The Butler County KS sales tax starts with the 6.5% Kansas state rate and climbs from there depending on which city you’re buying in. Unincorporated parts of the county stay at 6.5% because the county itself does not levy a separate sales tax. Inside Andover or Augusta, the combined rate reaches 8.5%. What you buy matters too: groceries no longer carry the state portion, and residential utilities get a similar break.
What You Pay by Location
Every taxable sale in Kansas carries the statewide 6.5% retail sales tax, and that rate applies the same way in all 105 counties.1Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 79-3603 – Retailers Sales Tax Imposed; Rate On top of that, K.S.A. 12-187 lets counties and cities add their own local sales taxes with voter approval.2Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 12-187 – Countywide and City Retailers Sales Taxes Butler County itself does not appear to impose a countywide sales tax at this time; the city of Augusta’s official tax breakdown, for example, lists the county component at 0.0%.3City of Augusta. Taxes If you shop in unincorporated Butler County, 6.5% is all you pay.
Inside city limits, the picture changes. The rate depends on where the sale actually takes place or where the goods are delivered.4Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 12-191 – Situs of Taxable Transactions Confirmed rates for the county’s larger cities:
- Andover: 8.5% total, made up of the 6.5% state tax plus a 2.0% city tax. The city portion includes a 1.0% street maintenance tax and a 1.0% temporary tax approved by voters.5City of Andover. Finance Department
- Augusta: 8.5% total, consisting of the 6.5% state tax plus a 2.0% city tax.3City of Augusta. Taxes
Other Butler County cities such as El Dorado, Rose Hill, and Towanda each set their own rates, and those rates shift when voters approve new levies or existing ones expire. The Kansas Department of Revenue keeps an online rate locator where you can enter an address and get the exact current rate, which is the only reliable way to confirm a city’s rate before a large purchase.
Groceries After January 2025
The Kansas state sales tax on qualifying grocery food dropped to 0% on January 1, 2025. That completed a phased reduction that began in 2023, when the state rate on groceries first fell from 6.5% to 4%, then to 2% in 2024.6Office of the Governor. Governor Kelly Announces Food Sales Tax Completely Eliminated The Kansas Department of Revenue projected the final cut would save shoppers roughly $13 million per month statewide.
Only the state portion went to zero, though. City sales tax still applies to groceries. Buy food in Andover or Augusta and you still pay that city’s 2.0% on qualifying grocery items. In unincorporated parts of Butler County, where no city tax applies, groceries are now effectively tax-free.
Residential Utilities
Kansas taxes utility services like gas, water, and electricity, but residential customers get a significant discount. The state rate on gas, electricity, and heat delivered to homes for personal use is 0%, so only the local city tax applies to those utility bills.7Kansas Department of Revenue. Sales Tax and Compensating Use Tax Agricultural use of these utilities also qualifies for the 0% state rate. Commercial and industrial customers pay the full combined rate.
What’s Taxed and What’s Exempt
Most tangible personal property sold at retail is taxable, including clothing, electronics, furniture, and household goods.1Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 79-3603 – Retailers Sales Tax Imposed; Rate The tax also reaches several service categories:
- Prepared food and drinks sold for immediate consumption at restaurants and similar establishments.
- Admissions to movies, sporting events, concerts, and other entertainment or recreation venues.
- Hotel and short-term lodging, often alongside additional transient guest taxes.
- Leases and rentals of tangible personal property, such as equipment or vehicles.
- Telecommunications, including phone and internet service, taxed at the full combined rate.
Several categories of purchase are exempt in ways that matter in Butler County.
Farm Machinery and Equipment
Farming and ranching equipment used exclusively in agricultural production is exempt from Kansas sales tax. That covers combines, tractors, hay balers, irrigation equipment, planters, and precision farming technology, along with repair parts and maintenance services.8Kansas Department of Revenue. Agricultural Exemption Certificate The word “exclusively” is doing real work. A tractor used only for farming qualifies; one also used for landscaping a commercial lot does not. Hand tools, grain bins, ATVs, and building materials are specifically excluded even when a farm operation buys them. To claim the exemption, buyers complete Form ST-28F and provide it to the seller.
