Guide to Sales Tax in Washington in 2025

Whether you’ve fully set up shop in Washington, or simply ship there once in a while, it’s important you know whether your business is liable to their sales taxes. In our 10+ years of experience helping online businesses comply with taxes, we’ve found that tax policies are confusing. So we translated all the information from the Washington Department of Revenue’s official sales tax law into language that’s easy to understand.

This guide will tell you everything you need to know, plus direct you to the right places for handling any sales tax responsibility you may have.

What’s taxable in Washington?

In Washington, most types of goods where a physical product is transferred are taxable. Below is an overview of products that are generally taxable in Washington. Some local cities or districts might have their own rules or exceptions, however. For example, check out the Seattle sales tax guide for specific rules in the Washington state capital.

• Tangible personal property: These are physical items. Washington taxes most tangible products.
• Digital goods: These are goods delivered or accessed electronically, such as media streaming services and eBooks.
• Software as a service (SaaS): Cloud-based software accessed online by customers. Washington generally taxes SaaS products.
• Certain services
• Leases and rentals of tangible personal property

To be absolutely clear about which products are subject to sales tax, and which are exempt, check the Washington Department of Revenue website.

What are non-taxable items in Washington?

Washington has several sales tax exemptions. Here are a few examples of non-taxable items that you don’t need to charge WA sales tax on:

• Most food (except dietary supplements, soft drinks, bottled water, and prepared food)
• Prescription drugs
• Manufacturers’ machinery and equipment

Washington also exempts certain types of organizations from Washington sales taxes, such as government agencies, some nonprofit organizations, and merchants purchasing goods for resale, via exemption certificates.

Do you have sales tax nexus in Washington?

The word “nexus” refers to a commercial connection in the state. Nexus determines the following questions for a state tax agency: Do you do business here, what kind, and how much? And when you do have nexus, that means you’re obligated to collect tax on your sales there. So the first question for you to answer is whether you have nexus in Washington.

Washington physical nexus

Washington economic nexus

• A significant amount of sales in Washington within twelve months. This is called an economic nexus, a sales tax nexus determined by economic activity, i.e., the amount of sales you make in a particular state, not including sales through a marketplace.
• The threshold in Washington is $100,000 in annual gross retail sales to Washington consumers. This threshold is calculated using all of your retail sales (taxable and exempt) to Washington customers, including sales made through a facilitator, through your own website or otherwise.
• At the time you meet the threshold, you are required to collect for the remainder of the current and the following calendar year. If you did not meet the threshold in the previous year, you must begin to collect on the first day of the month that starts at least 30 days after the date you met the threshold.

To learn more about how this works, check out the Ultimate Guide to US Economic Nexus.

Trailing nexus

Sales tax nexus can linger even after a retailer ceases the activities that caused it to be “engaged in business” in the state. In Washington, if you stop an activity that created nexus for your business, you will continue to have nexus for the remainder of that year, plus one additional calendar year. For more information, see the Washington DOR’s Trailing nexus guide.

Sales tax rates in Washington

Tax rates can vary based on the location of your business and the location of your customer, plus the levels of sales tax that apply in those specific locations.

The base Washington state sales tax is 6.5%. There are additional levels of sales tax at local jurisdictions, too. The total Washington sales tax rate a customer will pay is made up of two rates:

• A base Washington state sales tax of 6.5%
• Additional district Washington sales tax rates that range between 0% and 3.9%.

Check out Quaderno's Sales Tax Calculator to see your product's tax rate, amount, and final price in Washington. You can also use the Washington DOR's Tax Rate Lookup.

How to calculate sales tax in Washington

Washington is a destination-based sales tax system, so you have to pay attention to the varying tax rates across the state. Charge the tax rate of the buyer’s address, as that’s the destination of your product or service. Add it to the price of your product, and collect the full payment.

How does Washington sales tax work with marketplaces?

Effective October 1, 2018, marketplace facilitators in Washington are responsible for collecting and remitting sales tax on behalf of marketplace sellers. Here are some special rules that apply to marketplaces in Washington:

• Taxable and nontaxable sales are counted towards a marketplace facilitator’s economic nexus.
• Marketplace sellers must count the sales made through marketplaces towards their economic nexus even if they don’t have to pay taxes on those sales.
• Marketplace sellers are not required to register for economic nexus if all their sales are made via a marketplace.

See Washington’s marketplace sellers and facilitators’ guide for more information.

Sales tax on shipping charges in Washington

Washington does apply sales tax to shipping costs. The rule of thumb is that if what you’re selling is subject to tax, then the shipping charges are also subject to tax. (And vice versa is true: If the item being shipped is not subject to sales tax, neither are the shipping charges.)

If you happen to be shipping products that are both taxable and nontaxable, then shipping charges for the entire shipment are subject to tax.

