If you are opening wholesale accounts as a Kansas-based reseller, the document your distributors will ask for is the Resale Exemption Certificate. It lets you buy inventory without paying Kansas sales tax, because the tax will be collected when you sell to your own customers.
This guide covers the Kansas specifics: which agency issues what, the exact form, what it costs, how long it takes, and how your suppliers will verify it. It is part of our step-by-step wholesale sourcing roadmap.
Certificate: Resale Exemption Certificate (ST-28A (out-of-state buyers: ST-28M Multi-Jurisdiction Exemption Certificate)). Prerequisite registration: Kansas Retailers’ Sales Tax Registration Certificate. Issuing agency: Kansas Department of Revenue.
Yes – out-of-state retailers without Kansas registration use Form ST-28M (multi-jurisdiction) with their home-state number; Kansas is an SST member and accepts the SST certificate.
Kansas has no general public lookup for certificate numbers, so suppliers rely on the completed form itself being accurate and signed. Expect distributors to keep your certificate on file — supplier profiles in our catalogue note when a resale certificate is required at account opening.
No set expiration; KDOR recommends updating blanket certificates periodically (registration does not expire)
Usually yes — but the supplier must then charge you sales tax, which comes straight out of your margin, and some distributors simply refuse accounts without resale documentation. Getting the certificate first is almost always worth it.
ST-28A is only for buyers with a Kansas registration number – drop-ship and remote resellers should use ST-28M instead. Kansas’s online exemption-certificate lookup covers entity exemption numbers, not resale certificates.
Facts above summarise official Kansas Department of Revenue guidance; requirements change, so confirm current fees and forms at the agency site. Next step in the roadmap: choosing and verifying a supplier.