17 min read
Missouri Sales Tax Guide
👀 Missouri, the "Show Me" state, is the birthplace of such famous icons as Mark Twain, Jon Hamm, and Ellie Kemper. If you’re one of the many proud...
Kansas, the wheat capital of the world, is a beautiful and peaceful state in which to live and do business! If you are one of the many proud small business owners who call Kansas home, you’ll obviously need to be sure your business complies with Kansas's sales tax laws.
No worries! We have assembled this all-in-one guide for sales tax so that you can meet the sales tax compliance requirements for a small business in Kansas.
After reading this guide, you will have learned:
If, after reading, you still have any questions to help you determine your tax sales obligations in Kansas and how to fulfill them, we are here for your small business bookkeeping needs!
✅ Do you need to get in touch with the Kansas Department of Revenue?
✅ Are you uncertain about whether to visit, call them, or contact them through their website?
✅ Do you wonder what information you should have ready before you contact them?
If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, please read onward, as we have just the information you need! :)
The Kansas Department of Revenue is reachable by phone at 785-368-8222.
You can also shoot a message to their email, or you may visit one of their physical locations. If you are looking for the fastest response, we suggest you give them a call instead of sending a message or visiting in person.
When you do call the Kansas Department of Revenue, you will want to have some information on hand. It will save time to have the following information easily accessible before you call:
If you are calling on behalf of an individual or a business, or having a third party call on your behalf, you must have a Kansas Power of Attorney (form DO 10, PDF) signed before you call or else you will be wasting your time; they can only help if you have a completed form.
If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact us so we can assist you with your sales tax needs.
Does your business sell tangible property in Kansas? If yes, you are going to want to register your business with the Kansas Department of Revenue so that you can pay your sales tax fully and on time.
This is a relatively simple process and one for which you’re about to be fully prepared. We are going to outline the steps below so you are totally ready to register for your sales tax license.
Here we go! Remember...
Preparation is key.
Let’s get started!
You can apply or register for a Kansas sales tax permit by visiting the Kansas Department of Revenue and following the instructions provided.
Kansas also has an old school paper based form (PDF) you can print and mail in, but this is going to be a slower setup and with greater possibility for errors. We don’t recommend it, but wanted to make the option available in case it suits the needs of someone out there.
Great question!
Before you sign up for Kansas sales tax permit you’ll want the following information on hand:
Don’t forget! Preparation is key. When you have all this information ready, you can go online and register for your permit at the Kansas Business Tax Registration Application website.
Kansas charges our absolutely favorite price of zero dollars and zero cents. :)
Quite right, yes! You will most assuredly need one, but if you don’t already have one and need to get a new EIN, it’s a painless process. You can register for a Federal EIN right here :).
You may need to apply to some of the following agencies:
You’ll want to give this some thought and do a little research or investigating; since every business is unique, and there are such different rules, regulations, and laws that may apply.
We suggest contacting the Kansas Department of Revenue to verify which additional government agencies you may be required to register with.
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Yippee!!!
You are now prepared to register for your Kansas sales tax permit in Kansas.
Let’s summarize what we have covered:
Registering for your Kansas sales tax permit will be stress free as long as you are prepared. We recommend organizing all the essential information in a folder, preferably using a system like Box.com or Dropbox (something we’re happy to handle for our customers).
By now, you may have already contacted the Kansas Department of Revenue and applied for a Kansas sales tax permit.
Once you have a license to collect and remit sales taxes in Kansas, you will probably be asking yourself two questions:
We are going to go over some common questions that our clients have asked. We believe these questions will help you appreciate the nuances of taxable goods so you can be confident in fulfilling your tax obligations.
Let’s start with the first question…
The following items are all taxable in the state of Kansas:
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Let’s now review some of our clients’ frequently asked questions:
To best understand your tax obligations, new businesses need to consider how they are doing business and the type of relationships they have with buyers and any third parties to their transactions.
Let’s discuss some questions that will help you understand the nature of your small business and the subsequent tax implications.
