WAC 218

Tax on manufacturers.

Tax on retailers

Tax on wholesalers, distributors

Tax on printers, publishers, highway contractors, extracting or processing for hire, cold storage warehouse or storage warehouse operation, insurance general agents, radio and television broadcasting, consumer as defined in RCW 82.04.190 (6)-Cold storage warehouse defined-Storage warehouse-Storage warehouse-Periodical or magazine defined. Use tax imposed.

Tax on selected business services, financial businesses, or other business or service activities.

Tax imposed-Retail sales-Retail car rental.

Use tax imposed

Sales and use tax authorized-Additional taxes authorized-Maximum rates.

Advertising agencies

These rules all refer to resale certificates. Proposed action is to add standard language to recognize reseller permits for sales made on or after January 1, 2010.

Use Tax Obligations of Advertising Agencies

Discount Vouchers

B&O Tax Reporting Requirement Continues After Business Activity Stops (Trailing Nexus)

New "Economic Nexus" in Washington State May Impact Advertising Agencies Located Elsewhere

BUSINESS AND OCCUPATIONS; ADVERTISING SERVICE; RETAIL SALES; COMMERCIAL ART; RCW 82.04.050; ETB 308. Commercial artwork that is a finished product for outright sale to a consumer is subject to the retailing business tax and retail sales tax.

DEFERRED SALES TAX -- USE TAX -- B&O TAX --ADVERTISING AGENCY -- BROCHURES. Advertising agencies are not liable for deferred sales tax or use tax on brochures when they purchase same from an unregistered, out-of-state printer as an agent on behalf of a Washington client and the brochures are shipped directly from the printer to the client. The commission or mark-up for such purchasing service, however, is Service B&O taxable to the advertising agency.

SERVICE B&O -- ADVERTISING AGENCIES -- GRAPHIC DESIGN SERVICES -- INTERMEDIATE STEP. Advertising agencies that perform only advertising services such as procuring advertising space or products on behalf of a client, consultation services, graphic design services, copy writing, editing, layout, and coordinating the printing of advertising material for a client and producing or procuring intermediate steps in the printing process for a client are taxable under the Service and Other Activities tax classification. Accord: ETBs 308 and 417.

B&O TAX -- SALES TAX -- ADVERTISING -- ITEMIZED CHARGES. Itemized charges for tangible personal property by an advertising agency are considered retail sales. For purposes of this rule, in order to be itemized, charges for tangible personal property may appear alone on a single billing. It is not necessary that they be listed on the same invoice along with charges for advertising services.

ADVERTISING AGENCY – ADVERTISING TEMPLATES – MEDIUM DELIVERED.When an advertising agency “burns” its advertising templates to a compact disc and transfers the compact disc to its client, the advertising agency is selling its advertising services not tangible personal property.The compact disc is just the medium through which the advertising agency delivers its services.Rule 155, concerning computer software, does not apply to transfer of the compact discs.

ADVERTISING AGENCY – MEASURE OF TAX.When an advertising agency charges its client a single fee for advertising services and amounts attributable to tangible personal property, the entire fee is subject to the service and other activities business and occupation tax classification.

ADVERTISING AGENCY.A print advertising agency is subject to the business and occupation tax under the service and other activities classification.

RCW 82.04.280:B&O TAX – PRINTING AND PUBLISHING – ADVERTISING MATERIALS AND COUPONS.An assortment of separately printed advertisements and coupons printed on separate pieces of paper and inserted into an envelope cannot properly be described as a work or issue, and is therefore not a “publication.”Because the collection of separate pieces of paper is not a “publication,” it does not qualify as a “periodical or a magazine” for purposes of the printing and publishing B&O tax classification.

RETAIL SALES AND B&O TAX -- MAILING BUREAU.Taxpayer who mails advertising but otherwise does not conform to the Rule 141 description of a mailing bureau is not making retail sales.This activity is B&O taxable under the Service category.

B&O TAX -- NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING -- MAIL DISTRIBUTION OF.Distribution of direct mail advertising wrapped in qualified community newspaper does not qualify for the Printing and Publishing B&O classification.

B&O TAX -- SERVICE -- ADVERTISING -- ADVERTISING THROUGH THE MAIL. Persons who perform advertising services by arranging for the printing and mailing of coupons and flyers are subject to Service B&O tax on the amounts received for performing such services.

RETAIL SALES TAX -- PRINTED MATTER -- ADVERTISING SERVICES.Sales of printed matter to an advertising service business for their own use or for the use of their clients are sales for consumption and subject to the retail sales tax.

BUSINESS AND OCCUPATION TAX -- ADVERTISING AGENCY -- POSTAGE ADVANCES -- MARKUP. A small advertising agency specializing in direct mail advertising promotions for automobile dealers nationwide was liable for the business and occupation tax on funds received from clients, where these funds were intended to cover postage for mailing advertising materials to the public, even though the cost of postage were separately stated on the billing invoice and the agency charged no mark-up on the postage charges.