Kansas State Tax Rulings
Free plain-English summaries of state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued in Kansas, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Can individuals use a federal net operating loss deduction on their Kansas return after Senate Bill 30?
Kansas Notice 17-05 explains that Section 5 of Senate Bill 30 (2017) amended K.S.A. 79-32,117(b)(iii) so that, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2016, an individual is no longer required to a…
How did Senate Bill 30 change the Kansas low income exclusion that zeroes out tax liability?
Kansas Notice 17-04 explains that Section 4 of Senate Bill 30 (2017) amended K.S.A. 79-32,110 to lower the low income exclusion -- the taxable-income level at which certain individuals have zero Kansa…
How did Kansas change individual income tax rates and withholding for 2017 and 2018?
Kansas Notice 17-02 explains that the 2017 Legislature, in Senate Bill 30, increased individual income tax rates retroactively for tax year 2017 and increased them further for 2018 and later years, am…
Are fencing materials and services to repair wildfire-damaged agricultural fences exempt from Kansas sales tax?
Kansas Notice 17-01 explains that House Bill 2387 (2017) amended K.S.A. 79-3606d to exempt from Kansas retailers' sales tax the purchase of fencing materials and services during calendar years 2017 an…
Are BNSF retirement plan pensions and Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) pensions exempt from Kansas income tax?
It depends which pension. Kansas has a subtraction modification for Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) benefits, so RRB pensions are exempt from Kansas income tax. But there is no modification for a priv…
Does Kansas charge income tax on qualified Roth IRA distributions?
No, when the distribution is a qualified (federally tax-free) Roth IRA distribution. Kansas income tax starts from your federal income and has no special modification for Roth IRAs, so the federal tre…
Are there specific requirements a corporation must meet to end its Kansas two-factor apportionment election before the 10-year period ends?
No. There are no specific requirements a taxpayer must meet before the Secretary of Revenue will consider a request to end the two-factor apportionment election before the end of the 10-year period. T…
Can Kansas employers round income tax withholding to the nearest dollar?
Yes—rounding is optional. Employers who compute Kansas income tax withholding using the percentage method may round each amount withheld and remitted to the nearest whole dollar: drop amounts under 50…
Does Kansas give a credit or deduction for unemployment benefits repaid in a later year?
No. Unemployment compensation that was included in your federal adjusted gross income is subject to Kansas income tax, and when you repay it in a later year Kansas allows neither a subtraction modific…
Are 403(b) retirement distributions taxable in Kansas for K-12 school and university employees, and does moving a 403(b) to an IRA affect the exemption?
It depends on the account. Kansas starts from federal income and exempts retirement income only when a specific state subtraction applies. There is no subtraction for 403(b) accounts held by K-12 scho…
Are a deceased employee's wages exempt from Kansas tax, and does Kansas impose an estate or inheritance tax on them?
No exemption, but no death tax either. Kansas does not impose any inheritance or estate tax on a decedent's assets, including wages. However, wages an employee earned before death are subject to Kansa…
How does a Kansas taxpayer living abroad report foreign income and get credit for foreign tax?
It depends on domicile — but Kansas does credit foreign income tax. A person domiciled in Kansas first computes the tax 'as if' all income were from Kansas sources, then claims a credit for income tax…
Can a Kansas partner offset the guaranteed-payments add-back with SE tax, retirement, or health deductions?
No. Kansas law does not permit deducting self-employment tax, retirement-plan contributions, or self-employed health insurance to offset the guaranteed payments a partner must add back on Kansas Sched…
Is a pension distribution from the Kansas National Education Association exempt from Kansas income tax?
Taxable, absent documentation otherwise. A pension distribution from the Kansas National Education Association has no specific subtraction modification listed in K.S.A. 79-32,117, and the Department w…
Is electricity to a detached residential garage taxed as residential or commercial in Kansas?
It is residential usage. The Department agreed that electricity to a separately metered detached garage next to a home — used only to store the owner's personal vehicles, with no business or commercia…
How do Kansas e-cigarette consumable material distributors register, report, and pay the tax?
Kansas Notice 16-06 sets out the registration and reporting requirements for the consumable material tax on electronic cigarettes, which House Bill 2109 (2015) imposed under K.S.A. 79-3399 at $0.20 pe…
When did Kansas start taxing e-cigarette consumable material, and at what rate?