How to register for a Washington sales tax permit

Washington allows remote and foreign sellers to register for sales tax online.

First you must apply for a business license using the Department of Revenue (DOR) Business Licensing Wizard. Then you can register for sales tax. Legally you must do this before you make your first sale in the state, and you must wait until you receive your license to make any taxable sales.

Finally you’ll create an account on My DOR, an online portal. (This portal is also where you’ll file and pay your tax returns. For information on how to file, check out this Washington sales tax filing guide.)

Be prepared to share the following information:

• Business name, address, and contact information
• Federal EIN number
• Date business activities began or will begin
• Projected monthly sales and projected monthly taxable sales
• Products to be sold
• Your email address
• If you’ve purchased an existing business, you must also provide the previous permit information

Apply for a WA business license

1. Go to the Business Licensing Wizard site. Select up to 5 activities that describe your business (but only 1 is required). You can search the menu with keywords, like so:
2. The following questions are about your business structure (Corporation, Sole Proprietorship, etc.) and the employees you’ll hire in Washington (if any).
3. Next you’ll provide the physical location of your business. First select your country at the top, then fill in the rest of the street and city details. Be sure to click “Verify” before moving forward!
4. The next question asks if your business has a physical presence in any cities, including whether you travel to certain cities within Washington in order to sell your products. Select all cities that apply. Note: If you simply have products delivered to a city, this does not count as a physical presence. You can move forward without selecting anything.
5. Eventually you’ll see a screen that lists the license requirements for your business. Depending on which products you sell (e.g. tobacco), you might need to go through extra steps. The screen will suggest you apply for Tax Registration at this stage (see below), but actually you must wait until you have your first business license. Ignore this and click “Next”.
6. The last step is to enter your email address, then hit “Submit”! Once submitted, business license applications will take about 10 business days to process. If you have city or state endorsements, it may take an additional 2-3 weeks to receive your business license due to approval time. When you get it in the mail, you’ll receive two important things: _ The Unified Business Identifier (UBI) number that you will need to use when you file your taxes or make changes to your business. _ A tax account ID. You’ll need this to create an account and register online. * The Letter ID, printed on the piece of mail (see below). You’ll need this to create your account online!

Create My DOR account and register for sales tax

1. To create your online account, go to the Secure Access Washington (SAW) site. Click “Sign Up” as a new user.
2. After providing basic contact information and choosing login credentials, you’ll be taken through a multi-factor authentication process to activate your account. Be prepared to check your email a few times.
3. Once activated, log in at the same SAW site, and you’ll see this page below. Click “Get Started” to begin the tax registration process! You will need to provide the Letter ID here.

Tax registration applications take about 5-7 business days. Once processed, you’ll be assigned a tax filing frequency: monthly, quarterly, or annually.

B&O income tax

You are also required to register to report Business & Occupation (B&O) tax if you meet the gross income threshold for economic nexus.

Sales tax guides for other states

• Alabama Sales Tax Guide
• Alaska Sales Tax Guide
• Arizona Sales Tax Guide
• Arkansas Sales Tax Guide
• California Sales Tax Guide
• Colorado Sales Tax Guide
• Connecticut Sales Tax Guide
• Delaware Sales Tax Guide
• Florida Sales Tax Guide
• Georgia Sales Tax Guide
• Hawaii Sales Tax Guide
• Idaho Sales Tax Guide
• Illinois Sales Tax Guide
• Indiana Sales Tax Guide
• Iowa Sales Tax Guide
• Kansas Sales Tax Guide
• Kentucky Sales Tax Guide
• Louisiana Sales Tax Guide
• Maine Sales Tax Guide
• Maryland Sales Tax Guide
• Massachusetts Sales Tax Guide
• Michigan Sales Tax Guide
• Minnesota Sales Tax Guide
• Mississippi Sales Tax Guide
• Missouri Sales Tax Guide
• Montana Sales Tax Guide
• Nebraska Sales Tax Guide
• Nevada Sales Tax Guide
• New Hampshire Sales Tax Guide
• New Jersey Sales Tax Guide
• New Mexico Sales Tax Guide
• New York Sales Tax Guide
• North Carolina Sales Tax Guide
• North Dakota Sales Tax Guide
• Ohio Sales Tax Guide
• Oklahoma Sales Tax Guide
• Oregon Sales Tax Guide
• Pennsylvania Sales Tax Guide
• Rhode Island Sales Tax Guide
• South Carolina Sales Tax Guide
• South Dakota Sales Tax Guide
• Tennessee Sales Tax Guide
• Texas Sales Tax Guide
• Utah Sales Tax Guide
• Vermont Sales Tax Guide
• Virginia Sales Tax Guide
• Washington, D.C. Sales Tax Guide
• West Virginia Sales Tax Guide
• Wisconsin Sales Tax Guide
• Wyoming Sales Tax Guide