel answers yours, under current Kansas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2019
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official directive of the Kansas Department of Revenue's Division of Property Valuation, addressed to county appraisers to prescribe uniform standards for ad valorem (property) taxation across Kansas counties. It is not a private ruling issued to any one taxpayer and was not written in response to a taxpayer's request, so no taxpayer can rely on it as a ruling on their own facts; your county appraiser applies it to your property. It concerns PROPERTY tax data standards only: not sales, use, or income tax. IMPORTANT SCOPE NOTE: the LBCS Economic Function Code is a descriptive data field used for statistical reporting; it is NOT the constitutional/statutory tax classification that sets your assessment rate, which Kansas governs through K.S.A. 79-1439 and Kan. Const. art. 11, § 1 (see Directive #19-038 on mixed-use classification). The directive states on its face that it supersedes Directive #11-044, and it expressly allows the director to update the code list 'without re-issuing this directive,' so the current code list may differ from the one in force in 2019. Confirm the current directive and the current code list with the Division before relying on this. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Plain-English summary

Every parcel in Kansas carries a code describing what it is economically used for. This directive changed which coding system counties use and locked down who is allowed to change it.

The switch itself is stated in one line: "The KSCAMA Land Use Codes have been replaced by the Land Based Classification Standard (LBCS) Economic Function Codes." The county appraiser "shall utilize the prescribed list of LBCS Economic Function Codes to describe the current and predominate economic function of each parcel of real property."

Two details in that sentence do real work. The code describes economic function, and it reflects the predominate use — one code per parcel, not a code per activity.

Vacant or idle parcels still get a code. "If a parcel of property is not in use on January 1st of the tax year, the LBCS Economic Function Code shall represent the most recent use, intended use, or most likely use of the parcel." Nothing goes uncoded merely because nothing is happening on it.

Where the code lives. The directive even specifies the data field: "The designated position of this data field in the Orion computer assisted mass appraisal system is the Appraisal tab, Property Information section."

Why the uniformity matters. These codes are not merely internal bookkeeping — "these codes are used to compile the annual statistical report of statewide values and respond to numerous query reports prepared for county appraisers, legislative purposes, and statewide agencies." Statewide statistics and legislative analysis only work if all 105 counties code the same way.

That is why the directive forecloses local variation flatly: "No changes, alterations, or additions to the LBCS Function Codes can be made by the county. Modification requests shall be submitted to the director in writing."

Approved modifications flow back out through documentation: any the director approves "shall be distributed to all counties through a revised set of pages" for the LBCS Economic Function Codes, the Residential/Agricultural Improvement Data Collection Manual, and the Commercial/Industrial Improvement Data Collection Manual.

One provision to note for currency: "The director may update the list of LBCS Economic Function Codes as necessary without re-issuing this directive." The directive can be current while the code list underneath it has moved.

What this means for you

Property owners who spotted an odd code on county records

First, calibrate what it means. The LBCS Economic Function Code is a descriptive field for statistical reporting — it is not the classification that sets your assessment rate. A wrong code is worth correcting for accuracy, but by itself it does not establish that your taxes were computed wrong. The classification question is the subject of Directive #19-038.

Second, if the code is genuinely wrong for how the parcel is used, raise it with the county appraiser as a data correction. The standard is the parcel's current and predominate economic function.

Owners of vacant land or a property between uses

Do not expect a blank. A parcel not in use on January 1 is coded by "the most recent use, intended use, or most likely use." If your parcel was coded off an intended use that has since changed — a development that did not proceed, for instance — that is worth telling the appraiser.

Owners of mixed-activity parcels

Because the code captures the predominate economic function, a parcel doing several things gets one code. That single code is not a finding that the parcel has only one use, and it does not preclude the multiple tax classifications that Directive #19-038 permits where physically identifiable portions have different uses. Do not let a single-code data field be treated as an answer to the classification question.

County appraisers and appraisal staff

The list is closed. Counties may not add, alter or change codes locally, and modification requests must go to the director in writing. Watch for revised pages distributed to all counties, since the director may update the list without re-issuing this directive.

