When is Kansas sales tax not due on a sale to a nonresident who takes delivery in Kansas?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 2004. Ezel answers yours, under current Kansas tax law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
This revised notice explains when Kansas sales tax applies to sales made to nonresidents who take delivery in Kansas, and it rescinded the Department's earlier November 8, 2004 directive that retailers self-audit three years of records (issued because of confusion about taxing vehicles and trailers). The rules below apply effective December 1, 2004.
Exempt (K.S.A. 79-3606(k)): no Kansas sales tax when a nonresident buys and takes delivery in Kansas of a motor vehicle, semitrailer, pole trailer, or aircraft, if all three are true:
- the purchaser is a bona fide resident of a state other than Kansas;
- the item will be removed from Kansas within 10 days of purchase; and
- the item will be registered in another state.
The exemption is limited to those four categories as defined by K.S.A. 8-126 (a fifth-wheel or gooseneck trailer counts as a 'semitrailer'). So it covers cars, pickups, trucks, vans, SUVs, motorhomes, motorcycles, fifth-wheel/gooseneck trailers, recreational vehicles, tractor-trailers, pole trailers, and aircraft.
Taxable: Kansas sales tax is due when a nonresident takes delivery in Kansas of anything that is not one of those four categories -- for example ordinary trailers that are not a semitrailer or pole trailer, ATVs and utility vehicles (Gator, Mule, Side-by-Side), motorized bikes, boats, boat trailers, personal watercraft (jet skis, wave runners), and all other non-exempt tangible personal property.
What this means for you
If you sell vehicles, trailers, boats, or similar items, do not assume a nonresident buyer is automatically tax-free. Only a motor vehicle, semitrailer, pole trailer, or aircraft qualifies -- and only if the buyer is a nonresident, removes it within 10 days, and registers it in another state. Boats, boat trailers, personal watercraft, ATVs, utility vehicles, and ordinary (non-semitrailer/pole) trailers are taxable even to a nonresident taking delivery in Kansas.
Common questions
Q: When is a sale to a nonresident exempt?
A: When it is a motor vehicle, semitrailer, pole trailer, or aircraft, and the buyer is a nonresident, removes it from Kansas within 10 days, and registers it in another state (all three required) -- K.S.A. 79-3606(k).
Q: Is a boat or personal watercraft exempt to a nonresident?
A: No. Boats, boat trailers, and personal watercraft (jet skis, wave runners) are taxable when a nonresident takes delivery in Kansas.
Q: Are ATVs and utility vehicles covered?
A: No. ATVs and utility vehicles (such as a John Deere Gator or Kawasaki Mule) are not 'motor vehicles' for this exemption and are taxable.
Q: Does a fifth-wheel or gooseneck trailer qualify?
A: Yes. A fifth-wheel or gooseneck trailer is a 'semitrailer' under K.S.A. 8-126, so it can qualify if the three nonresident conditions are met; ordinary trailers that are not a semitrailer or pole trailer do not.
Citations and references
- K.S.A. 79-3606(k) -- nonresident exemption for a motor vehicle, semitrailer, pole trailer, or aircraft removed within 10 days and registered elsewhere.
- K.S.A. 8-126 -- definitions of motor vehicle, vehicle, semitrailer, and pole trailer.
- Rescinds the Department's November 8, 2004 self-audit 'Official Notice'; effective December 1, 2004.
Subject
Sales to Nonresidents of Kansas (Revised)
Source
- Landing page: Kansas Department of Revenue Policy Information Library
- Original document: Notice 04-13
Original ruling text
Notice
Notice Number: 04-13
Tax Type: Kansas Compensating Tax; Kansas Retailers' Sales Tax
Brief Description: Revised notice - sales to nonresidents of Kansas.
Keywords:
Body:
KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
REVISED NOTICE 04-13
SALES TO NONRESIDENTS OF KANSAS
Regarding an “Official Notice” dated November 8, 2004 from the Kansas Department of Revenue,
Subject: Self-Audit – Sales to Nonresidents and those in the Agricultural Industry
Since the above-cited “Official Notice” of November 8, 2004 was issued, the department has heard from many retailers.
During that time it has become obvious that a misunderstanding exists as to the proper taxation of various vehicles and
trailers. Therefore in the interest of fairness, the department is rescinding its November 8, 2004 directive to self-audit
your records for the past three years. Instead, Kansas retailers are required to collect and remit sales tax on sales to
nonresidents of Kansas as set out below effective December 1, 2004.
