Ezel / Tax Rulings / KS
KS PVD Directive 92-009 Property Tax 1992-11-03

Could a Kansas county appraiser, county clerk, or county commission waive a statutory property-tax listing penalty for a late filer?

Short answer: No. The directive says county appraisers must impose the prescribed penalties and that appraisers, clerks, and county commissioners may not abate them. For a penalty under K.S.A. 79-1422, only the Board of Tax Appeals could grant abatement, based on excusable neglect or the statute's secured-creditor repossession condition.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1992. Ezel answers yours, under current Kansas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1992
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 and boards of county commissioners to prescribe uniform property-tax penalty administration. It is not a private ruling on any late filer's facts. The directive describes statutes and official authority as of its November 3, 1992 approval date; penalty provisions, filing deadlines, abatement standards, and agency names or procedures may have changed. Confirm current statutes, the proper forum, deadlines, and the directive's current status before seeking relief. 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

Kansas PVD Directive 92-009 says local county officials had no discretion to ignore or waive the statutory property-tax penalties identified in the directive.

The county appraiser was required to impose the penalties prescribed by K.S.A. 79-332a, K.S.A. 79-1422, and K.S.A. 79-1427a. County appraisers, county clerks, and boards of county commissioners were told not to abate those penalties.

For the late-filing penalty in K.S.A. 79-1422, the directive emphasized the statutory word shall. Relying on Banister v. Carnes, it treated that word as an affirmative obligation with no local discretion. An appraiser who failed to add the penalty for a late property-listing statement would act contrary to the statute.

The directive also cited the Director of Property Valuation's duty under K.S.A. 79-1404, Third to direct enforcement proceedings involving public officers who failed or neglected to comply with property-return, assessment, and taxation statutes.

BOTA held the abatement authority described in K.S.A. 79-1422(c)

For a penalty imposed under K.S.A. 79-1422, only the Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA) had the abatement authority quoted in the directive. BOTA could abate and order a refund when:

  • the person required to file showed excusable neglect; or
  • property that should have been listed was repossessed, judicially or otherwise, by a secured creditor, and that creditor paid the taxes and interest due.

The county's role was therefore mandatory assessment of the penalty; the taxpayer's route to relief ran to BOTA under the statutory grounds.

What this means for you

Property owners who filed late

Do not expect the appraiser, clerk, or county commission to waive the penalty as a matter of local fairness. Under the directive, relief from a K.S.A. 79-1422 penalty had to come through BOTA and fit one of the grounds stated in subsection (c).

County appraisers

Add the prescribed penalty when the statutory filing requirement is missed. The directive treats "shall" as mandatory and warns that failing to enforce the penalty contravenes the statute.

County clerks and commissioners

The directive denies local abatement authority. Refer a taxpayer seeking K.S.A. 79-1422 relief to the legally authorized process rather than purporting to cancel the penalty locally.

Secured creditors

The repossession ground required more than taking the property back. The quoted statute also required the secured creditor to pay the taxes and interest due.

Common questions

Q: Could the county appraiser decide not to add a late-filing penalty?
A: No. The directive says the statutory penalty was mandatory.

Q: Could the county commission waive it?
A: No. The directive also bars county clerks and boards of county commissioners from abating the penalties.

Q: Who could abate a K.S.A. 79-1422 penalty?
A: BOTA, under the authority and grounds stated in subsection (c).

Q: What counted as a possible ground for abatement?
A: Excusable neglect, or the specified repossession situation in which a secured creditor paid the taxes and interest due.

Q: Did repossession alone qualify?
A: No. The statutory language quoted in the directive also required payment of the taxes and interest.

Q: Does this page say what today's filing deadline or penalty amount is?
A: No. It reports the authority allocation in the 1992 directive; current law must be checked.

Citations and references

  • K.S.A. 79-332a, as amended by L. 1992, ch. 282, § 2 — penalties identified in the directive.
  • K.S.A. 79-1422 and subsection (c) — late-listing penalty and BOTA abatement authority.
  • K.S.A. 1991 Supp. 79-1427a — penalties identified in the directive.
  • K.S.A. 79-306 — filing date referenced by K.S.A. 79-1422.
  • K.S.A. 1991 Supp. 79-1404, Third — Director's enforcement duty.
  • L. 1992, ch. 249, § 1 — authority cited for adopting the directive.
  • Banister v. Carnes, 9 Kan. App. 2d 133 (1983) — "shall" imposes an affirmative obligation without discretion, as stated in the directive.

Source

Original ruling text

STATE OF KANSAS

David C. Cunningham, Director
Robert B. Docking State Office Building (913) 296-2365
915 S.W. Harrison St. FAX (913) 296-2320
Topeka, Kansas 66612-1585

                                         Department of Revenue
                                      Division of Property Valuation


                                        DIRECTIVE # 92-009

    TO:              County Appraisers; Boards of County
                     Commissioners

    SUBJECT: Abatement of Tax Penalties Pursuant to (K.S.A. 79-332a, as
             amended by L. 1992, ch. 282, §2.K.S.A.79-1422 and K.S.A.
             1991 Supp. 79-1427a)


    This directive is adopted pursuant to the provisions of L. 1992, ch. 249, § 1, and
    shall be in force and effect from and after the Director's approval date.

    The county appraiser shall impose all penalties prescribed by K.S.A. 79-332a, as
    amended by L. 1992, ch. 282, §2, K.S.A. 79-1422 and K.S.A. 1991 Supp. 79-
    1427a. County appraisers, county clerks and boards of county commissioners
    shall not abate such penalties.

    K.S.A. 79-1422 provides in part that "[a]ny person required to file a statement
    listing property for assessment and taxation purposes who fails to make and file
    such statement on or before the date prescribed by K.S.A. 79-306, and
    amendments thereto, shall be subject to a penalty…" (Emphasis added.) The
    word "shall" imposes an affirmative obligation to which discretion does not apply
    {Banister v. Carnes, 9 Kan. App. 2d 133 (1983)}. Therefore, any county
    appraiser not adding the penalties prescribed by K.S.A. 79-1422 in the case of a
    late filing is in contravention of the provisions of the statute. K.S.A. 1991 Supp.
    79-1404, Third states that it shall be the duty of the Director of Property
    Valuation to direct proceedings, action and prosecutions to be instituted to
    enforce the laws relating to the penalties, liabilities and punishment of public
    officers for failure or neglect to comply with the provisions of the statutes
    governing the return, assessment and taxation of property.

Page 2

DIRECTIVE #92-009 11-03-1992
Only the Board of Tax Appeals is authorized to abate any penalty imposed under
the provisions of K.S.A. 79-1422(c), which provides:

  The board of tax appeals shall have the authority to abate any
  penalty imposed under the provisions of [K.S.A. 79-1422] and
  order the refund of the abated penalty, whenever excusable
  neglect on the part of the person required to make and file the
  statement listing property for assessment and taxation is
  shown, or whenever the property for which a statement of
  assessment was not filed as required by law is repossessed,
  judicially or otherwise, by a secured creditor and such secured
  creditor pays the taxes and interest due.

Approved: November 3, 1992
David C. Cunningham
Director of Property Valuation

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