The rules where you work $17
A first 30 days checklist, everyday forms, licenses, workers’ comp and taxes for Kansas, with a yearly calendar. Instant PDF download.
Buy the packet: $17Digital product, all sales final. Informational only, not legal, financial, tax or business advice.
What Kansas expects from a new trade business
Kansas leaves most contractor licensing to local government, with roofers as the state's clear exception. It's one of the few states with a payroll floor on workers' comp. And on sales tax, residential labor is exempt but commercial remodel labor isn't, so the same job can tax differently depending on the building.
Roofers register with the state. Check locally for everything else.
The clearest state rule is for roofers. Under the Kansas Roofing Registration Act, anyone doing commercial or residential roofing for a fee, subs and out-of-state contractors included, needs a registration certificate from the Attorney General. To register you file proof of at least $500,000 in liability insurance, proof of workers' comp coverage or an exemption, and a current tax clearance from the Department of Revenue.
Without a certificate, you can't bring any claim in a Kansas court over your roofing business, so you can't sue to collect. You also face a civil penalty.
For general contracting, remodeling, handyman work and the other trades, look to your local building department before you bid. Cities and counties can set their own licensing and permit rules, and they can differ one town to the next.
Any trade, watch door-to-door sales. Sell a job of $25 or more away from your main or branch office, even if the customer invited you, and they can cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing. The contract needs the statute's cancel statement and Notice of Cancellation. This doesn't cover a repair or maintenance visit the customer asked for, but it does cover extra work you sell on that visit. A construction attorney can check your forms and help if you're working across several towns.
Source: K.S.A. 50-6,122, roofing definitions · K.S.A. 50-6,123, registration required · K.S.A. 50-6,125, roofing application, insurance and tax clearance · K.S.A. 50-640, door-to-door sales
Who to call: an attorney near you
Kansas has a payroll floor, not a headcount
Comp doesn't turn on how many people you have. It applies unless your total gross payroll was $20,000 or less last year and you reasonably expect the same this year. Wages paid to family don't count toward that number. Small employers can still elect in.
Owners sit outside unless they choose coverage. Individual employers, LLC members, partners and self-employed people aren't employees without a valid election on file.
Subs are the trap. If you take a job and hire someone to do part of it, Kansas can hold you, the principal, liable for comp to his workers as if you'd hired them yourself. Get a certificate of insurance before they start. An insurance agent who writes contractors can run the numbers.
Source: K.S.A. 44-505, application of act · K.S.A. 44-503, subcontracting · K.S.A. 44-508, definitions
Who to call: an insurance agent near you
Getting paid: GCs get four months, subs get three
Kansas liens are filed with the clerk of the district court:
- Original contractors file within 4 months of last labor or materials.
- Subs and suppliers file within 3 months, and the statement has to name the contractor. Then serve a copy on an owner, any holder of a recorded equitable interest and whoever owes you.
- On non-residential work, a notice of extension filed inside those periods can stretch either one to 5 months. Residential here means a building for up to two families. A sub mails the notice to the general contractor, with a copy to the owner.
- Sue within 1 year of filing.
On an owner-occupied home of up to two families, or one being built as the owner's main residence, a sub or supplier needs a warning statement mailed to an owner or signed by one, with your affidavit attached to the lien. If your total claim is $250 or less, you don't need it.
An owner generally owes no more than the original contract price, unless he paid that contractor inside your filing period or after your warning.
On new houses, file a notice of intent to perform before the deed records, or your lien may not survive a sale to a good faith buyer. It expires after 18 months unless you file a lien, and you file a release when paid in full.
On public contracts over $100,000 there's no lien. You claim on the bond within 6 months of completion. A construction attorney can give you the exact forms.
Source: K.S.A. 60-1102, lien statement · K.S.A. 60-1103, suppliers and subs · K.S.A. 60-1103a, residential warning statement · K.S.A. 60-1103b, new residential notice · K.S.A. 60-1105, limitations · K.S.A. 60-1111, public works bond
Who to call: an attorney near you
Materials always. Labor depends on the building.
Kansas treats every contractor as the final user of the materials they install. You pay tax when you buy them, for new construction, remodel or repair. A project exemption certificate is the main way around that.
Labor is where it gets interesting. The Department of Revenue boils it down:
- Residential labor: exempt.
- Original construction labor: exempt.
- Commercial remodel labor: taxable, so you charge the customer.
A building that's part home and part business, like a bed and breakfast, gets split by square footage. If you do taxable labor, register, charge the right rate, and keep your invoices clear. If you do only original construction or residential labor, you don't have to register to collect sales tax. A CPA who works with contractors can walk you through Publication KS-1525.
Source: Kansas Pub KS-1525, Business Taxes for Contractors (Rev. 7-29-25)
Who to call: a CPA or tax pro near you
LLC, sole proprietor, or S-corp?
Kansas cut its fees in 2026. Since February 27, 2026, forming an LLC costs $85 online or $90 on paper. The Information Report is now every two years, $90 online or $110 on paper, due April 15 of your filing year. Form in an even year and you file in even years; form in an odd year and you file in odd years. Miss it and a 3-month delinquency window follows, then the company forfeits.
Pass-through profit lands on your personal return. Married filing jointly, Kansas charges 5.2% on the first $46,000 of taxable income and 5.58% above that, with different brackets for other filers.
When an S-corp makes sense depends on what the business clears after your floor rate. Bring your numbers to a CPA and have them run it.
Source: K.S.A. 79-32,110, income tax rates · Kansas SOS, LLC formation fee form · Kansas SOS, information report form · Kansas SOS, information reports
Who to call: a CPA or tax pro near you
Education, not legal or tax advice. Rules change. Confirm anything here with a licensed pro in Kansas before you rely on it. Last updated November 2026.