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Washington sales tax, explained.

Thresholds, rates, taxability, filing schedules, and the Department of Revenue — everything a remote seller needs to know about Washington, on one page.

Economic nexus threshold
$100,000
Statewide base rate
6.5%
Transaction threshold
None
SeattleTacomaBellevueSpokaneVancouver
Washington · major filing jurisdictions
Nexus · Washington

When you owe sales tax in Washington.

Either economic or physical nexus on its own creates the obligation to register, collect, and remit. Washington uses a sales-only threshold — there is no transaction-count test.

Economic nexus
Threshold
$100,000 in gross retail sales or gross sales delivered into Washington
Measurement type
Sales only — transaction count does not matter
Measurement period
Current or preceding calendar year
Included
Retail sales and gross sales delivered into Washington; Washington does not carve out exempt sales or resale transactions from the threshold calculation
Marketplaces
Washington has no excludedTransactionTypes rule for marketplace sales, so marketplace-facilitated sales count toward your threshold even when the marketplace collects and remits the tax on your behalf
Physical nexus
Office or place of businessEmployees / remote staffWarehouse or inventory storageThird-party fulfillment (3PL / FBA)Contractors or dependent agents

Any physical presence in Washington — including stock held in a third-party warehouse or an Amazon fulfillment center — creates nexus immediately, with no sales minimum. Remote employees working from anywhere in Washington are a common trigger for out-of-state tech companies.

Rates · Washington

What you'll collect, city by city.

Washington's statewide base rate is 6.5%. Local city and county taxes stack on top, so the combined rate depends on the delivery address — and notably, Washington taxes SaaS, digital goods, and most services at the same combined rate as physical goods.

JurisdictionCombined rateTangible propertyDigital goodsSaaSServices
WashingtonStatewide base rate6.5%6.5%6.5%6.5%Partial
Seattle10.55%10.55%10.55%10.55%10.55%
Tacoma10.4%10.4%10.4%10.4%10.4%
Bellevue10.3%10.3%10.3%10.3%10.3%
Spokane9.1%9.1%9.1%9.1%9.1%
Vancouver8%8%8%8%8%

Washington taxes digital goods, SaaS (B2B and B2C), and professional services at the same combined rate as tangible goods. General services are exempt. Rates shown are for representative ZIP codes per jurisdiction. Rates verified as of June 11, 2026.

Need the exact rate for one address or invoice? Our calculator returns the combined Washington state and local rate for any delivery address.

Open the sales tax calculator
Taxability · Washington

Is your product taxable here?

Washington is one of the broadest sales-tax states in the country — it taxes tangible goods, digital products, SaaS, and professional services, making it a common compliance surprise for tech and software companies.

Product categoryStatusWhat to know
Tangible personal propertyTaxablePhysical goods delivered into Washington are taxable at the combined rate of the delivery address.
SaaS & cloud softwareTaxableWashington taxes both B2B and B2C SaaS sales — remotely-accessed software is subject to retail sales tax regardless of whether anything is downloaded.
Digital goodsTaxableDownloads, digital products, and electronically delivered content are taxable in Washington at the full combined rate.
Professional servicesPartialProfessional services (e.g. engineering, consulting tied to a taxable product) are taxable; general personal or business services are exempt. Taxability turns on whether the service is specifically enumerated under RCW 82.04.
Bundled hardware + softwareTaxableBecause both hardware and software are independently taxable in Washington, bundles are taxed on the full invoice price.
Shipping & deliveryPartialDelivery charges for taxable goods are generally taxable; charges for exempt goods can be exempt when separately stated. Itemize freight on invoices when goods of mixed taxability are shipped together.
Filings · Washington

Filing schedules and due dates.

The Washington DOR assigns a filing frequency at registration based on your expected tax liability and adjusts it as your business grows. Returns must be filed even for periods with no taxable sales.

FrequencyReturnDue dateWho it applies to
MonthlyMost commonWashington Combined Excise Tax Return (DOR online filing)25th of the month following the reporting periodSellers with higher monthly tax liability, as assigned by the DOR
QuarterlyWashington Combined Excise Tax Return (DOR online filing)Last day of the month following the close of the quarter — Apr 30, Jul 31, Oct 31, Jan 31Smaller sellers with moderate annual tax liability
AnnualWashington Combined Excise Tax Return (DOR online filing)April 15 for the prior calendar yearLow-volume sellers, as assigned by the DOR

Crossed the threshold, or about to?

