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Ezel / Tax Rulings / KS
KS P-2006-017 Kansas Retailers' Sales Tax 2006-12-01

Is the sale of a house that the buyer plans to relocate subject to Kansas sales tax?

Short answer: No. Even though the buyer intends to move the house to another location, the Kansas Department of Revenue treats the building as real property at the time of the sale. Because a sale of real property is not a sale of tangible personal property, the sale of the house is not subject to Kansas sales tax.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2006. Ezel answers yours, under current Kansas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2006
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

The Department was asked about the sale of a house to an individual who plans to relocate it to another location — whether that sale is subject to Kansas sales tax.

The Department concluded it is not taxable. At the time of the sale, the building is real property. Because Kansas sales tax applies to sales of tangible personal property (and certain services), and a sale of real property is neither, the sale of the house is not subject to sales tax — even though the buyer intends to move it afterward.

What this means for you

People buying or selling a house to be moved

The sale of the house itself is treated as a real-property transaction and is not subject to Kansas sales tax, regardless of the buyer's plan to relocate it.

Note on related activity

This ruling addresses only the taxability of the sale of the house as real property; it does not address separate charges (for example, taxable services) that might arise in moving or reinstalling the structure.

Common questions

Q: The buyer is going to move the house — doesn't that make it personal property?
A: No. The Department looks at the status at the time of sale, when the house is real property, so the sale is not a taxable sale of tangible personal property.

Q: Is any Kansas sales tax due on the sale of the house?
A: No. As a sale of real property it is outside the sales tax.

Citations and references

  • Kansas Department of Revenue opinion — the Department stated that "the building in question would be considered as real property at the time of the sale," so "the sale of the home would not constitute the sale of tangible personal property and is not subject to sales tax." The ruling cites no specific statute section.

Source

Original ruling text

Private Letter Ruling

Body:

Office of Policy & Research

December 1, 2006

XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX

Dear XXXXXXXX:

We wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter of August 28, 2006 regarding the application of Kansas Retailers’ Sales tax. You inquired regarding the sale of a house to an individual who plans to relocate the house to another location.

It is the opinion of the Kansas Department of Revenue that the building in question would be considered as real property at the time of the sale. Therefore, the sale of the home would not constitute the sale of tangible personal property and is not subject to sales tax.

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 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,

Jack Smith
Policy and Research

Date Composed: 12/18/2006 Date Modified: 12/18/2006

Table 1

Ruling Number: P-2006-017

Table 2

Tax Type: Kansas Retailers' Sales Tax
Brief Description: Sales of a house to an individual planning to relocate the house to another location.
Keywords:
Approval Date: 12/01/2006

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