Out-of-state sellers cross the Kansas sales tax nexus threshold once their gross receipts from Kansas customers exceed $100,000 in the current or immediately preceding calendar year. At that point, Kansas treats you as a retailer doing business in the state, and you have to register and start collecting on the next sale. There is no transaction-count test, and there is no grace period after you cross the line.1Kansas Department of Revenue. Notice 21-17 Remote Sellers
How the $100,000 Threshold Works
The rule comes from K.S.A. 79-3702(h)(1)(G), added by Senate Bill 50 and effective July 1, 2021. A remote seller (any retailer with no physical connection to Kansas) becomes a “retailer doing business in this state” once cumulative gross receipts from Kansas sales cross $100,000 in either the current or the immediately preceding calendar year.1Kansas Department of Revenue. Notice 21-17 Remote Sellers
Two things about that number matter. First, it is measured in dollars only. Kansas never adopted the transaction-count trigger some other states use, so a seller with thousands of small orders stays outside the rule as long as total revenue stays under $100,000. Second, collection begins on the very next transaction after you cross. There is no delayed start, no wait until the following quarter, and no phase-in.2Kansas Department of Revenue. Pub. KS-1510 Sales Tax and Compensating Use Tax
In the first calendar year you exceed $100,000, the obligation applies only to sales above that mark during the same year. In every year after, if the prior year’s Kansas receipts topped $100,000, you collect from dollar one.
What Counts Toward the $100,000
Kansas measures gross receipts broadly. Every sale delivered into Kansas counts: taxable sales, exempt sales, services, digital products, and sales made through a registered marketplace facilitator. Wholesale and resale transactions are not carved out. The only question is whether the goods or services were delivered to someone in Kansas.
This catches wholesalers who assume they can ignore Kansas because their sales aren’t taxable at the retail level. The threshold is gross receipts, not taxable receipts. A wholesale business shipping more than $100,000 a year into Kansas still needs to register, even if most or all of those sales are covered by resale exemption certificates.
Physical Presence Is a Separate Trigger
The $100,000 figure is not the only way to trip nexus, and treating it that way is a common mistake for e-commerce sellers. K.S.A. 79-3702(h) creates physical presence nexus independently, and it starts at dollar one of sales.3Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 79-3702 – Definitions
Storing inventory in a Kansas fulfillment center, a third-party logistics warehouse, or an Amazon FBA facility creates physical nexus. If Amazon holds your products in a Kansas warehouse, you have nexus regardless of how much you sell. Owning or leasing tangible property in the state, from equipment to inventory, also qualifies, as does maintaining an office, warehouse, or distribution center there.
People create nexus too. Employing anyone in Kansas who sells, delivers, installs, repairs, or solicits orders on your behalf establishes a taxable connection, whether they are employees, independent contractors, agents, or representatives. Temporary activity like attending a trade show or performing on-site demonstrations can be enough if the purpose is establishing or maintaining a Kansas market.
Selling Through Amazon, Etsy, or eBay
Kansas requires marketplace facilitators to collect and remit tax on behalf of the sellers on their platforms. If you sell through a major marketplace, the platform is almost certainly already collecting Kansas sales tax on those orders, and you don’t collect a second time on them.4Kansas Legislative Research Department. Summary of Legislation SB 50
Two things still land on you. Your marketplace sales count toward your own $100,000 threshold. And if you also sell direct through your own website, you’re independently responsible for tax on those direct sales once your total Kansas gross receipts cross the threshold.
Registering for a Kansas Sales Tax Permit
Once you have nexus, register before making (or continuing to make) taxable sales. The application is Form CR-16, the Kansas Business Tax Application. You’ll need a Federal Employer Identification Number or your Social Security Number, plus the legal name of the business and any trade names.5Kansas Department of Revenue. Kansas Business Tax Application CR-16 If you don’t have an EIN, the Department of Revenue recommends getting one before you start.6Kansas Department of Revenue. Kansas Business Tax Application Pub. KS-1216
You can submit the application online through the Kansas Department of Revenue Customer Service Center. Allow two to three weeks for processing.7Kansas Department of Revenue. Pub. KS-1216 Business Tax Application Kansas is also a full member of the Streamlined Sales Tax program, so remote sellers registering in multiple states can use the SST portal at streamlinedsalestax.org to cover Kansas along with the other member states in a single application.8Streamlined Sales Tax. Kansas
Filing Frequency After You Register
Kansas assigns your filing frequency by annual tax liability:
- Annual filing for $1,000 or less. The return is due January 25 of the following year.
- Quarterly filing for $1,000.01 to $5,000. Returns are due April 25, July 25, October 25, and January 25.
- Monthly filing for more than $5,000. Returns are due on the 25th of the month following each reporting period.
When the 25th lands on a weekend or holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day.9Kansas Department of Revenue. Frequently Asked Questions About Sales Seasonal businesses file monthly during the months they operate. Returns go through the same Customer Service Center account you set up during registration.10Kansas Department of Revenue. Pub. KS-1515 Tax Calendar of Due Dates
What Happens If You Ignore Nexus
Missing a Kansas nexus obligation compounds quickly. Late filing or late payment brings a penalty of 1% of the unpaid balance for each month the delinquency continues, capped at 24%. Interest accrues on top of that under K.S.A. 79-2968.
If the Department of Revenue decides you weren’t making a reasonable effort to comply, the penalty jumps to 25% of the unpaid balance. Fraudulent failure to pay carries a 50% penalty. Willful failure to file or pay Kansas sales tax is a criminal offense, punishable by fines between $500 and $10,000, up to six months in county jail, or both.
The most expensive part is that these penalties attach to uncollected tax, not just unpaid tax. If you had nexus and didn’t register, Kansas can bill you for the sales tax you should have been charging your customers all along. You end up paying tax out of your own pocket that should have come from buyers who are long gone.
The Rate You’ll Collect
The state base rate is 6.5%, and nearly every Kansas jurisdiction adds local tax on top. County and city rates vary, and combined rates can exceed 10% in some locations. Kansas eliminated the state sales tax on food and food ingredients as of January 1, 2025, though local taxes on groceries may still apply depending on the buyer’s location.11Office of the Governor of Kansas. Governor Kelly Announces Food Sales Tax Completely Eliminated
Remote sellers collect at the rate for the buyer’s delivery address, which is destination-based sourcing. That effectively requires tax calculation software or use of the Kansas Department of Revenue’s rate lookup tool to stay accurate across thousands of local combinations.12Kansas Department of Revenue. Kansas Sales and Use Tax Rate Locator