EXEMPT FROM SALES TAX:
K.S.A. 79-3606(k) exempts from sales tax: “any motor vehicle, semitrailer or pole trailer, as such terms are defined by
K.S.A. 8-126 and amendments thereto, or aircraft sold and delivered in this state to a bona fide resident of another state,
which motor vehicle, semitrailer, pole trailer or aircraft is not to be registered or based in this state and which vehicle,
semitrailer, pole trailer or aircraft will not remain in this state more than 10 days;”
A PURCHASER IS NOT REQUIRED TO PAY KANSAS SALES TAX UNDER THE “NONRESIDENT” EXEMPTION
PROVIDED FOR BY K.S.A. 79-3606(k) WHEN ALL THREE (3) OF THE FOLLOWING ARE MET.
- The purchaser is a bona fide resident of a state other than Kansas,
- The motor vehicle, semitrailer, pole trailer, or aircraft will be removed from Kansas within 10 days of purchase, and
- The motor vehicle, semitrailer, pole trailer, or aircraft will be registered in another state.
THIS “NONRESIDENT” EXEMPTION IS LIMITED TO THE SALE OF A “MOTOR VEHICLE, SEMITRAILER, POLE
TRAILER, OR AIRCRAFT,” as defined by K.S.A. 8-126 as follows.
”Motor Vehicle” means ‘every “vehicle”, other than a motorized bicycle, or motorized wheelchair, which is self-
propelled.’
“Vehicle” means “every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a
public highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.”
”Semitrailer” means “every vehicle of the trailer type so designed and used in conjunction with a motor vehicle that
some part of its own weight and that of its own load rests upon or is carried by another vehicle.” NOTE: A Fifth-Wheel or
Goose Neck trailer is included within the definition of “semitrailer”.
Pole Trailer” means “any two-wheel vehicle used as a trailer with bolsters that support the load, and do not have a rack
or body extending to the tractor drawing the load.”
THUS, Kansas retailers’ sales tax IS NOT due when a nonresident purchases and takes delivery in Kansas for use and
storage outside of Kansas of the following (non inclusive list):
¨ Car, Pick-up, Truck, Van & SUV
¨ Motorhome
Page 2
¨ Motorcycle
¨ Fifth-wheel or Gooseneck trailer
¨ Recreational Vehicles (whether 5th wheel or bumper-hitch type)
¨ Tractor-trailer
¨ Pole trailer
¨ Aircraft
SUBJECT TO SALES TAX:
The sale of any vehicle or other tangible personal property that is NOT a “MOTOR VEHICLE, SEMITRAILER, POLE
TRAILER, OR AIRCRAFT”, as defined above, IS subject to Kansas sales tax when a nonresident of Kansas takes
delivery thereof within Kansas.
THUS, Kansas retailers’ sales tax IS due when a nonresident purchases and takes delivery in Kansas on the following
(non inclusive list):
¨ Trailers that are not within the definition of “semitrailer” or “pole trailer”.
¨ ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles) & Utility Vehicles (such as John Deere Gator, Kawasaki Mule, Yamaha Side X Side, etc.)
¨ Motorized Bikes – defined as – “every device having two tandem wheels or three wheels, which may be propelled by
either human power or helper motor, or by both, and which has (1) a motor which produces not more than 3.5 brake
horsepower; (2) a cylinder capacity of not more than 130 centimeters; (3) an automatic transmission; and (4) the
capability of a maximum design speed of no more than 30 miles per hour.”
¨ Boats
¨ Boat Trailers
¨ Personal Watercraft (Jet Skis, Wave Runners, etc.)
¨ All other tangible personal property not specifically exempted from Kansas sales tax by law.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The above instructions are based on the sales tax exemption provided for at K.S.A. 79-3606(k). There are other sales
tax exemptions, which may be applicable to any given sale. For additional information regarding other exemptions
please consult the following information guides which are available from our web site: www.ksrevenue.org
¨ Publication KS-1510, Sales Tax and Compensating Use Tax
¨ Publication KS-1520, Kansas Exemption Certificates
¨ Publication KS-1526, Sales and Use Tax for Motor Vehicle Transactions
¨ Publication KS-1550, Sales and Use Tax for Agricultural Industry
Taxpayer Assistance. If you have questions about this notice or its application, please contact the
department at (785) 368-8222. Additional copies of this notice and application are on our web site or may
be ordered through the department’s voice mail forms request line at (785) 296-4937.
Date Composed: 01/04/2005 Date Modified: 01/04/2005
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