Ezel / Tax Rulings / KS
KS P-2000-043 Kansas Retailers' Sales Tax 2000-09-18

Can a Missouri county buy tangible property tax-free in Kansas under the exemption for government purchases?

Short answer: No. The Department ruled that a direct purchase by a Missouri county is not exempt from Kansas sales tax. The K.S.A. 79-3606(b) exemption for direct purchases by political subdivisions applies to political subdivisions of the State of Kansas only. A Missouri county or city has no standing to claim a Kansas sales-tax exemption on tangible property delivered to it in Kansas.

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This page answers the general question as of 2000. Ezel answers yours, under current Kansas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2000
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 Private Letter Ruling (issued under K.A.R. 92-19-59). It binds the Department only as to the specific retailer who requested it and the facts stated; taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. It may not be cited or relied upon as precedent by any other person, and it ceases to be valid if a statute, regulation, or interpretation it relied upon changes substantially. 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

Someone asked whether a Missouri county could make a direct purchase in Kansas free of Kansas sales tax. The Department's answer was no.

The exemption is limited to Kansas government buyers. "Kansas law exempts direct purchases by political subdivisions of the State of Kansas. See K.S.A. 79-3606(b)." The government-purchase exemption is written for Kansas's own political subdivisions — Kansas counties, cities, school districts, and the like — buying directly for their own use.

An out-of-state government has no standing to claim it. "A Missouri County or City has no standing to assert an exemption from Kansas sales tax on deliveries of tangible property to them that occur in Kansas." So when tangible property is delivered to a Missouri county inside Kansas, the transaction is a taxable Kansas sale; the buyer's status as a government body in another state does not carry a Kansas exemption.

Bottom line: the Kansas exemption for direct government purchases runs to Kansas political subdivisions only. A Missouri county buying property delivered to it in Kansas pays Kansas sales tax like any other buyer.

What this means for you

Kansas retailers selling to out-of-state government buyers

Do not honor a claimed sales-tax exemption just because the buyer is a county, city, or agency of another state. The K.S.A. 79-3606(b) exemption covers direct purchases by Kansas political subdivisions; an out-of-state government body has no standing to assert it on property delivered in Kansas. Charge Kansas sales tax on such sales absent some other applicable exemption.

Out-of-state governments purchasing in Kansas

Your home-state tax-exempt status does not exempt you from Kansas sales tax on tangible property delivered to you in Kansas. Where the delivery occurs in Kansas, the Kansas tax applies.

The exemption is buyer-specific, not "any government"

Kansas's government exemption is defined by who the buyer is — a Kansas political subdivision buying directly. It is not a blanket "sales to government are exempt" rule, so confirm the buyer actually fits the statute before treating a sale as exempt.

Common questions

Q: Is a Missouri county exempt from Kansas sales tax?
A: No. The Department ruled the K.S.A. 79-3606(b) exemption for direct purchases by political subdivisions applies to political subdivisions of Kansas only; a Missouri county has no standing to claim it on in-state deliveries.

Q: What if the property is delivered to the county in Kansas?
A: That is exactly the situation the ruling addressed — property delivered in Kansas is a taxable Kansas sale, and the out-of-state government buyer cannot assert the Kansas government exemption.

Q: Which Kansas buyers does the exemption cover?
A: Direct purchases by political subdivisions of the State of Kansas — Kansas counties, cities, and similar governmental units — under K.S.A. 79-3606(b).

Citations and references

  • K.S.A. 79-3606(b) — exempts direct purchases by political subdivisions of the State of Kansas from Kansas sales tax. The Department read the exemption to reach Kansas political subdivisions only and held that a Missouri county has no standing to claim it on tangible property delivered to it in Kansas.

Source

Original ruling text

Private Letter Ruling

Body:

Office of Policy & Research

September 18, 2000

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX

Dear XXXXXXXXXXXX:

The purpose of this letter is to respond to your letter received by this office on August 9, 2000. In it, you ask if a direct purchase by a Missouri County is exempt from Kansas sales tax.

The answer to your question is no. Allow me to explain the Department’s rationale.

Kansas law exempts direct purchases by political subdivisions of the State of Kansas. See K.S.A. 79-3606(b). A Missouri County or City has no standing to assert an exemption from Kansas sales tax on deliveries of tangible property to them that occur in Kansas.

This is a private letter ruling pursuant to K.A.R. 92-19-59. It is based solely on the facts provided in your request. If it is determined that undisclosed facts were material or necessary to an accurate determination by the department, this ruling is null and void. This ruling will be revoked by operation of law without further department action if there is a change in the controlling statutes, administrative regulations, revenue rulings or case law that materially effects this determination.

Sincerely,

Mark D. Ciardullo
Tax Specialist

Date Composed: 09/19/2000 Date Modified: 10/11/2001

Table 1

Ruling Number: P-2000-043

Table 2

Tax Type: Kansas Retailers' Sales Tax
Brief Description: Direct purchases by a Missouri County
Keywords:
Approval Date: 09/18/2000

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