In Kansas, you need workers compensation once your total gross annual payroll for all employees passes 20,000 dollars a year. That is the key surprise: Kansas measures a payroll amount, not a headcount, so the question is not how many people you have but how much you pay them. An employer whose payroll last year was 20,000 dollars or less, and who reasonably expects to stay at or below that this year, is a non-covered employer that the Act does not require to insure.
Who this is for: Kansas owners deciding whether they must carry workers comp yet, including brand-new businesses, small shops near the payroll line, and owners who use a mix of staff and contractors.
The short version
- Coverage is required once your total gross annual payroll for all employees passes 20,000 dollars a year.
- Kansas counts a payroll amount, not a number of employees, so one well-paid worker can trigger it and several low-wage ones might not.
- Part-time and seasonal wages count toward the 20,000 dollar line; wages paid to your own family members do not.
- Owners are handled by business type: sole proprietors, partners, and LLC members are off by default and opt in.
- A corporation's officers are the exception, covered by default, with only a 10 percent owner-officer able to opt out.
When Kansas requires a policy
Kansas keeps one clear filter: an employer whose total gross annual payroll for all employees is more than 20,000 dollars must secure workers comp, unless the work is farming, which is exempt. There is no lighter rule for construction and no separate lower threshold for any trade. Agricultural pursuits sit outside the Act, and a few narrow groups are excluded unless the employer brings them in. The payroll test is what decides the rest.
| Your situation | Workers comp required? |
|---|---|
| Payroll over 20,000 dollars a year | Yes, you must secure coverage |
| Payroll 20,000 dollars or less, expected to stay there | No, you are a non-covered employer |
| Part-time or seasonal staff, payroll over the line | Yes, their wages count toward the 20,000 dollars |
| A construction business over the line | Yes, and enforcement is heaviest here |
| Farm or agricultural labor | Exempt from the Act |
How the 20,000 dollar count works
You add up the gross wages of all your employees for the year. Part-time, seasonal, and full-time pay all count. The one subtraction Kansas allows is family: wages paid to an employee who is a member of your family by marriage or blood are left out of the total. So a sole proprietor whose only workers are relatives may stay under the line, while a business paying non-family staff more than 20,000 dollars is over it. Owners who are sole proprietors, partners, or LLC members are not employees, so their own draws are not part of the count.
Who counts as an employee
Coverage turns on the working relationship, not the label. Kansas uses the common-law right-of-control test, asking whether you have the right to direct not just the result of the work but how it gets done. Calling someone a contractor and sending a 1099 does not settle it. Kansas does not use the stricter checklist some states apply, the ABC test; it looks at control, the right to hire and fire, who supplies tools, how pay is set, and whether the worker runs an independent business. If your people are employees under that test and your payroll clears 20,000 dollars, they must be covered.
A Topeka example
Illustrative, not a quote. A Topeka landscaping business starts the season with the owner working solo, so no policy is required. In spring the owner hires two crew members and pays them a combined 46,000 dollars over the year. Because that payroll is well over 20,000 dollars, Kansas requires a workers comp policy covering both, even though the season is short. The owner, a sole proprietor, is off the policy by default but can opt in to cover his own injuries. See our workers comp for contractors page for how field trades are rated.
Real questions Kansas owners ask
Do I really need workers comp in Kansas, and what triggers it?
You need it once your total gross annual payroll for all employees passes 20,000 dollars a year. Kansas uses that payroll amount as the trigger, not a headcount, so your wages bill is what decides whether you must insure.
Is Kansas workers comp required at a certain number of employees?
No. There is no employee count that triggers it. Kansas requires coverage based on payroll, so an employer over 20,000 dollars in gross annual payroll must insure, and one at or below that line generally does not.
I am a solo owner with no staff. Do I need it?
Not on yourself. A sole proprietor with no employees is not required to carry workers comp, though you may opt in to cover your own injuries. Once you pay employees more than 20,000 dollars a year, a policy becomes required.
Do part-time and seasonal wages count toward the threshold?
Yes. Kansas counts the wages of all employees, including part-time and seasonal workers, toward the 20,000 dollar line. Only wages paid to your own family members are left out of the total.
Are my 1099 contractors employees for workers comp?
They can be. Kansas looks at who controls the work, not the tax form. If you direct how, when, and where the job gets done, the worker is likely an employee whose wages count toward the threshold and who must be covered.
Is construction treated differently in Kansas?
The payroll test is the same, with no separate construction threshold, but enforcement is heaviest in construction. A general contractor can also be made to pay for an uninsured subcontractor's injured workers, so proof of coverage matters on every job.
Who has to be covered if I run a corporation?
Your employees whose wages put you over the line, plus your officers by default. A corporation's executive officers count as employees in Kansas and are covered unless a 10 percent owner-officer files to opt out, which is the opposite of the rule for sole proprietors.
Why Kansas owners choose Morrow
- We shop the right market for you. In Kansas you buy workers comp on the open, competitive market from any private insurer licensed in the state, because there is no state fund, and if no carrier will take you the state's assigned risk plan, run by the national rating bureau, is the guaranteed backstop, so we can shop your rate freely and still have a fallback for hard-to-place work.
- We catch pricing mistakes. Your price depends heavily on the category your work falls into for pricing (the class code). Put people in the wrong category and you overpay for years. We review your payroll and classifications before you buy.
- Proof of coverage, fast. Need a certificate (proof of coverage) for a general contractor or a landlord before Monday? We turn those around the same business day for most carriers.
- We help lower the score that drives your price. Insurers give you a score based on your past claims that raises or lowers your cost (the experience modification rate). We review it each year, flag errors, and connect you with return-to-work and safety resources that bring it down.
- Real people when a claim happens. When someone gets hurt, we stay involved through the life of the claim, not just at renewal.
Related Kansas guides
Every Kansas business is set up a little differently. These companion guides answer the same question for other situations, plus the national explainers behind the terms used here.
- Business insurance in Kansas (start here)
- I own an LLC: do I need workers comp?
- I'm a sole proprietor: do I need workers comp?
- I own a corporation (C-corp or S-corp): do I need it?
- We're a partnership: do we need workers comp?
- We're a nonprofit: do we need workers comp?
- My workers are 1099: do I still need it?
- Only part-time or seasonal staff: do I need it?
- I only employ family: do I need workers comp?
- Remote or out-of-state staff: do I need coverage?
- What happens if I don't carry workers comp?
- How much does workers comp cost?
- How do I get workers comp (even if turned down)?
- What insurance do I need for a contractor license?
- Workers compensation insurance, explained
- What workers comp costs (national guide)
- Hiring your first employee: what changes
- What workers comp does not cover
- Kansas contractor workers comp
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Kansas rules and penalty amounts can change, so verify current requirements with the Kansas Department of Labor, Division of Workers Compensation or a licensed advisor before you rely on them. Last updated: July 2026.