Kansas Notice 16-05 explains that House Bill 2109 (2015) amended K.S.A. 79-3399 to impose a tax on the privilege of selling or dealing in electronic cigarettes by a distributor, at the rate of $0.20 p…
Are fencing materials and services to repair 2016 fire-damaged agricultural fences exempt from Kansas sales tax?
Kansas Notice 16-04 explains that House Substitute for Senate Bill 149 (2016) amended K.S.A. 79-3606d to exempt from Kansas retailers' sales tax the purchase of fencing materials and services during c…
Do Kansas fiduciaries filing Form K-41 have to make estimated income tax payments?
No. Fiduciaries filing a Kansas Form K-41 (for a trust or estate) are not required to make estimated income tax payments. As of 2016 the Department's system was not designed to accept them, and volunt…
How must Kansas PACT Act cigarette and tobacco reports be filed after 2016?
Kansas Notice 16-01 explains that under Senate Substitute for House Bill 2124, enacted by the 2015 Legislature, all PACT Act reports must be filed electronically in the manner prescribed by the Direct…
Must a self-directing participant who employs personal care workers withhold Kansas income tax?
Kansas Notice 16-03 (April 11, 2016) addresses Kansas income tax withholding on payments to personal care service (PCS) providers. Under the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services policy,…
Does Kansas sales tax apply to electricity a homeowner buys from a third-party solar developer under a solar power purchase agreement (PPA)?
The Department declined to answer, because a third-party residential solar power purchase agreement (PPA) is not lawful in Kansas. Under the Retail Electric Suppliers Act, only the certified public ut…
Must Kansas income tax be withheld on Medicaid waiver payments to a home care provider?
Kansas Notice 15-16 (December 23, 2015) addresses whether Kansas withholding is required on certain Medicaid waiver payments. Under IRS Notice 2014-7, payments to individual care providers for caring …
Is a Farm Credit System agricultural credit association exempt from Kansas sales tax as a federal land bank or federal instrumentality?
No. The Department concluded that an agricultural credit association (ACA) is neither a federal land bank nor otherwise immune from Kansas tax. Congress did not expressly exempt ACAs, and the associat…
How is Kansas sales tax applied to direct mail advertising — what is taxable, how is it sourced, and which charges are in the tax base?
Direct mail delivered to a Kansas address is taxed as a sale of tangible personal property. The tax base is the total charged for the direct mail minus separately stated delivery charges (postage, pac…
Is a mobile point-of-sale device that sells paid premium content a taxable coin-operated device in Kansas?
Yes — it is a taxable coin-operated device. Because the mobile point-of-sale device grants customers paid access to premium content (news, videos, sports, games — 'amusement and diversion'), the Depar…
Is a database-access 'interface' to medical records and lab results taxable in Kansas?
Not taxable. The 'interface' — a web-based system that lets physicians and hospitals access patient lab test results over the internet — is a nontaxable 'information' or 'database access service.' Kan…
If the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act moratorium expires, will Kansas start taxing internet access charges?
No. Kansas does not tax internet access charges regardless of the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA), because Kansas sales tax reaches only 'telecommunication service' and K.S.A. 79-3602(aaa)(6) …
When are Kansas sellers relieved of liability for wrong tax charged because of an error in the state's taxability matrix?
Kansas Notice 15-13 (originally dated July 10, 2015, revised September 14, 2015, and replacing Notice 14-01) sets the Department's policy on taxability-matrix liability relief under K.S.A. 2014 Supp. …
Can a Kansas resident's credit for taxes paid to another state include local income or earnings taxes?
Kansas Notice 15-15 (August 10, 2015) explains that, following the U.S. Supreme Court's May 18, 2015 decision in Maryland v. Wynne, the Kansas Department of Revenue will allow the credit for taxes pai…
Is diesel exhaust fluid exempt from Kansas sales tax when sold to interstate carriers?
Exempt only for interstate carriers. Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) sold to an interstate common carrier — a public utility — for consumption or movement directly and immediately in interstate commerce co…
Does a Kansas liquor distributor owe liquor enforcement tax on samples withdrawn from inventory?
