Income earned from horticultural services performed for farmers is reported under the Service and Other Activities business and occupation (B&O) tax classification. Retail sales tax is not due on these services.

You are considered the consumer of the items that you use to provide these services such as fertilizers, spray materials, and baling wire. You must pay sales or use tax on these items.

What are horticultural services?

Horticultural services include services related to the cultivation of vegetables, fruits, grains, field crops, ornamental floriculture, and nursery products.

Examples of horticulture services performed for farmers include, but are not limited to the following:

• Soil preparation services such as plowing or weed control before planting.
• Crop cultivation services such as planting, thinning, pruning, or spraying.
• Crop harvesting services such as threshing grain, mowing and baling hay or picking fruit.

Itemized sales of products

If you separately bill for items you use to provide horticultural services to farmers, and the farmer provides you with either a reseller permit or Farmer’s Certificate for Wholesale Purchases and Sales Tax Exemptions (PDF), then those sales are taxable under the Wholesaling B&O tax classification.

If the farmer does not provide one of these documents, then the sale is taxable under the Retailing B&O tax classification, and you must collect sales tax from the farmer.

You may use your reseller permit to purchase items used to perform horticultural services since you are reselling them to the farmer.

Income from landscaping services to homeowners or commercial clients is reported under Retailing business and occupation (B&O) tax. Retail sales tax is due on these services. The sales tax rate is based on the location of the job where the landscaping services are performed.

If you are hired by a general contractor to perform landscaping services and they provide you with a reseller permit, income from such services is reported under the Wholesaling B&O tax classification, and you do not have to collect sales tax.

What are landscaping services?

Landscaping services include:

• Yard maintenance.
• Pruning and cultivating of fruits, flowers, vegetables, trees.
• Installation of sod, the planting of trees, flowers or shrubs.
• Weeding, mowing, brush removal.
• Installation of paths, tables, benches, fences, and retaining walls.
• Installation of sprinkler systems, pools, and fountains.
• Application of pesticides and herbicides.
• Leveling of land and tree trimming.

Items you purchase that are directly resold to your customer or installed as part of the service may be purchased using your reseller permit. Examples include:

• Mulch.
• Fertilizer.
• Potted plants.
• Sod.
• Paving stones.

Along public roads

Income from landscaping along a public road is reported under Public Road Construction business and occupation (B&O) tax. Retail sales tax is not due on these services. You must pay sales or use tax on any materials that you install, such as soil, seed, rocks, or gravel.

In public areas (parks, trails, and other public spaces)

Income from landscaping in public areas, such as parks, is reported under Retailing B&O tax. Retail sales tax is due. If you have a reseller permit, you do not pay sales tax when buying materials that you install on the job, such as soil, seed, rocks, or gravel.

What are landscaping services?

Landscaping services include:

• Yard maintenance.
• Pruning and cultivating of fruits, flowers, vegetables, trees.
• Installation of sod, the planting of trees, flowers or shrubs.
• Weeding, mowing, and brush removal.
• Installation of paths, tables, benches, fences, and retaining walls.
• Installation of sprinkler systems, pools, and fountains.
• Application of pesticides and herbicides.
• Leveling of land and tree trimming.

Landscape design services that are provided independently from landscape installation services are reported under the Service and Other Activities business and occupation (B&O) tax classification. Sales tax is not due on these design services.

If you provide both design and installation services to the same customer, the total income is reported under the Retailing B&O tax classification. Retail sales tax is due on the combined services.

Landscape design is considered independent only when the designer and customer did not plan for the designer to handle installation.

If a general contractor hires you and provides a reseller permit, report the income under the Wholesaling business and occupation (B&O) tax classification. You do not collect retail sales tax from the general contractor. 

You can use your reseller permit to buy items that you install on the job or directly resell to your customer (without intervening use). Examples include mulch, fertilizer, potted plants, sod, paving stones, etc.

“Without intervening use” means you do not use the items yourself before selling or installing them. Installing these items for a customer is not considered to be taxable (intervening) use by the landscaper.

What are landscaping services?

Landscaping services include:

• Yard maintenance.
• Pruning and cultivating of fruits, flowers, vegetables, trees. 
• Installation of sod, the planting of trees, flowers or shrubs.
• Weeding, mowing, and brush removal.
• Installation of paths, tables, benches, fences, and retaining walls.
• Installation of sprinkler systems, pools, and fountains.
• Application of pesticides and herbicides.
• Leveling of land and tree trimming.

Charges for retail services such as lawn mowing and trimming are reported under the Retailing business and occupation (B&O) tax, but are exempt from retail sales tax when these services are performed on property owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

If you are hired as a subcontractor and the general contractor provides a reseller permit, you do not collect sales tax, and the income is reported under Wholesaling B&O tax.

