Is Kansas sales tax due on tickets to performances held in Kansas, even if the tickets are sold elsewhere?

Plain-English summary

The Department addressed whether Kansas sales tax is due on tickets to performances held in Kansas, including tickets sold somewhere else. The short version: yes — the tax follows the place of the performance, so tickets to a Kansas performance are taxable no matter where or by whom they are sold.

The Department's reasoning was short and direct:

• Admissions are taxable (K.S.A. 79-3603(e)). The statute imposes sales tax on "the gross receipts from the sale of admissions to any place providing amusement, entertainment or recreation services."
• The performance's location controls. "[S]ince the box office performances are held in the state of Kansas, the appropriate Kansas sales tax(es) would be due on the ticket sales, regardless of where or by whom said tickets are sold." A ticket sold through an out-of-state or third-party seller is still a taxable admission to a Kansas event.

What this means for you

Venues and event promoters in Kansas

If your performance takes place in Kansas, the ticket sales are subject to Kansas sales tax. You cannot avoid the tax by routing ticket sales through a seller located outside Kansas or through a third party.

Ticket sellers and box offices

The tax attaches to admissions to the Kansas event, so a seller handling tickets for a Kansas performance is dealing in taxable admissions regardless of the seller's own location.

The controlling fact

What matters is where the performance is held, not where the ticket transaction happens. A Kansas performance means Kansas sales tax on the admission.

Common questions

Q: Is Kansas sales tax due on tickets to a Kansas performance?
A: Yes. Under K.S.A. 79-3603(e), the sale of admissions to a place providing amusement, entertainment, or recreation is taxable, and a performance held in Kansas is such a place.

Q: What if the tickets are sold out of state or by someone else?
A: The tax still applies. It is due on the ticket sales regardless of where or by whom the tickets are sold, because the performance is in Kansas.

Q: Does the seller's location change the answer?
A: No. The taxable event follows the location of the performance, not the location of the ticket seller.

Citations and references

• K.S.A. 79-3603(e) — imposes Kansas sales tax on the gross receipts from the sale of admissions to any place providing amusement, entertainment, or recreation services; a performance held in Kansas is such a place, so its ticket sales are taxable regardless of where or by whom the tickets are sold.

Source

• Landing page: Kansas Department of Revenue Policy Information Library
• Original document: O-1998-01

Original ruling text

Opinion Letter

Body:

Office of Policy & Research

August 17, 1998

TTTTTTTTTTT
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Dear Mr. TTTTTT:

We wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated June 10, 1998, regarding the application of Kansas Retailers’ Sales tax.

K.S.A. 79-3603(e) imposes a sales tax upon: “the gross receipts from the sale of admissions to any place providing amusement, entertainment or recreation services. . .”

Please be advised that since the box office performances are held in the state of Kansas, the appropriate Kansas sales tax(es) would be due on the ticket sales, regardless of where or by whom said tickets are sold.

If I may be of further assistance, please contact me at your earliest convenience at (785) 296-7776.

Sincerely yours,

Thomas P. Browne, Jr.
Tax Specialist

TPB

Date Composed: 09/02/1998 Date Modified: 10/10/2001

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