Kansas Notice 15-14 (July 15, 2015) summarizes the liquor enforcement tax provisions of House Bill 2223, enacted by the 2015 Legislature and effective July 1, 2015. The bill amended K.S.A. 41-306, 41-…
Are out-of-state utility crews that come to Kansas for disaster work subject to Kansas taxes and registration?
Kansas Notice 15-12 explains the Kansas Disaster Utilities Response Act, created by Senate Bill 109 (2015), effective upon publication in the Kansas Register on April 9, 2015. The Act lets an out-of-s…
Are partner guaranteed payments still part of the Kansas nonwage business income subtraction?
Kansas Notice 15-11 explains that Section 3 of Senate Substitute for House Bill 2109 (2015) amended K.S.A. 79-32,117(c)(xx) to reduce the subtraction modification for certain nonwage business income b…
Must a Kansas taxpayer have a valid Social Security number for the whole year to claim an income tax credit?
Kansas Notice 15-10 explains that Section 2 of Senate Substitute for House Bill 2109 (2015) amended K.S.A. 79-32,265 to add that a taxpayer claiming an individual income tax credit must have held a va…
How long is the Kansas Rural Opportunity Zone income tax credit available after the 2015 extension?
Kansas Notice 15-09 explains that Section 27 of Senate Substitute for House Bill 2109 (2015) amended K.S.A. 79-32,267 to extend the Rural Opportunity Zone (ROZ) income tax credit. As originally enacte…
Can Kansas growers subtract the gain from selling Christmas trees grown in Kansas?
Kansas Notice 15-08 explains that Senate Substitute for House Bill 2109 (2015) amended K.S.A. 79-32,117 to create a new subtraction modification, in subsection (c)(xxiv), for the net gain from the sal…
What Kansas itemized deductions are allowed for individuals starting in tax year 2015?
Kansas Notice 15-07 explains that Senate Substitute for House Bill 2109 (2015) amended K.S.A. 79-32,120 to stop the phase-down of the Kansas itemized deduction and, beginning in tax year 2015, allow o…
What are the Kansas individual income tax rates for 2015 through 2018 after the 2015 changes?
Kansas Notice 15-06 explains that Senate Substitute for House Bill 2109 and House Substitute for Senate Bill 270 (2015) amended K.S.A. 79-32,110 to stop the phase-down of individual income tax rates t…
Which Kansas taxpayers owe zero income tax starting in tax year 2016?
Kansas Notice 15-05 explains that House Substitute for Senate Bill 270, enacted by the 2015 Legislature, added a new subsection (f) to K.S.A. 79-32,110 exempting certain lower-income taxpayers from in…
What did 2015 Senate Bill 112 change about Kansas biodiesel and renewable fuel incentive funds?
Kansas Notice 15-04 summarizes the motor fuel provisions of Senate Bill 112, enacted by the 2015 Legislature and effective June 26, 2015 upon publication in the Kansas Register. Section 247 amended K.…
What is the new Kansas cigarette tax rate on July 1, 2015 and what inventory tax is owed?
Revised Kansas Notice 15-01 explains that, effective July 1, 2015, the Kansas cigarette tax rate rose to $1.29 on each pack of 20 cigarettes (or $1.61 on each pack of 25). Wholesalers, retailers, and …
How do Kansas retailers report July 2015 sales when they lawfully charged both the 6.15% and 6.5% state rates?
Kansas Notice 15-03 (June 30, 2015) is the companion to Notice 15-02 and explains a rate-increase adjustment that certain retailers claim on their July 2015 sales and use tax return so they do not pay…
How does the July 1, 2015 increase in the Kansas sales and use tax rate to 6.5% apply to sales, leases, services, and contracts?
Kansas Notice 15-02 (June 22, 2015) explains that the Kansas state sales and use tax rate increased from 6.15% to 6.5% on July 1, 2015, and sets out transition rules determining which rate applies to …
Which video-game access codes and stored-value cards must a Kansas retailer charge sales tax on?
It depends on whether the customer ends up with downloadable prewritten software. A retailer's sales of access codes and stored-value cards for video-game content break down this way: codes for downlo…
How do Kansas sales, use, and transient guest taxes apply when a buyer presents a federal diplomatic Tax Exemption Card?
Kansas honors the diplomatic Tax Exemption Card issued by the U.S. State Department's Office of Foreign Missions (OFM) -- and the American Institute in Taiwan equivalent -- for state and local sales, …
How did Kansas change the vendor discount rate for Missouri and Nebraska retailers?