Nonprofit and Religious Organizations
Religious organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) can buy items free of Kansas sales tax when those items are used exclusively for religious purposes. Public and private nonprofit hospitals, blood banks, and organ banks also qualify. Schools and educational institutions can buy materials tax-free when they are used primarily for nonsectarian programs.9Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 79-3606 – Property and Services Exempt From Tax Contractors building or repairing facilities for these organizations can also buy materials tax-free, provided the organization would have qualified on a direct purchase.
Residential Construction Labor
Labor services on residential construction and original construction projects are generally exempt, which lowers the overall cost of building or repairing a home.10Kansas Department of Revenue. Pub. KS-1525 Sales and Use Tax for Contractors Subcontractors and Repairmen The materials used on those projects are typically still taxable. Contractors need to keep the two separated carefully, because misclassifying labor as materials or the other way around is one of the quickest ways to trigger an audit.
Resale
Businesses buying goods strictly for resale do not pay sales tax on those purchases; the tax is collected when the item is sold to the end consumer. To claim this exemption, the buyer gives the seller a completed Kansas Resale Exemption Certificate (Form ST-28A) that includes the buyer’s Kansas sales tax account number, a description of the property, and the buyer’s business information.11Kansas Department of Commerce. Exemption Certificates Pub KS-1520 The retailer must collect the certificate at the time of sale or within 90 days afterward. Without it, the sale is treated as taxable and the retailer owes the tax.
Buying From Out of State
If you buy something from an out-of-state retailer, an online marketplace, or a catalog and the seller does not charge Kansas sales tax of at least 6.5%, you owe what Kansas calls the compensating use tax.12Kansas Department of Revenue. Consumers Compensating Use The rate matches the state sales tax rate and applies to the total cost including shipping and handling. It covers tangible personal property, not labor services. If you paid 4.225% sales tax on a Missouri purchase, you still owe Kansas the difference up to 6.5%. Individual consumers report and pay this tax on their Kansas income tax return.
Many large online purchases already include the correct Kansas tax, because out-of-state retailers that exceed $100,000 in gross sales to Kansas customers during the current or preceding calendar year must register, collect, and remit sales tax just like a local business.13Kansas Department of Revenue. Notice 21-17 Remote Sellers The same threshold applies to marketplace facilitators like Amazon and eBay. Smaller out-of-state sellers that fall below the threshold do not collect Kansas tax, and those purchases still create a use tax obligation for you.
If You’re a Business Collecting the Tax
Any business selling taxable goods or services in Butler County must register with the Kansas Department of Revenue through its online Customer Service Center before making its first sale.14Kansas Department of Revenue. Business Registration Once registered, the business gets a sales tax account number and a filing frequency based on how much tax it collects annually. Higher-volume businesses file monthly; smaller operations may file quarterly or annually.
Returns and payments are due by the 25th of the month after each reporting period ends.15Kansas Department of Revenue. Pub. KS-1515 Tax Calendar of Due Dates A monthly filer closing out January, for example, must file and pay by February 25th. The total collected includes the state portion and any applicable local portions, and the location of the sale or delivery determines which local rate applies. A business operating in more than one Butler County city has to track each transaction’s destination.
Missing a deadline carries a base penalty of 1% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the return or payment is late, capped at 24%.16Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 79-3615 – Interest and Penalties Interest also accrues from the original due date. The penalties go higher in audit situations: 1% per month capped at 10% on a field audit where a return was filed, 25% of the unpaid balance for failure to make a reasonable attempt to comply, and 50% for fraudulent intent. The Kansas Secretary of Revenue can waive or reduce penalties when the failure was due to reasonable cause, but “I forgot” rarely qualifies. A business that spots its own error is better off filing an amended return than waiting for the state to find it.
Getting a Refund if You Overpaid
If you overpaid sales tax on a purchase, you can file a refund claim with the Kansas Department of Revenue. The deadline is three years from the date the tax was due from the retailer to the department.17Kansas Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Refund A separate statute of limitations covers refunds tied to bad debts.
One detail catches people out: a consumer filing a refund directly with the department, rather than through the retailer, must have at least $50 in overpaid tax to have the claim reviewed. For smaller amounts, the practical move is working with the retailer to correct the charge and get a credit or refund at the point of sale.