The Kansas Department of Revenue has created a guide, Sales and Compensating Use Tax, intended to "assist you in understanding how the Kansas sales and use tax applies to your business operation." The goal is to help collection and remittance of sales and compensating use tax be "as easy as possible."
The guide explains how purchases made within Kansas are subject to both state and local sales taxes. Purchases made in states that don't have a general sales and use tax are subject to the Kansas use tax. The guide helpfully lists those states: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Businesses are directed to the Sales and Use Tax Jurisdiction Code booklet, which provides an alphabetical list of all Kansas county and city sales tax rates.
The guide goes on to explain which retail sales and services are subject to sales tax. It cautions that "[m]any service professionals provide both taxable and nontaxable services," and points out that certain sales in Kansas are exempt, either because the good or service being sold is exempt, or because the buyer has exempt status. In addition, certain projects or isolated sales are exempt.
It's important to note that businesses are required to file Sales, Compensating Use, and Withholding Tax returns electronically in Kansas. The Kansas Department of Revenue strives to make the process simple for even the most technologically challenged.
Kansas DOR offers several electronic filing options:
- KS WebFile: for individual income taxes.
- Homestead WebFile: for homestead claims
- IRS E-File: for individual income taxes, corporate and partnership tax returns, and homestead claims; and
- KS WebTax: for sales, use, withholding, franchise, and liquor taxes.
Sales and Compensating Use Tax is a good read. If your company does business in multiple states, look for similar documents on other state department of revenue websites. Or let someone else do it for you.
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