🧪 TEST MODE ACTIVE Use test card: 4242 4242 4242 4242
Ezel / Tax Rulings / KS
KS Notice 91-0222 Kansas Retailers' Sales Tax 1991-02-22

Could Kansas sales of all-terrain vehicles or dirt bikes qualify for the farm-machinery exemption?

Short answer: No. Kansas specifically excluded all-terrain vehicles from farm machinery and equipment, and the Department applied the same result to dirt bikes. A purchaser could not issue, and a retailer could not accept, an agricultural exemption certificate for those sales. A sale to an out-of-state resident was also taxable when the buyer took delivery in Kansas, even if the vehicle was later transported out of state or the buyer's home state exempted it.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1991. Ezel answers yours, under current Kansas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1991
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 official Kansas Department of Revenue guidance. The prior-notices index and filename identify it as Notice 91-0222, while the body is an unnumbered notice dated February 22, 1991; that date-like source identifier is preserved. Vehicle and agricultural exemptions may have changed since then. 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 did not treat all-terrain vehicles or dirt bikes as exempt farm machinery and equipment.

K.S.A. 79-3606(u) exempted qualifying farm machinery, but K.A.R. 92-19-32(b)(1) specifically excluded all-terrain vehicles from the farm-machinery definition. The Department therefore said it was unlawful for a buyer to issue, or a retailer to accept, an agricultural exemption certificate for an ATV or dirt-bike sale.

An out-of-state buyer also owed Kansas sales tax when taking delivery in Kansas. Later transporting the vehicle out of state, or an exemption in the buyer's home state, did not change the Kansas sale.

What this means for you

A Kansas powersports or vehicle retailer could not rely on a farm exemption certificate for an ATV or dirt bike. The delivery location also mattered more than the buyer's residence when the buyer took possession in Kansas.

Common questions

Q: Did using an ATV on a farm make it exempt?
A: No. The regulation expressly excluded all-terrain vehicles.

Q: Was a sale to an out-of-state resident exempt?
A: Not when the buyer took delivery in Kansas.

Citations and references

  • K.S.A. 79-3606(u).
  • K.S.A. 8-126.
  • K.A.R. 92-19-32(b)(1).

Subject

Terrain Vehicles - Dirt Bikes

Source

Original ruling text

Notice
Notice Number:
Tax Type: Kansas Retailers' Sales Tax
Brief Description: Terrain Vehicles - Dirt Bikes
Keywords:
Effective Date: 02/22/1991

Body:
NOTICE

TO: All motor vehicle, all terrain vehicles, truck & motorcycle retailers

FROM: Kansas Department of Revenue

RE: Sales of all terrain vehicles and dirt bikes made by retailers

The Kansas Department of Revenue has been asked whether or not sales of all terrain vehicles and dirt bikes qualify as farm
machinery and equipment and the sales tax exemption extended in K.S.A. 79-3606(u).

K.S.A. 79-3606(u) exempts from sales tax: "all sales of farm machinery and equipment, repair and replacement of parts therefore
and services performed in the repair and maintenance of such machinery and equipment. For the purposes of this subsection the term
'farm machinery and equipment' shall not include any passenger vehicle, truck, truck tractor, trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer, other
than a farm trailer, as such terms are defined by K.S.A. 8-126 and amendments thereto. Each purchaser of farm machinery or
equipment exempted herein must certify in writing on the copy of the invoice or sales ticket to be retained by the seller that the farm
machinery or equipment purchased will be used only in farming or ranching. Farming or ranching shall include the operation of
feedlot and farm and ranch work for hire."

K.A.R. 92-19-32(b)(1) states in part: "Farm machinery and equipment" shall mean machinery and equipment purchased by a farmer
or rancher. . . when is ordinary and necessary for the growing or raising of agricultural products. Farm machinery and equipment
shall not include disposable supplies, buildings, building materials, silos, fence, fencing materials, land, all terrain vehicles,
passenger motor vehicles, trucks, truck tractors, trailers, semitrailers, and pole trailers, other than a farm trailer."

Accordingly, it shall be unlawful for the purchaser to give and for the retailer to accept an agricultural exemption certificate
to exempt the sale of all terrain vehicles and dirt bikes from Kansas sales tax as farm machinery and equipment. Retail sales
of all terrain vehicles and dirt bikes to residents of another state are subject to Kansas sales tax when delivery is taken in this
state. It is immaterial that the buyer may subsequently transport the all terrain vehicle or dirt bike out of state or that the
buyer's home state exempts such sales.

If you have questions concerning this notice, you may direct your inquiries to the Kansas Department of Revenue, Tax Policy Group,
Docking State Office Building, Topeka, Kansas 66625-0001 or call (913) 296-5476.

Dated: February 22, 1991

Date Composed: 10/06/1997 Date Modified: 10/10/2001

                                                     Return to KSA Listing

Get today's answer for your situation

You just read a 1991 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.