Live presentations

Starting Oct. 1, 2025, advertising services are subject to Washington retail sales tax. If you sell “live presentations” in Washington, you must collect and submit sales tax.

Live presentations include, but are not limited to, lectures, seminars, workshops, or courses where participants attend either in person or via the Internet or telecommunications equipment that allows audience members and the presenter or instructor to give, receive, and discuss information with each other in real time.

What is a live presentation?

To be a “live presentation,” it is sufficient that the presenter or instructor and/or audience are allowed to give, receive, and discuss information with one another in real time, whether this occurs in-person or electronically. A taxable live presentation requires a fee, charge, or any other exchange of consideration between any parties involved.

The following considerations can be used to help determine if you are providing a live presentation:

The purpose of the activity is to inform, explain, persuade, or educate on a particular subject;
The structure of the activity is in the form of a seminar, lecture, workshop, course, or any similar event;
The activity allows for interaction with or participation from the audience in real time, although interaction or participation is not required; and
The activity must allow for more than one attendee.

NOTE: The determination of whether a service meets the definition of a “live presentation” is based on the specific facts and circumstances of a particular transaction. While the considerations above are generally features of a live presentation, the specific tax results of a particular transaction may vary.

What's included

Live presentations include, but are not limited to, the following types of activities:

Courses, classes, seminars, workshops, or other programs for personal or professional enrichment such as art, music, choir, pottery, business and marketing, cooking, and CPR classes or lessons.
Continuing professional education including: continuing legal education, continuing medical education, continuing education for trades, continuing education for teachers, etc.
Driving education courses or lessons.
In-person and online instructional classes, lessons, workshops, seminars, or other programs that are provided in real time.

Note: With respect to any of the activities identified directly above, the activities would not be a live presentation if the activity is provided by and as part of a learning program by a public or private elementary or secondary school, or as part of a learning program encompassed within the accreditation of a higher education institution.

What's NOT included

Live presentations do not include:

Classes provided by preschools.
Classes and continuing education courses provided by elementary and secondary schools and by institutions of higher education as part of their accreditation. See ESSB 5814 concerning live presentations for schools and institutions of higher education for additional guidance.
Performances such as concerts, plays, musicals, comedy shows, and opera.
Movies.
Sports events.
Fundraising events.
One-on-one instructional activities such as tutoring, consulting, or music lessons.
Professional services where the presentation is merely a part of delivering a broader service to the client (see Example 10 below).
Pre-recorded presentations, where the purchasers can watch the recording of a live presentation at a later time. Pre-recorded content delivered electronically is generally defined as a digital good and subject to retailing B&O and retail sales tax if sold to a consumer (see Example 9 below). For more information, see our Tax Topic on digital products.
Athletic and fitness activities that are separately classified under the definition of an “athletic fitness facility” per ESSB 5814 §101(3)(m) as these activities maintain their specified tax classification. For more information, see our Tax Topic on Athletic and fitness facilities.
Recreational activities that are separately classified under ESSB 5814 §101(15) as these activities maintain their specified tax classification. For more information, see Recreational services at a glance.
“Opportunity to dance” as these activities maintain their specified tax classification. For more information, see House Bill 1550, Chapter 169, Laws of 2015, and our Tax Topic on Opportunity to dance.