Everyone who uses personal property in a business must complete a personal property tax listing form. This listing must be filed with your county assessor’s office by April 30 of each year. Examples of personal property used in conducting business include, but are not limited to:
When you perform cleanup services on properties for consumers (e.g., for banks, realtors, or investors), on a foreclosed property, these services are considered special cleanup jobs.
Special cleanup jobs include, but are not limited to:
Construction cleanup services are taxable depending on the type of construction work being done.
When you perform “janitorial services” that are regularly and normally performed by a commercial janitorial business, the income is subject to service and other activities business and occupation (B&O) tax. Retailing B&O and retail sales tax does not apply.
Examples of “janitorial services” include:
This guide explains how janitorial and cleaning services are taxed in Washington.
Royalty income is attributed under a hierarchy. This means you only move to the next step if you are unable to attribute under the current step.
The hierarchy for attributing royalty income is as follows:
Service income is attributed under a hierarchy. This means you only move to the next step if you are unable to attribute under the current step.
The department expects most taxpayers will attribute apportionable receipts based on attribution tier #1 because the taxpayer will either have enough information to know where the customer receives the benefit of the service, or there is generally a reasonable method of proportionally attributing receipts available.
The hierarchy for service income is as follows:
Apportionable income includes income reported under the following business and occupation (B&O) tax classifications:
For business and occupation (B&O) tax purposes, apportionment refers to the use of a formula to allocate a business’ income to the appropriate taxing jurisdictions.
If you are a business that is taxable in Washington and another state, you must use our apportionment formula to determine how much of your apportionable income is subject to B&O tax in Washington.
Taxable in another state means your business meets any of the following requirements in the current or prior calendar year:
Attend a free tax workshop to learn about your tax reporting responsibilities. We will discuss tax classifications, deductions, sales tax collection, and recordkeeping requirements. You'll also have the opportunity to ask questions about taxes that apply specifically to your business.
Skip to main content
