Restaurants must be registered and licensed to do business in Kansas City, Missouri. The first step is to submit a Registration Application (Form RD-100).
Form RD-100 can be submitted electronically on Quick Tax or in person to the Business License Office at 1118 Oak Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106. A Zoning Clearance is required.
Other clearances and permit may be requested. Restaurants are required to send the Health Department a Food Establishment Permit Application. The application must be completed and submitted at least 30 days prior to a restaurant’s planned opening or transfer of ownership. Once the permit application has been filed, the Health Department will conduct a pre-opening inspection. The City charges fees for processing applications and issuing food establishment permits.
The Health Department will create an inspection schedule for established restaurants, with intervals that average six months. More frequent inspections may be made at the department’s discretion.
Restaurants must have a license to serve alcoholic beverages. Forms for acquiring a license are available from the Neighborhoods & Housing Services Department, Regulated Industries Division.
Once the application is processed, the appropriate tax accounts will be created and you will receive a notice listing your account numbers to reference on returns you file and when communicating with the Revenue Division.
Form RD-107 is the tax return used to file and pay the tax of 2% on prepared food items. This includes alcoholic beverages.
The tax should be added to customers' bills in a similar manner as sales tax. Form RD-107 should be filed with the same frequency used for remitting state sales tax. Remittances can be made electronically on Quick Tax or by using Form RD-137.
Tips
- “Preparation” is an expansive definition and includes heating of food, mixing and combining two or more food ingredients or repackaging food into serving-sized portions.
- Heating of food by the customer does not make the item subject to tax unless other food items are prepared on the premises.
- Some items are not subject to tax regardless if they are “prepared” or not (if those are the only “prepared” items sold). These items can be found in section 1.551-3 (B)(5)(a) – (f) of the Convention & Tourism Tax Regulations (page 11). If you sell “prepared” food items that are not included in this list then both the other “prepared” items and those listed are subject to the tax.
- Prepackaged food or drinks regularly sold with prepared food items are subject to tax.
- Two percent (2%) of the tax due may be retained by the taxpayer if the tax is paid by the due date.
Resources
Code of Ordinances, Chapter 68, Article IX
Convention and Tourism Tax Regulations
Form RD-108/ 108B is a tax return filed annually and is used to pay the 1% earnings tax on the net profits of a business. The return is due by April 15 of each year and is required even if there is a loss. If you file income taxes on a fiscal year basis, the return is due 105 days from the end of your fiscal year.
Extensions of time to file may be requested by submitting Form RD-111. Extension requests are granted to provide an additional six months to file. They are not an extension of time to pay the tax due. A payment of at least 90% of the tax due must be submitted with Form RD-111 to avoid penalty and interest. This request is separate from an extension request submitted to the IRS for federal income tax purposes and should be sent directly to the Revenue Division. The IRS does not send this information to municipalities.
Resources
Code of Ordinances, Chapter 68, Article VI
Earnings and Profits Tax Regulations