A Commenda expert will review your Washington exposure, register you with the Department of Revenue, and take over the filing calendar — usually within a week.

The state authority

Washington DOR — the state's tax office.

The Washington State Department of Revenue runs a single online portal for all sales-tax obligations. One account covers registration, filing the Combined Excise Tax Return, and payment — no separate local portals.

dor.wa.gov

Registration requires a Tax Portal username and password. A State Tax ID (format XXX-XXX-XXX) is assigned upon approval and used for all subsequent filings.

What you can do there
  • Register for a sales tax account

    Free to register online. Out-of-state sellers register through the DOR portal and receive a state tax ID upon approval.

  • File the Combined Excise Tax Return

    All Washington sales tax, B&O tax, and other excise obligations are filed on a single combined return through the DOR portal.

  • Look up the rate for any address

    The DOR's online tax rate lookup tool returns the combined state and local rate for any Washington delivery address.

  • Verify a resale certificate

    Check that a customer's resale certificate is valid before honoring an exemption on a Washington sale.

Exposure & exemptions · Washington

If you're behind, or your buyers are exempt.

Back-period exposure & voluntary disclosure

Washington offers a voluntary disclosure program for out-of-state sellers who come forward before the DOR identifies them — it reduces lookback and can waive penalties.

Lookback
Generally 4 years under a VDA — versus up to 7 years if the DOR contacts you first
Penalties
Waived under the program for the disclosed periods
Interest
Still due on underpaid tax — interest relief is not part of the standard VDA
Unfiled returns
No statute of limitations runs until a return is filed; come forward before the DOR opens an audit

Exemption certificates accepted

Collect a valid certificate at the time of sale and retain it — Washington places the burden of proof on the seller if an exemption is challenged.

Resale
Washington Resale Certificate (DOR form); customer must hold a valid Washington seller's permit
Multi-state
MTC Uniform Sales Tax Certificate accepted for resale; Washington is not an SST member state
Manufacturer / machinery
Machinery and equipment used directly in manufacturing may qualify for a partial exemption under RCW 82.08.02565
Nonprofit / government
Qualifying nonprofits and government entities may present a DOR-approved exemption certificate; eligibility is narrow and fact-specific

FAQ · Washington

Washington questions, answered.

The questions remote sellers ask us most about Washington sales tax.
Read our FAQ library

Yes. Washington taxes both B2B and B2C SaaS sales. Remotely-accessed software — whether or not anything is downloaded — is subject to retail sales tax at the full combined rate of the customer's address. This catches many software companies off guard because Washington is one of the few states that broadly taxes cloud software.

Yes. Washington taxes digital products, including software downloads, digital music, e-books, and electronically delivered content, at the full combined rate. There is no exemption for electronic delivery.

Washington's economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in gross retail sales or gross sales delivered into the state during the current or preceding calendar year. There is no transaction-count test — only the dollar amount matters.

Washington has no rule excluding marketplace-facilitated sales from the threshold, so sales made through Amazon, Etsy, or other marketplace facilitators count toward your $100,000 threshold even if the marketplace collects and remits the tax.

Washington's statewide base rate is 6.5%. Local city and county taxes are added on top, resulting in combined rates that range from around 7.5% in rural areas to over 10% in cities like Seattle (10.55%) and Tacoma (10.4%).

Yes. In addition to retail sales tax, Washington imposes a Business and Occupation tax on gross receipts from business activities. Remote sellers with nexus may owe both sales tax and B&O tax. The DOR administers both taxes through the same Combined Excise Tax Return.

Any physical presence creates nexus immediately — offices, employees (including remote workers in Washington), warehouses, third-party fulfillment centers, and dependent or independent agents. An Amazon FBA warehouse in Kent or Dupont, for example, creates nexus from the moment inventory arrives.

Yes. Commenda monitors your Washington exposure, registers you with the Department of Revenue, calculates the correct combined rate on every transaction, and files each Combined Excise Tax Return on schedule. Book a call to see it on your own data.

United States

Sales tax, state by state.

* No state-level sales tax. Alaska's local jurisdictions still enforce economic nexus through the ARSSTC.