Kansas Sales Tax: How to Register With KDOR, Collect 6.5% and Use ST-28A Exemption Certificates

If you sell taxable goods or services in Kansas, you need a Kansas sales tax account with the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) before you start collecting tax. The registration is free and runs through an online questionnaire. This guide covers who has to register, what to have ready, how the 6.5% state rate and local tax fit together, and how exemption certificates such as ST-28A keep you from charging tax on sales that aren't taxable.

Informational only: This guide is not legal or tax advice. Kansas sales tax rules, rates and forms change. Confirm current details with KDOR, and talk to a qualified CPA or tax attorney before you rely on any of this for a filing or a business decision.

What "Kansas sales tax license" and "permit" actually mean

Most people searching for a Kansas sales tax license or permit want the same thing: the registration that lets them collect and remit sales tax. Kansas does not issue a general statewide business license. The sales tax step is a tax registration with KDOR, and it results in a Kansas sales tax number. That number is not a license, and it does not cover your city, county or industry rules.

Keep three other layers separate from the tax registration:

• Entity filing. An LLC or corporation files with the Kansas Secretary of State. That is a filing, not a license. Business information is at sos.ks.gov/business.
• Industry licenses. Licensing is handled by agency or by trade. The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) covers food, pesticides and pet animals, and KDOR covers liquor, cigarettes and dealers. Liquor needs its own license through KDOR.
• City and county rules. Kansas has 105 counties and 624 cities, and every incorporated place is legally a city. Cities and counties set their own local requirements, so confirm them with the city or county office where you do business.

Who has to register

You need a Kansas sales tax account if you do any of the following in Kansas:

• Sell tangible personal property at retail
• Rent or lease tangible personal property
• Perform labor to install, repair, service or maintain tangible personal property
• Sell admissions

The labor category catches many contractors by surprise. Work that installs, repairs, services or maintains taxable property can carry the state rate, so the question is not only whether you sell a product. Ask KDOR how your specific type of work is treated before you write the first invoice.

What to have ready before you register

• Your legal business name, matching your Secretary of State filing if you have one
• Your federal ID number, which the sales tax account is tied to
• The street address of every location where you will sell, and whether each one is inside or outside city limits
• A list of the business taxes you expect to owe, so your questionnaire answers match your plans

Step by step: registering with KDOR

1. Start at the KDOR business page, ksrevenue.gov/business.html, then open the sales tax registration page at ksrevenue.gov/busregistration.html.
2. Set up an account with the KDOR Customer Service Center.
3. Complete the questionnaire. It asks which business taxes you must register for, not only sales tax, so answer it for every tax that applies to you.
4. Submit the registration and save the confirmation. Your sales tax number is what suppliers and buyers will ask for. This guide does not state a processing time, so confirm it with KDOR.

The registration itself has no fee. KDOR's FAQ confirms there is no business tax registration fee. If you sell cigarettes, the cigarette retailer's license is a separate item that costs $25. It is not part of the sales tax registration.

Multiple locations under one account

One sales tax number covers every location that belongs to the same entity and federal ID. You do not need a new number for each store, booth or branch. To add a location, file Form CR-17 with the street address and an answer on whether the location is inside or outside city limits. That answer matters because local tax depends on where the sale happens.

A separate legal entity with its own federal ID needs its own registration. Don't add another company's location to your account because it is convenient.

The 6.5% state rate and local tax

The Kansas state sales tax rate is 6.5%. It applies to retail sales, rentals and leases of tangible personal property, labor to install, repair, service or maintain tangible personal property, and admissions. Local sales tax is added on top of the state rate and varies by city and county. Two sales a few miles apart can carry different total rates, so set your point-of-sale rates by address, not by region.

Food is different. The state rate on food has been 0% since January 1, 2025, but local food tax can still apply. KDOR Publication 1700 lists the separate food rates, so check it rather than assuming food is tax free everywhere.

Local rates change, so pull the current rate for each location from KDOR and confirm it before you configure your register, invoicing or e-commerce settings. The rates page on KDOR's site is the place to check local figures, and this guide does not list them.

Kansas City, Kansas is not Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri are different cities in different states with different tax rules. Staff and customers mix them up, and the mix-up produces wrong rates on invoices. Set each location's rate from its exact address. Only Kansas City, Missouri has a city earnings tax, which is a separate tax from sales tax and does not apply to Kansas sales tax at all.

Exemption certificates: ST-28A and the others

An exemption certificate documents why a sale is not taxable. The most common one is for resale. If you buy items to resell, you give your supplier a resale certificate instead of paying tax on those purchases. When a buyer hands you a certificate, keep it on file and apply it only to sales that match what the form covers.

ST-28A is the resale exemption certificate. The buyer must hold a Kansas sales tax account number for ST-28A to apply, so check that number before you accept the form. Do not use ST-28A for supplies you consume in your business or for items you use rather than resell.

Form	What it is for
ST-28A	Resale exemption. The buyer must hold a Kansas sales tax account number.
ST-28F	Agricultural exemption
ST-28	Designated or generic exemption
ST-28M	Multi-jurisdiction exemption
ST-28W	Retailer or contractor certificate
ST-28B	Utility exemption request, filed with the utility rather than given to a supplier. See KDOR Publication KS-1550.

ST-28B is the form most often confused with the resale certificate. It is a request you file with your utility company, not a form you give a supplier for inventory you plan to resell. Read the instructions on each form before you rely on it, and don't assume one form covers a transaction just because it looks similar.

Common mistakes

• Treating the sales tax registration as a general business license. It covers the tax only.
• Using ST-28A for items you use in your business rather than resell.
• Using ST-28B as a resale certificate.
• Assuming food is tax free in every city because the state food rate is 0%.
• Opening a new location without filing Form CR-17.
• Applying the Kansas City, Missouri rate to a sale in Kansas City, Kansas, or the reverse.

Checklist before your first taxable sale

1. Confirm your KDOR registration and record your Kansas sales tax number.
2. Pull the current local rate for each location and load it into your system.
3. Review food items against KDOR Publication 1700 before you apply any rate.
4. Review each exemption form you accept, checking that the buyer's Kansas sales tax account number is present when the form requires it.
5. Store exemption certificates with your sales records.
6. Ask KDOR for your filing frequency and due dates. This guide does not state them, so do not build your payment calendar on a guess.

Next steps and where to get help

Register through KDOR, then set your rates by location and collect certificates from exempt buyers as they come in. The KDOR business page at ksrevenue.gov/business.html is the official starting point for every tax question in this guide.

If you need help with setup, the Kansas Small Business Development Center offers business advising. For multi-state sales, a business that mixes retail and contractor work, or a complex exemption question, consult a qualified CPA or tax attorney before you file.