Ezel / Tax Rulings / KS
KS O-2007-002 Kansas Compensating Tax; Kansas Retailers' Sales Tax 2007-06-25

Are tarps bought by a farmer or rancher to cover harvested hay exempt from Kansas sales and compensating use tax as farm machinery or equipment?

Short answer: Yes. The Kansas Department of Revenue concluded that a tarp purchased by a farmer or rancher and used to cover harvested hay qualifies for the farm machinery or equipment exemption from Kansas sales and compensating use taxes. The opinion is limited to that stated use and does not discuss tarps used for other purposes.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2007. Ezel answers yours, under current Kansas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2007
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official Kansas Department of Revenue Opinion Letter: written guidance stating the Department's interpretation of Kansas tax law on the facts presented. It is general guidance, does not have the force of law, and another taxpayer with different facts should not assume the same treatment applies; later changes in statutes, regulations, or interpretation may change the result. Kansas state and local sales and use taxes are administered centrally by the Department, so there is no self-collected home-rule city tax outside its scope. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Plain-English summary

A correspondent asked whether tarps purchased by farmers or ranchers to cover harvested hay qualified for exemption from Kansas sales and compensating taxes as farm machinery or equipment.

The Department answered yes. It concluded that a tarp used in the stated way qualifies as exempt farm machinery or equipment.

The letter is brief and does not analyze other tarp uses, mixed uses, documentation, or the statutory elements of the exemption. Its conclusion should therefore be read narrowly: it addresses a farmer's or rancher's tarp used to cover already harvested hay.

What this means for you

Farmers and ranchers

A tarp bought to protect harvested hay falls within the farm machinery or equipment exemption described in this opinion.

Farm-supply sellers

Document the purchaser and stated exempt use. The opinion does not say that every tarp sold to an agricultural customer is exempt.

Tax professionals

Keep the conclusion tied to the exact facts. The Department gave no broader rule for tarps used to cover equipment, buildings, unharvested crops, or nonfarm property.

Common questions

Q: Is a tarp used to cover harvested hay exempt?
A: Yes. The Department treated that use as exempt farm machinery or equipment.

Q: Does the opinion cover both sales tax and compensating use tax?
A: Yes. The request and the Department's conclusion address Kansas sales and compensating taxes.

Q: Does every tarp purchased by a farmer qualify?
A: The letter does not say that. It addresses only a tarp used to cover harvested hay.

Citations and references

  • Kansas farm machinery or equipment exemption — applied by the Department without a statutory citation in the letter

Source

Original ruling text

Opinion Letter

Body:

Office of Policy & Research

June 25, 2007

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dear XXXXXXXXXX:

The purpose of this letter is to respond to your letter dated June 13, 2007; the content of your letter is duly noted.

You asked if tarps that are purchased by a farmer or rancher that are used to cover harvested hay would qualify for exemption from Kansas sales and compensating taxes as exempt farm machinery or equipment.

It is the opinion of the Kansas Department of Revenue that the use of the tarp as expressed above does qualify the tarp for exemption as farm machinery or equipment.

Sincerely,

Mark D. Ciardullo
Tax Specialist

MDC

Date Composed: 06/26/2007 Date Modified: 06/26/2007

Table 1

Letter Number: O-2007-002

Table 2

Tax Type: Kansas Compensating Tax; Kansas Retailers' Sales Tax
Brief Description: Tarps purchased by a farmer or rancher used to cover harvested hay.
Keywords:
Approval Date: 06/25/2007

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