Kansas Notice 14-17 reduces the reciprocal 'vendor discount' Kansas allows out-of-state retailers who collect and remit the Kansas Retailers' Compensating Use Tax. Under agreements in effect since 196…
Is engineering built into a Kansas steel sale taxable, even if billed separately?
The whole sale is taxable. Engineering services on their own are not a taxable service, but when they are part of providing tangible personal property they are included in the selling price and taxabl…
Is selling a discount loyalty card subject to Kansas sales tax?
No. Selling a one-year 'loyalty card' that gives a pawn shop's customers a 10% store discount plus better pawn terms (extra cash on new pawns, free interest after five redemptions, better loan offers …
What vendor discount applied to Kansas and Oklahoma retailers under the reciprocal use-tax agreement?
For transactions on or after July 1, 2010, Kansas and Oklahoma retailers received a reciprocal 1% discount on timely remitted use tax, capped at $2,500 per month. The revised notice also states that, …
What Kansas compensating-use-tax discount applied to Colorado retailers after July 1, 2009?
Colorado retailers received no Kansas compensating-use-tax vendor discount on Form CT-9U returns filed on or after July 1, 2009. The revised notice also lists later reciprocal rates for Nebraska, Miss…
Must a Kansas school collect sales tax on t-shirts it buys and resells to students at cost, even with no profit?
Taxable. A Kansas school is a registered retailer under K.S.A. 79-3602(ii) and must collect sales tax on the goods, admissions, and enumerated services it sells at retail — including t-shirts it buys …
Are Kansas charges for internet access taxable, and does it matter if the federal ITFA moratorium expires?
Not taxable — and that won't change even if the federal moratorium lapses. Kansas sales tax applies to telecommunication services under K.S.A. 79-3603(b), but K.S.A. 79-3602(aaa)(6) defines 'telecommu…
What did the 2014 Kansas legislation change for motor fuel and natural gas taxes?
Kansas Notice 14-15 (revised, dated August 19, 2014) summarizes two 2014 motor fuel bills. House Bill 2057 (effective July 1, 2014) amends K.S.A. 79-3492 to add energy-equivalent conversion formulas (…
Can a Kansas taxpayer subtract the net gain from selling certain breeding or draft livestock?
Kansas Notice 14-04 (revised July 15, 2014) explains that 2014 Senate Bill 265 added a subtraction modification, K.S.A. 79-32,117(c)(xxii), for the net gain from selling certain livestock: (1) cattle …
When are the Kansas mineral severance tax return and payment due after the 2014 change?
Kansas Notice 14-12 (July 1, 2014) explains that 2014 Senate Bill 266 (Sections 7 and 8) amended K.S.A. 79-4220 and K.S.A. 79-4221 to change the mineral severance tax due dates. Previously the return …
How did Kansas change the definition of income for homestead property tax refund claims for 2013?
Kansas Notice 14-11 (July 1, 2014) explains that 2014 Senate Bill 265 (Section 2) amended K.S.A. 79-4502, which defines 'income' for homestead property tax relief claims. The 2012 income tax overhaul …
Can Kansas banks and other financial institutions now claim the expensing deduction?
Kansas Notice 14-10 (July 1, 2014) explains that 2014 House Bill 2057 (Section 7) amended K.S.A. 79-32,143a, the Kansas expensing (expense) deduction, so that certain financial institutions can claim …
Did Kansas repeal withholding on nonresident S corporation shareholders, partners and LLC members?
Kansas Notice 14-09 (July 1, 2014) explains that 2014 Senate Bill 265 (Section 9) repealed K.S.A. 79-32,100e, the provision that had required S corporations, partnerships and limited liability compani…
When does Kansas waive the 50% income tax penalty on additional tax from an adjusted return?
Kansas Notice 14-08 (July 1, 2014) explains that 2014 House Bill 2643 (Section 18) amended K.S.A. 79-3228(d), the income tax penalty statute, for tax years ending after December 31, 2013. When a taxpa…
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These are official tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued by Kansas's revenue authority in response to questions from specific taxpayers about how the tax law applies to their facts. A ruling is binding on the department only for the taxpayer who requested it and cannot be relied on by anyone else, but it is strong evidence of how the state reads the law. Every ruling above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original source.