Kansas is a destination-based sales tax state, which simply means you charge sales tax based on the location of the purchaser rather than that of the seller. Local cities and unincorporated areas may choose to add up to an additional 2% on general tax and 1% for special surtax. Kansas’s Department of Revenue website to check the sales tax rate based on an address.
For more information on destination-based taxation in Kansas, click here.
Having nexus, also known as "sufficient business presence,” with Kansas means your business has established a taxing connection with a state. When this happens, you are required to collect and remit sales tax in Kansas because you created a sales tax Nexus.
Even if your business maintains its main headquarters in another state, you may still have to charge and pay sales tax to the Kansas Department of Revenue even if you never step foot in Kansas.
So, how do you create sales tax nexus in Kansas?
A business establishes a nexus in Kansas by:
Let’s talk a bit more specifically about where your goods are stored such as in the instance of an Amazon warehouse.
Yes, Kansas has one distribution center at this time:
6925 Riverview Ave
Kansas City, KS 66102
This information is relevant for our customers who sell products on Amazon or are recognized as Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) sellers. When Amazon stores products in one of its fulfillment centers in any state including, it triggers a sales tax requirement.
We often use A2X + Wherestock to find out where our clients’ inventory is currently being held by Amazon across the country. This helps us determine what our clients need to do to be in compliance with all applicable state tax laws.
Not yet! The state has, at the time of this article’s writing, passed economic nexus bills twice but both times they’ve been vetoed by the governor.
Yes, Kansas has click-through nexus as of August 2013. This means if your business is involved in affiliate marketing sales to Kansas purchasers, you may be liable to pay sales tax even if you aren’t located in the state of Kansas.
In any other situation where your business is garnering revenue from assisting sales and gross receipts exceed $10,000/year, you will need to register and pay as an affiliate.
Yes indeedy! Since October, 2005 Kansas has been a full member of Streamlined Sales Tax.
If you are planning on taking advantage of the Streamlined Sales Tax as a business, it is recommended you use a Certified Service Provider though businesses may opt to register themselves without a CSP. Ultimately the aim of streamlined sales tax is to simplify payment to multiple different states of sales and use tax. It isn’t required that you utilize them, but it can significantly reduce complexity to do so, especially if your business sells in multiple states.
You and your business can be better equipped to avoid situations like paying fines, paying back taxes that you did know you had to pay in the first place, or facing an audit by the tax authorities in Kansas.
By now you know if you are a business that has established a nexus with Kansas. So you have an understanding about whether, or when, you are required to collect sales tax. Knowing this is just half the battle! Now, we are going to help you with the next half of the battle: how to navigate the process of collecting taxes.
Let’s review some common questions our clients have asked regarding their Kansas Sales Tax obligations.
After reading this, you will be better equipped to determine when --and when not-- to collect sales tax in Kansas.
Because Kansas is a destination-based state, you will want to configure your Point-of-Sales software to charge tax based on the location of the purchaser. Should you need to verify the proper rate manually, Kansas has a local tax lookup page.
Kansas’s state-wide sales tax rate is 6.5% at the time of this article’s writing, with the local surtaxes potentially bringing that as high as 8.5%. However, since sales tax rates may change, we shall refer you to check out the Kansas Department of Revenue tax rate lookup page. Any change will be reflected on that page.
It always helps to be accurate and up to date with this type of information! :)
Here is a sample list of exemptions:
Kansas has too many exempt items to list here, but they go into greater detail on their website.
At this point, you should know what products are exempt from sales tax in Kansas. You also want to know who may be exempt.
Under Kansas law, the type of buyer or the way the goods will be used can qualify can buyer for a sales tax exemption. A good example of this is a merchant purchasing goods for resale, aka a wholesaler.
Other common examples of an exempt buyer may include:
Note that a non-profit or contractor status doesn’t necessarily immediately confer tax exempt status.
Purchasers who are tax exempt must have completed a valid exemption certificate form and must present their completed exemption certificate at the time of purchase. It is then incumbent upon the seller to hold on to this exemption certificate. Failure to do so may leave you unable to justify tax exempt sales.
Remember, you always want to collect and file a copy of the exempt certificate. Such certificates must be produced upon request in the event of an audit to justify tax-exempt sales.
