More than 250 households got relief in the inaugural year of Overland Park’s property tax rebate pilot, and city leaders hope more could benefit this year.
Last year, Overland Park joined the ranks of other local cities that have tried to offer targeted property tax relief as rising property values cause some homeowners’ property taxes to climb year after year.
“I think we’re trying to hit our most vulnerable people,” said Councilmember Holly Grummert.
Now, Overland Park is expanding the program with more money and has looked at additional changes to potentially reach more residents who might feel squeezed by the cost of their property taxes.
268 households helped property tax rebate’s first year
Overland Park’s program prioritized lower-income households, which works out to $89,100 or less for a family of four in 2025. (Initially, rebates were restricted to extremely low- and very low-income households, but the Overland Park City Council expanded availability in mid-2025.)
In all, out of more than 300 applicants, 268 households received rebates on their city property taxes last year — 161 in the first round and 118 in the second round — with an average household income of roughly $32,000.
That’s according to a recent presentation from Andrew Davis, senior program manager from Community Capital Fund, during the Overland Park City Council Finance, Administration and Economic Development Committee meeting in January.
“We were really able to get some of your residents that were most in need access to this program,” he said. “We know that folks really, really needed this program to succeed.”
Plus, Davis said the average age of an individual who received a rebate was 63 years old, and the average length of time they’d resided in their current home was 23 years. Additionally, the average value of a home that received a rebate was about $300,000.
Am I eligible for a property tax rebate in Overland Park?
Overland Park had a handful of terms on its property tax rebate program in 2025, which will continue in the 2026 program. Those are:
- A property owner must reside in the Overland Park home on which they request a rebate.
- They have to be current on their property taxes.
- No more than 75% of the city’s portion of their tax bill will be rebated.
Additionally, Overland Park crafted priority criteria that could be used to weigh applications if demand exceeded capacity, including:
- Homes with an appraised value lower than the year prior’s average for the city. (In 2025, Overland Park’s average appraised home value is $528,006.)
- Individuals who have resided at the same address for 15 years or longer.
- Individuals who are veterans, disabled and/or over the age of 65.
- Homes within the city’s “priority neighborhoods,” which would be determined by Overland Park’s neighborhood indicators analysis system.
The first round of applications for property tax rebates in Overland Park is likely to open in the spring and run into the summer. If needed, a subsequent round could be offered in the fall if funds are still available.
Now what?
The city’s 2026 budget set aside $220,000 for property tax rebates, adding $20,000 to the program for this calendar year.
Additionally, the city is looking at ways to collaborate with the county to connect their respective programs since they found few recipients of city rebates were aware of the county’s rebate. There’s also been some discussion about tweaking the terms to open up the door to more people, but what exactly that might look like is unclear.
Councilmember Amy Scrivner suggested removing the requirement that applicants be current on their property taxes, since being behind on your property taxes could be “an indicator that you’re struggling.”
Councilmember Chris Newlin, who chairs the finance committee, said he was interested in having that conversation more in the next couple of months before 2026 applications open. He mentioned specifically the potential of removing the 75% cap or eliminating some of the eligibility criteria.
“Something for us to think is, ‘What should be our goal?’” he said. “I do think this is headed in the right direction.”
Looking back: Overland Park’s property tax rebate pilot takes shape — Who will qualify?
