Did a Christian Women's Fellowship have to collect Kansas sales tax on donations it received?

Plain-English summary

The Christian Women's Fellowship did not have to collect Kansas sales tax on genuine donations because the donations were not sales.

Kansas imposed sales tax on sales of tangible personal property and enumerated services. The fellowship had been paying tax on donations it received during the year.

The Department drew a simple line: a donation with no taxable sale was not within the sales-tax base. The group therefore did not need to collect sales tax on those donated amounts.

What this means for you

Churches and fellowship groups

Separate donations from sales of goods, meals, admissions, or taxable services. The ruling addressed genuine donations, not payments made in exchange for something.

Fundraising teams

Use receipts and records that clearly identify donative payments. If a donor receives property or a service, analyze that transaction separately.

Common questions

Q: Were the fellowship's donations taxable sales?
A: No.

Q: Why not?
A: They were donations rather than payments for tangible property or an enumerated service.

Q: Does this ruling exempt every church fundraiser?
A: No. A sale of property or taxable services requires separate analysis.

Citations and references

• K.A.R. 92-19-59 — Kansas Private Letter Ruling procedure

Source

• Landing page: Kansas Department of Revenue Policy Information Library
• Original document: P-2004-040

Original ruling text

Private Letter Ruling

Body:

Office of Policy & Research

July 2, 2004

XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX

Dear XXXXXXXXXX,

This is a response to your letter dated XXXXXXXXXX. In that letter you stated:

One of the discoveries I made is that our Christian Women’s Fellowship has been paying sales tax on donations it receives throughout the year. This seems incorrect to me, and not one of the pastors with whom I have spoken about this had told me the women’s group at their church pays sales tax.

Kansas sales tax law imposes tax on the sale of tangible personal property and enumerated services. The donations received by your CWF are not sales. Thus, sales tax does not need to be collected on these donations.

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 in the future by the operation of law without further department action if there is a change in the statutes, administrative regulations, or case law, or published revenue ruling, that materially effects this private letter ruling.

I sincerely apologize for the delay in answering your letter. If I may be of further assistance to you, please contact me at your earliest convenience at (785) 296-5330.

Sincerely,

Mark Ciardullo
Tax Specialist

Date Composed: 07/06/2004 Date Modified: 07/09/2004

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