Hmm... Obviously this issue is best to be avoided! Imagine finding out you’ll be audited and discovering you cannot produce an exemption certificate for a buyer! That nightmare scenario would mean you could be held liable to pay all taxes on behalf of the buyer. This is a bad scene and can be avoided by taking proper care with your paperwork… which happens to be one of our specialties! :)
Nope, they do not. Carry on, you wayward sons.
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We have now covered who you need to collect sales taxes from, how to determine whether goods for sale are deemed taxable, what goods and services fall under tax exemptions, who is eligible for tax exemption certificates, and, finally, the process of collecting sales tax in Kansas state.
Now that we’re this far down the rabbit hole there’s only one thing we need to learn about next… how to pay the piper!
It is time to talk about filing and paying your sales taxes in Kansas. In this section, We are going to cover the following frequently asked questions from our clients:
By the time you finish reading this, you will feel confident enough to file and pay your Kansas Sales Tax.
Kansas sales tax payments are due based on the filing interval. Filing intervals are based on the company’s tax liability [detailed just ahead, do be patient! :p]
Filing Interval |
Due day |
Annually |
January 25th of the following year. |
Quarterly |
Q1 April 25, Q1 July 25, Q3 October 25, Q4 January 25 |
Monthly |
The 25th of the following month |
Pre-paid Monthly |
First 15 days liability is due on or before the 25th of that month. |
The thresholds for filing intervals are based on the expected or actual tax liability owed:
Amount Owed [anticipated if new business, actual if existing company] |
Filing interval |
$0 - $400 in a year |
Annual |
From $400.01 to $4,000 in a year |
Quarterly |
From $4,000.01 to $40,000 in a year |
Monthly |
More than $40,000.01 in a year |
Pre-paid monthly |
For more information, consult the Kansas Department of Revenue FAQ page.
Not sure how to determine your tax filing frequency?
You can review your eCommerce or Point-of-Sale Software to see the volume of sales you have generated.
Don't worry though! The state will let you know when your due dates change. :)
Keep an eye out for notices in your mail from the State of Kansas so that you don't miss any shift in deadlines.
The deadline is moved to the next business day, typically the Monday following the weekend or the day after the holiday. Where possible, we always suggest filing well before the holiday, of course ;).
Paper: Complete ST-16 (single jurisdiction) or ST-36 (multiple jurisdictions). Enclose payment and mail to:
Tax Operations
Docking State Office Building
915 SW Harrison St.
Topeka, KS 66612-1588.
Electronic: File online and submit payment via EFT.
Paper: Complete a new ST-16 (single jurisdiction) or ST-36 (multiple jurisdictions) but check the “Amended return” box.
Electronic: Amend your original return online
If you were required to collect sales taxes and failed to do so for whatever reason, that’s a big no-no! Ultimately the business will be held liable for the due tax. Always be sure to collect sales tax at the point of sale. Attempting to collect after the fact will be time consuming and most likely unsuccessful.
Protip: You are still responsible for remitting sales taxes even if you failed to collect them.
This isn’t a problem our customers tend to run into! But, for those who need to know:
There is a 1% penalty of the amount due but unpaid for each month or portion of month the payment is late, up to a maximum of 24%.
Interest is also charged on late payments at a rate tied to the Federal underpayment rate which changes yearly. Should you need to know rates prior to 2014 or after 2015, check the Kansas Penalty and Interest page.
Yes, Kansas requires businesses file a “Zero-Tax” return even when they have no sales during a taxing period.
Yes, Kansas requires businesses to file a “Final sales tax” return when closing their doors.
Nope! The reward for filing on time is not being penalized for paying late :)
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Now that we covered all our bases for filing and paying sales taxes in the state of Kansas, you should feel more at ease about the process.
Some things to remember:
Now, you are ready to file and pay your sales tax in Kansas. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to reach out to us! :)
Please note: This blog is for informational purposes only and the information is accurate as of 7/5/2019. If you want legal advice on sales tax law for your business, please contact a Sales Tax professional. Keep in mind that sales tax regulations and laws are subject to change at any time. While we strive to keep our blog current, this blog possibly may be out of date by the time you review it.
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