Landscaping services provided to the U.S. Government are subject to tax based on the nature of the overall project that the landscaping services are part of.

If the project is for landscaping services only, then the income is subject to Retailing business and occupation (B&O) tax. No retail sales tax is due.

If the project is for road construction, then the income is subject to Public Road Construction B&O tax. No retail sales tax is due, however the contractor is responsible to pay retail sales tax or use tax on the value of any materials installed on the project. 

If the project is for building construction, then the income is subject to Government Contracting B&O tax. No retail sales tax is due, however the contractor is responsible to pay retail sales tax or use tax on the value of any materials installed on the project.

If you provide landscaping services for public or private utilities, including clearing limbs and brush from power lines and telephone lines, your income is reported under the Service and Other Activities business and occupation (B&O) tax classification. Retail sales tax is not due on these services.

Everyone who uses personal property in a business must complete a personal property tax listing form. File this form with your county assessor’s office by April 30 each year.

Examples of personal property used in conducting business include, but are not limited to:

• Equipment, such as mowers and trimmers.
• Computer hardware and software.
• Tools.
• Supplies.

For more information, please view our property tax, property tax brochure (PDF), and how my business property is valued pages.

Rental of Equipment

Landscapers and horticulturists must pay retail sales tax or use tax on the purchase or rental of tools and equipment used to provide landscaping or horticultural services.

Supplies

You must pay sales or use tax on the purchase of supplies that will not be resold, either directly, or as a component part of the finished work.

Note: If your vendor does not collect sales tax, you must report use tax on the full value of the items, including shipping or delivery charges.

Purchases for resale

You may use a reseller permit to purchase items that will be installed on the job or directly resold to your customer.

Examples include:

• Mulch.
• Fertilizer.
• Potted plants.
• Sod.
• Paving stones.

Installing these items for a customer is not considered taxable (intervening) use by the landscaper. 

If you pay sales tax on items you will resell, you may claim a Taxable Amount for Tax Paid at Source deduction on your excise tax return when you report the sale of the item. This deduction is claimed under the retail sales tax classification only. You must retain documentation for any deduction claimed.

Manual snow removal

If you remove snow on privately-owned locations with manual tools such as shovels or brooms is considered a janitorial service subject to the Service and Other Activities business and occupation (B&O) tax. You must pay retail sales tax or use tax on any materials applied as part of the job, such as ice melt or sand.

Snow removal with machinery

If you remove snow on privately-owned locations with power tools such as plows or power sweepers, this is considered a retail sale. Report the income under the Retailing B&O tax and collect retail sales tax. The sales tax rate is based on the location of the snow removal service is performed.

You may use your reseller permit to purchase materials applied as part of the job, such as ice melt or sand.

Snow removal on land owned by a city or county

Snow removal from on streets and sidewalks owned by a city or county is considered public road construction. Report this income under the Public Road Construction B&O tax. Retail sales tax does not apply. However, you must pay retail sales tax or use tax on any materials applied as part of the job, such as ice melt or sand.

Snow removal on land owned by the state

Snow removal on streets and sidewalks owned by the State of Washington is considered a retail sale. Report this income under the Retailing B&O tax. You must collect retail sales tax.

You can use your reseller permit to purchase materials applied as part of the job, such as ice melt or sand.

Income from trail grooming services is considered a retail sale. Report this income under the Retailing business and occupation (B&O) tax. You must collect retail sales tax.

Trail grooming services include snow compacting, snow redistribution, and snow removal on state- or privately-owned trails. 

Trail grooming – Sales tax exemption

Services performed for the state of Washington and nonprofit corporations are exempt from retail sales tax.

Documentation requirements

A business may accept a completed

Unclaimed property is property held by a business that has not had contact with the owner of the property for an extended period. Property is usually considered unclaimed after three years. At that point, the property is turned over to the Department of Revenue to be reunited with its owner.

Annual records review

You must review your records each year to determine if you hold any unclaimed property. If so, you must report the unclaimed property to the department by October 31 of that year.

For more information about unclaimed property and how to report, please see our Unclaimed property web page.

Secretary of state: You may be required to register with the Secretary of State if you are going to be registered as a Corporation, Limited Liability Company (LLC), Limited Partnerships (LP) or Nonprofit corporation.

Business license: You need to apply for a business license when conducting business in Washington.

Local business licensing office: You may be required to register with each city and county where you do business, in addition to your state business license. If the city or county is not listed on our website, contact the city or county to find out if you need to register directly with them. 

Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA): You may need a pesticide license.

Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I): You must get a contractor’s license directly from L&I.