WA Washington State sales tax rates

STATEWIDE SALES TAX RATE

6.5%

ECONOMIC SALES THRESHOLD

$100,000

TRANSACTIONS THRESHOLD

NA

Do you need to collect sales tax in Washington?

You’ll need to collect sales tax in Washington state if you have nexus there. There are two ways that sellers can be tied to a state when it comes to nexus: physical or economic. Physical nexus means having enough tangible presence or activity in a state to merit paying sales tax in that state. Economic nexus means passing a states’ economic threshold for total revenue or the number of transactions in that state.

Do you have physical nexus in Washington?

Washington considers a seller to have physical nexus if any of the following applies to your business:

Soliciting sales in this state through employees or other representatives
Installing or assembling goods in this state, either by employees or other representatives
Maintaining a stock of goods in this state
Renting or leasing tangible personal property
Providing services
Constructing, installing, repairing, maintaining real property or tangible personal property in this state
Making regular deliveries of goods into Washington using the taxpayer’s own vehicles

Do you have economic nexus in Washington?

Effective October 1, 2018, Washington considers vendors who make more than $100,000 in sales annually in the state to have economic nexus. This means the state considers these vendors obligated to collect sales tax from buyers in the state.

Is what you’re selling even taxable?

Services in Washington are generally not taxable. However – if the service you provide deals with construction services, you will likely have to deal with sales tax.

Tangible products are taxable in Washington, with a few exceptions. These exceptions include certain groceries, prescription medicine, sales to nonresidents and newspapers.

Is SaaS taxable in Washington?

SaaS is taxable in Washington since all software, delivered by whatever means, is considered taxable in the state.

Collecting Sales Tax

The sales tax rate you collect in Washington depends on whether you are based in Washington or out-of-state.

How to Collect Sales Tax in Washington

Washington is a destination-based sales tax state. So if you sell an item to a customer through your online store, collect sales tax at the tax rate where your product is delivered. (I.e. the Buyer’s ship to address.)

The state sales tax rate for Washington is 6.5%.

Should you collect sales tax on shipping charges in Washington?

According to Washington you will pay tax on shipping. If the item you are shipping is taxable, then the shipping is taxable. If the item isn’t taxable, then the shipping isn’t taxable. If you are shipping both taxable and nontaxable items, then there should be two charges for shipping fairly allocated between the taxable and nontaxable items.

When are Returns Due?

When you file and pay Washington sales tax depends on two things: your assigned filing frequency and your state’s due dates.

How often will you file sales tax returns in Washington?

States assign you a filing frequency when you register for your sales tax permit. In most states, how often you file sales tax is based on the amount of sales tax you collect from buyers in the state.

In Washington, you will be required to file and remit sales tax either monthly, quarterly, or annually.

Washington sales tax returns are generally always due the 25th or the final day of the month following the reporting period. If the filing due date falls on a weekend or holiday, sales tax is generally due the next business day.