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Ezel / Tax Rulings / KS
KS P-2004-016 Kansas Retailers' Sales Tax 2004-04-29

Are a school's sales of cookies, crafts, and plants exempt from Kansas sales tax?

Short answer: It depends on who the sale is for. K.S.A. 79-3606(yy) exempts sales of tangible personal property made by or on behalf of a parent-teacher association or organization (PTA/PTO). So if the school is selling the cookies, crafts, and plants as a fundraiser on behalf of a PTA or PTO, those sales are exempt from Kansas sales tax. But if the school (or another entity) is selling them on its own behalf rather than for the PTA/PTO, the sales are taxable, because the exemption is specifically for sales of tangible personal property by or on behalf of a parent-teacher association or organization.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2004. Ezel answers yours, under current Kansas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2004
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 Private Letter Ruling (issued under K.A.R. 92-19-59). It binds the Department only as to the specific retailer who requested it and the facts stated; taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. It may not be cited or relied upon as precedent by any other person, and it ceases to be valid if a statute, regulation, or interpretation it relied upon changes substantially. 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

A school asked whether its sales of cookies, crafts, and plants are subject to Kansas sales tax.

The answer turns on who the sale is for. K.S.A. 79-3606(yy) exempts "all sales of tangible personal property and services purchased by a parent-teacher association or organization, and all sales of tangible personal property by or on behalf of such association or organization."

Applying that:

  • On behalf of a PTA/PTO → exempt. If the school is selling the cookies, crafts, and plants as a fundraiser on behalf of a parent-teacher association or organization, the sales are exempt from Kansas sales tax.
  • On the school's own behalf → taxable. If the school (or another entity) is selling the items on its own behalf rather than for the PTA/PTO, the sales are taxable, because the exemption is specifically for sales by or on behalf of a parent-teacher association or organization.

What this means for you

Schools and PTA/PTO fundraisers

A fundraiser run on behalf of the PTA or PTO can sell tangible personal property (cookies, crafts, plants) exempt from sales tax under K.S.A. 79-3606(yy). Keep records showing the sale was for the PTA/PTO.

Sales the school runs for itself

If the sale is for the school's own account rather than the PTA/PTO, collect Kansas sales tax — the (yy) exemption does not reach it.

Common questions

Q: Are a school's cookie/craft/plant sales always exempt?
A: No. They are exempt only when made by or on behalf of a parent-teacher association or organization. Sales on the school's own behalf are taxable.

Q: What statute grants the exemption?
A: K.S.A. 79-3606(yy), which exempts sales of tangible personal property and services purchased by a PTA/PTO and sales of tangible personal property by or on behalf of a PTA/PTO.

Citations and references

  • K.S.A. 79-3606(yy) — exempts sales of tangible personal property and services purchased by a parent-teacher association or organization, and all sales of tangible personal property by or on behalf of such an association or organization; the basis for exempting a school fundraiser run for a PTA/PTO but taxing sales made on the school's own behalf.

Source

Source

Original ruling text

Private Letter Ruling

Body:

Office of Policy & Research

April 29, 2004

TTTTTTTTTTTT
TTTTTTTTTTTT
TTTTTTTTTTTT
TTTTTTTTTTTT
TTTTTTTTTTTT

Dear Ms. TTTTTT:

We wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated April 8, 2004, regarding the application of Kansas Retailers’ Sales tax.

This is a private letter ruling pursuant to K.A.R. 92-19-59.

K.S.A. 79-3606(yy) exempts from sales tax: “all sales of tangible personal property and services purchased by a parent-teacher association or organization, and all sales of tangible personal property by or on behalf of such association or organization. . .”

Please be advised that if the school is selling the cookies, crafts and plants as a fundraiser on behalf of a parent-teacher association or organization, then the sale be exempt from sales tax in the state of Kansas.

On the other hand, if the TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT is selling the cookies, crafts and plants on their own behalf, the transaction would be subject to the appropriate Kansas sales tax(es), since the exemption from sales tax is for sales of tangible personal property by or on behalf of a parent-teacher association or organization.

This private letter ruling 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 private letter 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.

If I may be of further assistance, please contact me at your earliest convenience at (785) 296-7776.

Sincerely yours,

Thomas P. Browne, Jr.
Tax Specialist

TPB

Date Composed: 05/06/2004 Date Modified: 05/06/2004

Table 1

Ruling Number: P-2004-016

Table 2

Tax Type: Kansas Retailers' Sales Tax
Brief Description: Sales of cookies, crafts and plants by a school.
Keywords:
Approval Date: 04/29/2004

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