Are an RV park's charges for overnight slip rentals and utility hook-ups subject to Kansas sales tax?

Plain-English summary

An RV parking facility charges a per-night rate for short-stay slip rentals, with electricity furnished to each slip and a waste-water dump and fresh water available on site. The operator already charges sales tax on admissions to separate on-site activities and on other taxable charges, and asked whether the charges for the RV slips and hook-ups are also subject to Kansas sales tax.

The answer: these charges are not taxable. The Department walked through the three Kansas provisions that could conceivably reach them and found none applies:

• K.S.A. 79-3603(e) — tax on the sale of admission to any place providing amusement, entertainment, or recreation.
• K.S.A. 79-3603(m) — tax on fees and charges for participation in sports (which has specific exceptions that do not apply here).
• K.S.A. 79-3603(n) — tax on dues charged by clubs and businesses that entitle a member to use the club or facility (also with exceptions that do not apply here).

The Department noted it had previously ruled that charges for RV slips and hook-ups are not subject to sales tax — they are not charges for admission or for participation in recreation or sports. So the daily rates for RVs are not subject to Kansas sales tax.

But the operator owes tax on its own inputs. The park is the consumer of the utilities it provides and must pay sales tax on all of its purchases, including the electricity and water furnished to RV owners. Finally, Kansas sales tax does not apply to charges for sewer services.

What this means for you

RV park and campground operators

Your overnight slip-rental charges — including the electric, water, and dump hook-ups — are not taxable in Kansas. They are not admissions, sports participation, or club dues. You do not collect sales tax from RV guests on the nightly slip rate.

You are the consumer of the utilities

Because the slip charge is not taxable, you bear the tax on the electricity and water you buy and pass through to guests — pay sales tax on those purchases. You are not reselling the utilities to the guest in a way that shifts the tax; you consume them in providing the non-taxable slip rental.

Keep taxable activities separate

This ruling covers the slip and hook-up charges only. Separate on-site amusement, recreation, or sports activities can still be taxable (the operator already collected tax on those), so continue to tax those charges under the applicable provisions.

Common questions

Q: Do we charge sales tax on RV slip rentals and hook-ups?
A: No. The Department advised that charges for RV slips and hook-ups are not subject to Kansas sales tax — they are not admission, sports participation, or club-dues charges.

Q: Do we owe tax on the electricity and water we provide to RVs?
A: Yes. The park must pay sales tax on all of its own purchases, including the electricity and water furnished to RV owners.

Q: Are sewer or dump charges taxable?
A: Kansas sales tax does not apply to charges for sewer services.

Q: Are our other on-site activities taxable?
A: Charges for separate amusement, recreation, or sports activities can still be taxable under provisions like K.S.A. 79-3603(e), (m), and (n); this ruling addresses only the slip and hook-up charges.

Citations and references

• K.S.A. 79-3603(e) — tax on admission to a place providing amusement, entertainment, or recreation (found not to reach RV slip charges).
• K.S.A. 79-3603(m) — tax on fees and charges for participation in sports (not applicable).
• K.S.A. 79-3603(n) — tax on dues charged by clubs and businesses to use a facility (not applicable).
• The Department relied on its prior ruling that RV slip and hook-up charges are not taxable; the operator remains liable for sales tax on its own purchases of electricity and water, and sewer-service charges are not taxable.
• K.A.R. 92-19-59 — the regulation authorizing Kansas private letter rulings.

Source

• Landing page: Kansas Department of Revenue Policy Information Library
• Original document: P-2002-078

Original ruling text

Private Letter Ruling

Body:

Office of Policy & Research

September 24, 2002

XXXX
XXXX
XXXX

RE: Your letter dated September 23, 2002

Dear XXXX:

Thank you for your recent letter. Your client, YYYY, operates a RV parking facility in Dogjaw, Kansas. Slip rentals are charged at a per night rate for short stays. Electricity is furnished to each slip. A waste water dump and fresh water are available to RV owners at the site. Your client provides other activities near the RV park and charges sales tax on the admission fees to these activities and on the other taxable charges. You ask if the charges for the RV slips and hook-ups are subject to Kansas sales tax. Please be advised that these charges are not taxable.

The Kansas sales tax act imposes sales tax: (1) on the sale of admission to any place providing amusement, entertainment, or recreation, K.S.A. 79-3603(e); (2) on fees and charges for participation in sports, K.S.A. 79-3603(m); and (3) on dues charged by clubs and businesses which entitles the member to use the club or facility, K.S.A. 79-3603(n). Both K.S.A. 79-3603(m) and K.S.A. 79-3603(n) set forth certain specific exceptions that do not apply to your client's business.

The department has previously ruled that charges for RV slips and hookups are not subject to sales tax. These are not considered to be charges for admission or for participation in recreation or sports. Accordingly, the daily rates for RV's are not subject to Kansas sales tax. Your client is required to pay sales tax on all of its purchases, including the electricity and water being furnished to RV owners. Kansas sales tax does not apply to charges for sewer services.

I hope that I have answered all of your questions. If not, please call me at 785-296-3081. This private letter ruling is based solely on the facts provided in your request. This is a private letter ruling. If it is determined that undisclosed facts were material or necessary to make an accurate determination by the department, this ruling is null and void. This private letter ruling will be revoked in the future by operation of law without further department action if there is a change in the statutes, administrative regulations, or case law, or a published revenue ruling, that materially affects this private letter ruling.

Sincerely,

Thomas E. Hatten

Attorney/Policy & Research

Date Composed: 10/03/2002 Date Modified: 10/04/2002

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