Washington's state sales tax rate is 6.5% as of October 2026, plus a local rate that varies by city and county. You charge the rate for the place where your customer receives the goods or services. Since October 1, 2025, many business services, including advertising, IT and website development, are taxable too.
Retail sales tax is Washington's main tax source, and sellers hold what they collect as trust funds for the state. This guide uses the Washington Department of Revenue's retail sales tax page, its sales and use tax rates page and its page on services newly subject to retail sales tax, all read in October 2026.
Washington sales tax basics
| Rule | Washington (as of October 2026) |
|---|---|
| State rate | 6.5% |
| Local rate | Varies by city and county |
| Which rate to charge | The rate where the customer receives the goods or services |
| How rates are published | Lookup tool, mobile app and tables, updated quarterly |
| Business services newly taxed | From October 1, 2025, under ESSB 5814 |
What Washington taxes
- Goods: anything that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt or touched, when sold to the end user.
- Digital products: many are taxable, generally if the same product would be taxed in physical form. Music files and audiobooks are the department's examples.
- Retail services: installing, cleaning, decorating, repairing or otherwise altering goods for consumers, plus repairing or improving real property for consumers.
The services taxed since October 2025
This is the change that hit small service businesses, and plenty still don't know about it. Under ESSB 5814, these services became subject to retail sales tax on October 1, 2025:
| Service | What's included | What's not included |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising services | Ad design, ad placement, campaign planning, lead generation, buying online ad space | Web hosting, domain registration, some print, radio and TV ads, fixed signage, out-of-home ads |
| IT services | Help desk, network support, training, IT consulting, data processing, data entry | Web hosting, domain registration, payment processing |
| Custom website development | Website design, development and support | Web hosting and domain registration |
| Live presentations | Workshops, webinars and courses with real-time interaction, in person or online | Accredited school and college classes, performances, sports events, tutoring |
| Investigation, security and armored car | Security guards, background checks, armored cars, investigations, security systems | Locksmith services |
| Temporary staffing | Supplying workers under contract or on short-term assignment | Hospital staffing, direct hires, independent contractors |
| Custom software and customization | Custom software and customizing prewritten software | Unmodified off-the-shelf software |
The same law removed some old exclusions under Washington's digital automated services rules, including advertising, live presentations, data processing and services provided mainly through human effort, and it added an exclusion for telehealth. From July 1, 2026, further exclusions and exemptions took effect, including for some live presentations and for certain services bought by schools and libraries. The department has also run a temporary penalty relief program for tax missed because of these changes.
If you run a marketing, design or training business with Washington clients, this is the part to check first. A webinar series or a lead generation retainer sold to a Washington customer may now need sales tax on the invoice.
Destination-based: which rate to charge
The department says sales tax is based on where the customer receives the merchandise or service. Whether you ship a product, provide labor and services, or rent equipment affects the location, so the rate can differ from the one at your own premises. Use the department's tax rate lookup tool, which searches by address, ZIP plus four or map. Businesses selling to many addresses can upload a spreadsheet and get the location code and rate for each one.
The free rate tools the department offers
- A tax rate lookup tool that finds rates and location codes for sales and use tax, motor vehicle taxes and lodging tax, by address, ZIP plus four or map.
- A mobile app that finds the rate for your current location, which helps if you work on site at customers' premises.
- A downloadable rates database, updated quarterly, that you can plug into your own systems.
- A free bulk service: upload a spreadsheet or text file of Washington addresses and get back the location code and rate for each one.
Use tax and reseller permits
- Use tax: paid by the buyer when the seller didn't collect sales tax.
- Reseller permit: if you buy goods for resale, give the seller your reseller permit. Without it, the seller must charge you sales tax on the whole purchase.
- Trust funds: sales tax you collect belongs to the state and must be sent to the Department of Revenue with your excise tax return.
How to get it right, step by step
- Check whether what you sell is goods, a digital product, a retail service or one of the services newly taxed since October 2025.
- Look up the rate for the address where the customer receives it.
- Charge the combined state and local rate on the invoice.
- Report and pay it on your excise tax return.
- Recheck the rate tables each quarter, as local rates can change.
If you have staff in the state, my Washington minimum wage page covers the wage side, and my roundup of sales tax software lists tools that work out local rates by address.
My verdict
Washington's 6.5% isn't the headline any more. The real change is that advertising, IT, website and live training services became taxable in October 2025, and it's easy to miss if you set up your invoices before then. If you sell any of those to Washington clients, read the department's guidance for your service this week and fix your invoices.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the sales tax rate in Washington State?
The state rate is 6.5% as of October 2026, plus a local rate that depends on where the customer receives the goods or services.
Is Washington sales tax based on the seller's or buyer's location?
The buyer's. Washington is destination based, so you charge the rate where the customer receives the goods or services.
Are advertising services taxable in Washington?
Yes, since October 1, 2025. Ad design, ad placement, campaign planning and lead generation are now subject to retail sales tax.
Are webinars taxable in Washington?
Live presentations with real-time interaction, including webinars and workshops, became taxable on October 1, 2025, with some exclusions added from July 1, 2026.
What is use tax in Washington?
It's the tax the buyer pays when the seller didn't collect retail sales tax on a taxable purchase.
