Rural Opportunity Zone Credit
INCOME TAXPAYER - Effective for all taxable years commencing after Dec. 31, 2011 and before Jan. 1, 2027.
The Rural Opportunity Zone program is comprised of two components, the student loan repayment assistance program and the income tax credit.
Visit the Kansas Department of Commerce website to learn more about the student loan repayment assistance program: https://www.kansascommerce.gov/program/taxes-and-financing/rural-opportunity-zones-roz/.
Income Tax Credit
A resident income taxpayer that establishes a domicile in a Kansas rural opportunity zone shall be allowed a tax credit.
Qualifications
A taxpayer must meet the following qualifications to be eligible for the credit:
- Establish domicile in a rural opportunity zone on or after July 1, 2011 and prior to Jan. 1, 2026.
- Must have been domiciled outside Kansas for five or more years immediately prior to establishing their domicile in a Kansas rural opportunity zone.
- Must have had no more than $10,000 in Kansas source income in any one year for five or more years immediately prior to establishing their domicile in a Kansas rural opportunity zone;
- Must have been domiciled in a Kansas rural opportunity zone during the entire taxable year for which the credit will be claimed;
- The tax return on which the credit is claimed must be timely filed (including an extension of time); and
- The taxpayer may not be delinquent in filing any tax return with or paying any tax due to the state of Kansas or any political subdivision.
More information regarding qualifications
Rural Opportunity Zone frequently asked questions
Credit Amount
The credit is 100 percent of the taxpayer's Kansas tax liability.
Limitation of Credit
The credit is limited to the amount of the taxpayer's Kansas tax liability.
A resident individual may claim this credit for not more than five consecutive years following establishment of their domicile in a rural opportunity zone. This assumes the individual establishes domicile in a rural opportunity zone on or after July 1, 2011 and prior to January 1, 2026 and was domiciled outside this state for five or more years immediately prior to establishing their domicile in a rural opportunity zone in this state. If an individual establishes their domicile in a rural opportunity zone after January 1, 2019, the number of years for which they can claim the credit will be reduced. The last opportunity to claim the credit will be on the individual’s 2026 tax year return, which will be filed in 2027.
Procedures to Claim the Credit
This credit is available only through electronic filing.
Rural Opportunity Zone Credit Definitions
Domicile
Domicile is defined in K.A.R. 92-12-4a (see our Policy Information Library for more information).
Kansas Rural Opportunity Zone
The following are eligible counties for tax years 2012 through 2020:
Barber, Chautauqua, Cheyenne, Clark, Cloud, Comanche, Decatur, Edwards, Elk, Gove, Graham, Greeley, Greenwood, Hamilton, Harper, Hodgeman, Jewell, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, Logan, Marion, Mitchell, Morton, Ness, Norton, Osborne, Pawnee, Phillips. Pratt, Rawlins, Republic, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Scott, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stafford, Stanton, Trego, Thomas, Wallace, Washington, Wichita, Wilson or Woodson counties.
The following additional counties were added for tax years 2013 through 2020:
Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Brown, Chase, Clay, Coffey, Doniphan, Ellsworth, Grant, Gray, Haskell, Jackson, Linn, Marshall, Meade, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Ottawa, Rice, Stevens, or Wabaunsee counties.
The following additional counties were added for tax years 2014 through 2020: Cherokee, Labette, Montgomery or Sumner counties.
The following counties are eligible for tax year 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024:
Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Brown, Barber, Barton, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Decatur, Dickinson, Doniphan, Edwards, Elk, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Greenwood, Hamilton, Harper, Harvey, Haskell, Hodgeman, Jackson, Jefferson, Jewell, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Labette, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Miami, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morris, Morton, Nemaha, Neosho, Ness, Norton, Osage, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Rawlins, Republic, Rice, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Scott, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Sumner, Trego, Thomas, Wabaunsee, Wallace, Washington, Wichita, Wilson, or Woodson counties.
Counties that will qualify for the ROZ credit for tax year 2025 will be published when available.