Researchers and analysts using Kansas parcel data

Useful context for anyone consuming this data: the field is the Orion Appraisal tab, Property Information section; it is a predominate-use code rather than an exhaustive use inventory; idle parcels carry an inferred code rather than a null; and the code set can change between years without a new directive. Treat these codes as economic-function descriptors, not as tax classifications.

Common questions

Q: What replaced the old KSCAMA Land Use Codes?
A: The Land Based Classification Standards (LBCS) Economic Function Codes.

Q: Can my county invent a code that fits my property better?
A: No. "No changes, alterations, or additions to the LBCS Function Codes can be made by the county." A county wanting a change must request it from the director in writing.

Q: My parcel is vacant. Does it get a code?
A: Yes — "the most recent use, intended use, or most likely use of the parcel."

Q: My parcel is used for two different things. Do I get two codes?
A: The code describes the "current and predominate economic function," so one code. That is separate from tax classification, where Directive #19-038 allows more than one classification for physically identifiable portions.

Q: Does this code determine my assessment rate?
A: No. It is a descriptive data field used for statistical and query reporting. Assessment rates follow the classification system in K.S.A. 79-1439 and Kan. Const. art. 11, § 1.

Q: What are the codes used for?
A: "The annual statistical report of statewide values" and "numerous query reports prepared for county appraisers, legislative purposes, and statewide agencies."

Q: Where is the code recorded?
A: In Orion, at "the Appraisal tab, Property Information section."

Q: Is the 2019 code list still the current one?
A: Not necessarily. The director "may update the list of LBCS Economic Function Codes as necessary without re-issuing this directive," so check the current list with the Division.

Citations and references

Authority for the directive: K.S.A. 79-505(a).

Coding standard adopted: Land Based Classification Standards (LBCS) Economic Function Codes, replacing the KSCAMA Land Use Codes.

System of record: Orion computer assisted mass appraisal system, Appraisal tab, Property Information section.

Documents revised when the director approves a modification:

  • LBCS Economic Function Codes
  • Residential/Agricultural Improvement Data Collection Manual
  • Commercial/Industrial Improvement Data Collection Manual

Directive superseded by this one: #11-044.

Related directive (tax classification, a different question): Directive #19-038 on classification of real property used for mixed purposes.

Source

Original ruling text

Division of Property Valuation
300 SW 29th Street Phone: 785-296-2365
PO Box 3506 Fax: 785-296-2320
Topeka KS 66601-3506 www.ksrevenue.gov
Mark Burghart, Secretary Laura Kelly, Governor

                                 DIRECTIVE #19-044

TO: County Appraisers

SUBJECT: Land Based Classification Standards (LBCS) Economic Function Codes
This Directive Supersedes Directive #11-044

This directive is adopted pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 79-505(a), and shall be in force and
effect from and after the director's approval date.
The KSCAMA Land Use Codes have been replaced by the Land Based Classification Standard
(LBCS) Economic Function Codes. The county appraiser shall utilize the prescribed list of LBCS
Economic Function Codes to describe the current and predominate economic function of each
parcel of real property. The director may update the list of LBCS Economic Function Codes as
necessary without re-issuing this directive. If a parcel of property is not in use on January 1st of
the tax year, the LBCS Economic Function Code shall represent the most recent use, intended use,
or most likely use of the parcel. The designated position of this data field in the Orion computer
assisted mass appraisal system is the Appraisal tab, Property Information section.

These codes are used to compile the annual statistical report of statewide values and respond to
numerous query reports prepared for county appraisers, legislative purposes, and statewide
agencies. No changes, alterations, or additions to the LBCS Function Codes can be made by the
county. Modification requests shall be submitted to the director in writing. Any modifications
approved by the director shall be distributed to all counties through a revised set of pages for the
following Orion documents:

LBCS Economic Function Codes
Residential/Agricultural Improvement Data Collection Manual
Commercial/Industrial Improvement Data Collection Manual

Approved: August 27, 2019
David N. Harper
Director of Property Valuation

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