Kansas sales tax has two layers: one statewide rate set in statute and a local rate that depends on the city and county where you receive the goods. The state phased its tax on groceries down to zero, which changed receipts in 2023, 2024 and 2025, but it did not remove local tax on food.
This guide sets out the state rate, how local taxes add on and where to look up the rate for an address, what the Department of Revenue says about food, drugs and other items, how use tax works on out-of-state purchases, and a worked example showing how the grocery phase-down changed the bill. It uses the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) and the Kansas Office of the Revisor of Statutes, read on 2 November 2026.
The statute that imposes the Kansas retailers' sales tax sets it at a rate of 6.5%, and the Department of Revenue's FAQ says: "The state rate is 6.50%." The FAQ adds that various cities and counties have an additional local sales tax, so the rate you pay at the register is usually higher than 6.5%.
KDOR's Publication KS-1510 explains how local taxes work. A city or county must have the approval of a majority of its voters before it imposes one. Cities are authorized to impose a maximum of 3% (2% general and 1% special) and counties a maximum of 1% general, and cities can levy in 0.05% steps. The Department of Revenue collects the local taxes together with the state tax.
The rate is set by destination. KDOR's food publication says Kansas is a destination-based sourcing state, so the combined rate is the one where the customer takes delivery or, for something shipped, the shipping address. KDOR's own publication gives two examples: Garden City at 8.95% (6.50% state, a 1.45% Finney County tax and a 1% city tax) and Finney County outside Garden City at 7.95%. Those are KDOR examples from a publication revised 29 July 2025 and they are out of date: KDOR's rate file effective 1 October 2026 (rates unchanged in the file effective 1 January 2027) shows Garden City at 9.45% for non-food sales (6.5% state, 1.8% Finney County and 1.15% city, in effect since 1 April 2026) and Finney County outside the city at 8.3%. Local rates change by quarter, so use the lookup below for your address.
KDOR publishes an address and ZIP code tax rate locator and posts a rate-only update each quarter. Its quarterly update page lists updates effective 1 April, 1 July and 1 October 2026 and 1 January 2027, and notes that Publication KS-1700 (all city, county and special jurisdiction rates) is no longer available online as a PDF, though it can be requested by email. The rate files are posted as Excel spreadsheets on the KDOR local sales tax page, and a ZIP code rate file is on the five-digit ZIP code page. We do not reprint local rates here because they change on quarter boundaries.
The statute, K.S.A. 79-3603d, set the state rate on food and food ingredients at 4% from 1 January 2023, 2% from 1 January 2024, and 0% from 1 January 2025 and thereafter. KDOR's FAQ says: "The full local sales tax rates on food and food ingredients are still in effect." KDOR describes the change as a reduction in the state portion only: the tax was not repealed, and Notice 24-21 states that sales of food and food ingredients remain subject to taxes imposed by cities and counties.
| State food rate | Effective | Illustration: tax on $100 of groceries at the 2.45% local rate in KDOR's publication example |
|---|---|---|
| 6.5% | Before 1 January 2023 | $8.95 |
| 4% | 1 January 2023 | $6.45 |
| 2% | 1 January 2024 | $4.45 |
| 0% | 1 January 2025 onward | $2.45 |
The last column is our arithmetic, not an official calculation. It adds the state food rate to the 1.45% Finney County and 1% Garden City local rates used in KDOR's publication example and holds them constant across the years, so it shows only the effect of the state phase-down; actual local rates differ by address and have changed since (Garden City's local rates are now 1.8% county plus 1.15% city). For comparison, KDOR's 1 October 2026 rate file lists a total of 2.95% on qualified food in Garden City against 9.45% on other items, so $100 of groceries there carries $2.95 and $100 of non-food items $9.45. Check your address for the actual local rate.
Prepared food is different. KDOR's publication says prepared food continues to be taxed at the full 6.5% state sales tax rate. The statute applies the 0% food rate to prepared food only when it is sold without eating utensils provided by the seller and falls in a listed category, such as bakery items or food that ordinarily requires additional cooking by the consumer. KDOR says prepared food includes food sold in a heated state or heated by the seller, so a restaurant meal does not get the 0% state rate. In 2026 a bill (HB 2456) would have let cities and counties set a 0% local tax on food; the Legislature's bill page shows it as Died, so local food tax rules did not change through that bill.
| Item | What KDOR says |
|---|---|
| Prescription drugs and insulin | Exempt, and no exemption certificate is needed. The statute exempts drugs dispensed on a prescription order from a licensed practitioner. |
| Orthopedic appliances; prosthetics and mobility equipment | Exempt. Prosthetics and mobility equipment (for example eyeglasses, crutches and wheelchairs) are exempt when prescribed in writing by a licensed physician, chiropractor, optometrist, dentist or podiatrist. |
| Clothing and other goods | KDOR lists clothing, furniture, vehicles, computers and books as examples of taxable tangible personal property. |
| Residential electricity, gas, propane and heat | Exempt from state sales tax for residential use, but subject to applicable local sales taxes. |
| Repair and installation services | Taxable. KDOR's example is a muffler installed in Colby, where the whole bill, parts and labor, is subject to state and local tax. |
We list only items the Department's publication or the statute addresses. Many other exemptions and special rules exist (for example for resale, agriculture and nonprofits), and over-the-counter medicines, services and special items are not covered here; check KDOR Publication KS-1510 or ask KDOR about a specific item.
Kansas has a companion compensating use tax. KDOR explains it as a tax on goods bought from other states and used, stored or consumed in Kansas when no sales tax was paid in the state of purchase, and it is also due if the sales tax paid at purchase was less than the Kansas rate. It is due whether the goods are shipped into Kansas or picked up elsewhere and brought back, it applies to goods and not to labor, and the rate is the same as the sales tax rate where you take delivery.
There are two kinds. Out-of-state sellers with a connection to Kansas collect it from you at checkout; where they do not, consumers' compensating use tax is paid by the Kansas consumer directly to the Department of Revenue. Remote sellers are not required to collect, remit or report Kansas tax until they reach a $100,000 de minimis threshold of gross sales, so a small remote seller may not charge you tax even though you may owe use tax.