🧪 TEST MODE ACTIVE Use test card: 4242 4242 4242 4242
Ezel / Tax Rulings / KS
KS Notice 17-13 Motor Fuel Tax 2017-12-01

Do propane haulers need a Kansas liquid fuel carrier license, and by when?

Short answer: Kansas Notice 17-13 explains that propane haulers must obtain a Kansas Liquid Fuel Carrier license. Under K.S.A. 55-507, a liquid fuel carrier must be licensed to transport liquid or motor fuels of 120 gallons or more from any refinery, place of manufacture or production, or pipeline terminal, or across state lines, and to transport 3,500 gallons or more over Kansas public highways from any other in-state point of origin; the requirement does not apply to a consumer transporting fuel in the consumer's own vehicle for the consumer's own use. Because propane is a liquid fuel, carriers of propane that fall within these thresholds must register as a Liquid Fuel Carrier by January 1, 2018. A propane carrier that is not already licensed may apply using Form MF-26, available on the Department's website. The notice itself carries no printed issue date; its operative requirement is the January 1, 2018 registration deadline.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2017. Ezel answers yours, under current Kansas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2017
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 Notice: public guidance the Department issues to explain Kansas tax law, most often a newly enacted statute. It states the Department's general interpretation and administration of the law; it does not have the force of law and is not a private ruling issued to any one taxpayer. It reflects the statutes, regulations, and rates in effect on its issue date and may since have been amended or superseded by a later notice or law change, so confirm it is still current before relying on it. 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

Kansas Notice 17-13 tells propane haulers they must obtain a Kansas Liquid Fuel Carrier license.

The licensing rule (K.S.A. 55-507). A liquid fuel carrier must be licensed to transport liquid or motor fuels:

  • in quantities of 120 gallons or more from any refinery, place of manufacture or production, or pipeline terminal, or across the state line; or
  • in quantities of 3,500 gallons or more over Kansas public highways from any other in-state point of origin (i.e., a location other than a refinery, place of production or manufacture, or pipeline terminal).

The requirement does not apply to a consumer transporting fuel in the consumer's own vehicle exclusively for the consumer's own use, from the place of purchase to the place of consumption.

Propane is covered. Because propane is a liquid fuel, carriers of propane that fall within these thresholds must register as a Liquid Fuel Carrier by January 1, 2018.

How to register. A propane carrier not already licensed may apply using Form MF-26 (Application for Liquid Fuels Carrier's License), available on the Department's website.

Date note. The notice carries no printed issue date; its operative requirement is the January 1, 2018 registration deadline (it is numbered 17-13 among the 2017 notices).

What this means for you

Propane hauling companies

  • If you transport propane at or above the K.S.A. 55-507 thresholds (120 gallons from a refinery/terminal or across state lines, or 3,500 gallons from other in-state origins), you must register as a Liquid Fuel Carrier by January 1, 2018.
  • Apply with Form MF-26 if you are not already licensed.

Consumers moving propane for their own use

  • The license requirement does not apply to transporting fuel in your own vehicle for your own use.

Common questions

Do propane haulers need a license? Yes -- propane is a liquid fuel, so carriers meeting the K.S.A. 55-507 thresholds must be licensed.

By when must I register? By January 1, 2018.

What are the volume thresholds? 120 gallons or more from a refinery/manufacture/production/pipeline terminal or across state lines, or 3,500 gallons or more from any other in-state origin.

How do I apply? Use Form MF-26 from the Department's website.

Citations and references

  • K.S.A. 55-507 -- requires a liquid-fuels carrier's license (and per-vehicle certificate) for the stated volumes and origins, with a self-use consumer exception.
  • Propane carriers within these thresholds must register by January 1, 2018 using Form MF-26.

Source

Original ruling text

Division of Taxation phone: 785-368-8222
915 SW Harrison St. fax: 785-296-4993
Topeka, KS 66612 www.ksrevenue.org

Samuel M Williams Sam Brownback, Governor
Secretary of Revenue

                                        NOTICE 17-13

                   2017 Liquid Fuel Carrier License – Propane Haulers

Kansas requires liquid fuel carriers to be licensed if transporting liquid fuel in the amount of 120 gallons
or more from any refinery, place of manufacture, production, pipeline terminal, or across the state lines,
or when hauling 3,500 gallons or more from any location within the state other than the refinery, place of
manufacture, production, or pipeline terminal. See K.S.A. 55-507 below.

K.S.A. 55-507. Liquid-fuel carrier's license; certificates for vehicles. No person shall transport any
liquid fuels or motor fuels from any refinery, place of manufacture or production, or pipeline
terminal, or across the state line, in quantities of 120 gallons or more over any of the public highways
of this state without having first secured from the director of taxation, and at the time holding, a valid,
unrevoked liquid-fuels carrier's license and a certificate thereof for each vehicle in which such person
transports such fuels, nor shall any person transport any liquid fuel or motor fuels in quantities of
3,500 gallons or more over any of the public highways of this state from any point of origin other
than a refinery, place of production or manufacture or pipeline terminal without having first secured
from the director of taxation, and at the time holding a valid, unrevoked certificate of a liquid-fuels
carrier's license for each vehicle in which such person transports such fuels. This section shall not apply
to the transportation by any consumer in the consumer's own vehicle of liquid fuels exclusively for
such consumer's own use from the place of purchase to the place where it is to be consumed by such
consumer. (emphasis added)

Propane is a liquid fuel. Carriers of propane falling within the guidelines of K.S.A. 55-507 shall be
required to register as a Liquid Fuel Carrier by January 1, 2018.

If a propane carrier is not already licensed as a Liquid Fuel Carrier, an application for Liquid Fuels
Carrier's License (form MF-26) may be obtained from our website, www.ksrevenue.org. For telephone
inquiries, please call 785-368-8222.

Get today's answer for your situation

You just read a 2017 ruling on this question. Ezel checks current Kansas tax law and answers your specific situation, with citations.

Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.