Is food taxable in Kansas?
by January 13, 2024
Please note: This blog was originally published in 2020. It’s since been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Most US states consider grocery items to be fully or partially sales tax exempt, while also considering prepared foods like hot restaurant meals to be taxable. However, Kansas is an exception. Kansas does not exempt any types of purchase from the state sales tax. This post will go over when retailers should and should not charge sales tax on food sales in Kansas.
Are groceries taxable in Kansas?
As of January 1, 2024, the Kansas state sales and use tax rate on food and food ingredients, and certain prepared food, was reduced from 6.5% to 4%. More information from the state on this change here.
Are meals taxable in Kansas?
If food is only cut, repackaged, or pasteurized by the seller the food is not considered prepared food, and the reduced state sales tax rate of 4% applies.
The reduced state sales tax rate applies to some, specifically defined prepared food. The reduced state sales tax rate applies if:
- Eating utensils are not provided by the seller and the food is sold by a seller whose proper primary NAICS is manufacturing in subsector 311, except subsector 3118 (bakeries)
- The food, (including meat or seafood), is sold in an unheated state by weight or volume as a single item
- The food is bakery items, including bread, rolls, buns, biscuits, bagels, croissants, pastries, donuts, danish, cakes, tortes, pies, tarts, muffins, bars, cookies and tortillas
- The food sold ordinarily requires additional cooking, as opposed to just reheating, by the consumer prior to consumption.
- When a single price is charged for a combination of food and food ingredients and prepared food, the full sales tax rate should be charged.
Other prepared food is taxed at the full rate of 6.5%. The state has provided a booklet for more information here.
Are beverages taxable in Kansas?
Kansas considers coffee, coffee substitute, tea, soft drinks and sodas to be fully taxable at the grocery item rate of 6.5%.
How to always collect the correct amount of sales tax in kansas
Do you sell groceries, meals or beverages? Are you required to collect sales tax in Kansas? Then this may sound like a huge headache.
That’s where TaxJar can help.
With the TaxJar API, you can be sure you’re collecting the right amount of sales tax on every transaction. Our product tax codes ensure you do collect sales tax on that soft drink but don’t collect sales tax on that plain coffee drink.
Not to mention, most e-commerce businesses have nexus in multiple states. For example, groceries are taxable in some states, but non-taxable in others. With TaxJar, you’ll collect the right amount of sales tax from every customer, in every state, every time.
Further food and meal taxability resources:
- Sales Tax by State: Are grocery items taxable?
- Sales Tax by State: To-Go Restaurant Orders
- Is the food I sell on my food truck taxable?
- Kansas Sales Tax Guide for Businesses
Ready to automate sales tax collection, reporting and filing? Click here for more on how TaxJar can take the headache out of sales tax in your food & beverage business.
