What are the oil spill taxes?
The oil spill response tax and the oil spill administration tax are taxes on the receipt of crude oil or petroleum products at a marine terminal in Washington from a waterborne vessel or barge operating on the navigable waters of Washington. The tax is imposed on the person who owns the crude oil or petroleum products when the crude oil or petroleum products are received in the storage tanks of a marine terminal.
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How do I pay the tax?
Both taxes are paid either:
- directly to the marine terminal operator, or
- by a taxpayer who has been issued a direct payment certificate.
The taxes are paid monthly on the Oil
Spill Tax Return to the Department of Revenue.
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What rate do I pay?
The rate of the oil spill administration tax is four cents per 42-gallon barrel.
The rate of the oil spill response tax is one center per 42-gallon barrel. The oil spill response tax is suspended when funds in the oil spill response account exceed $9 million. The tax is imposed when funds in the account are $8 million or less. The oil spill response tax was suspended on October 1, 2009. See our Special Notice, "Oil Spill Response Tax Suspension" (pdf).
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What are the funds used for?
The funds are dispersed as follows:
- The four cents per barrel oil spill administration tax is deposited into the oil spill prevention account to fund oil spill prevention and preparedness programs.
- The one cent per barrel oil spill response tax is deposited into the oil spill response account to cover
state response costs to oil spills which involve clean-up costs in excess of $50,000.
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