Kansas: Sales Tax Handbook
What purchases are taxable in Kansas?
The taxability of various transactions (like services and shipping) can vary from state to state, as do policies on subjects such as whether excise taxes or installation fees included in the purchase price are also subject sales tax. This reference is here to help answer your questions about what is and is not subject to the Kansas sales tax.
Contents
1.) Taxability of Goods and Services 2.) Taxability of Various ItemsSection 1: Taxability of Goods and Services
What transactions are generally subject to sales tax in Kansas?
"Tangible Personal Property" and "Labor Services" are both taxable in Kansas. If you are a retailer in Kansas, you will have to pay taxes on sales, rentals, or leases on personal property. Furthermore, labor is also taxable in Kansas, so if you install or build products, your labor is subject to taxation.
Are services subject to sales tax in Kansas?
Businesses that offer services in Kansas are exempt from taxes. Clarity on what constitutes a services can be determined if the service requires a product to be carried out. So, if your business is a product free service entity, you have not tax obligation; however, if any type of tangible good is altered, repaired, or installed, there is a tax requirement on the service.
You can find a table describing the taxability of common types of services later on this page.
TopAre shipping & handling subject to sales tax in Kansas?
If you do business in Kansas, you are obligated to pay taxes on the shipping and handling fees. The state is very clear about its taxation rule with regard to shipping. Tax is due on the entire price of the sale, including shipping and handling. If both taxable and exempt items are being shipped together, the percentage of the shipping charge that relates to the taxable items must be taxed.
TopAre drop shipments subject to sales tax in Kansas?
"Drop shipping" refers to the common business practice in which a vendor, often in a different state, makes a sale of a product which is shipped to the end-user by a third party supplier hired by the initial vendor. In Kansas, drop shipments are generally subject to state sales taxes.
Section 2: Taxability of Various Items in Kansas
This table shows the taxability of various goods and services in Kansas. If you are interested in the sales tax on vehicle sales, see the car sales tax page instead. Scroll to view the full table, and click any category for more details.
| Category | Exemption Status |
|---|---|
| Amazon Purchases | |
| Products on Amazon.com | TAXABLE * |
| Clothing | |
| General Clothing | TAXABLE |
| Food and Meals | |
| Catering | TAXABLE * |
| Grocery Food | TAXABLE * |
| Leases and Rentals | |
| Motor Vehicles | TAXABLE * |
| Tangible Media Property | TAXABLE |
| Manufacturing and Machinery | |
| Machinery | EXEMPT |
| Raw Materials | EXEMPT |
| Utilities & Fuel | EXEMPT |
| Medical Goods and Services | |
| Medical Devices | EXEMPT * |
| Medical Services | EXEMPT |
| Medicines | TAXABLE |
| Newspapers and Magazines | |
| Newspapers | TAXABLE |
| Periodicals | TAXABLE |
| Occasional Sales | |
| General Occasional Sales | EXEMPT * |
| Motor Vehicles | TAXABLE * |
| Optional Maintenance Contracts | |
| General Optional Maintenance Contracts | TAXABLE |
| Parts Purchased for Use in Performing Service Under Optional Maintenance Contracts | EXEMPT |
| Pollution Control Equipment | |
| General Pollution Control Equipment | TAXABLE * |
| Services | |
| Janitorial Services | EXEMPT * |
| Transportation Services | EXEMPT |
| Software and Digital Products | |
| Canned Software - Delivered on Tangible Media | TAXABLE |
| Canned Software - Downloaded | TAXABLE |
| Custom Software - Delivered on Tangible Media | EXEMPT |
| Custom Software - Downloaded | EXEMPT |
| Customization of Canned Software | TAXABLE * |
| Digital Products | EXEMPT |
| Trade-Ins | |
| General Trade-Ins | EXEMPT |
| Vending Machine Sales | |
| Food | TAXABLE |
| Merchandise | TAXABLE |
* See notes in category taxability page for details
-->
Back to Kansas Sales Tax Handbook Top