TPS-TIE

Homeowners associations (HOAs) may be required to register as a business in Washington. HOAs may be required to register if they provide services beyond general upkeep of the neighborhood common areas or make retail sales. These activities could include operating a golf course, providing water distribution to residents, or providing repair and landscaping services to individual homeowners.

If registered, the HOA may also be required to file excise tax returns. However, some HOAs may qualify for an active non-reporting status.

Do I owe retail sales tax on maintenance agreements for prewritten software sales?

Sales tax does not apply for separately itemized charges when the agreements do not include software upgrades or updates. However, these agreements are taxable under the service and other activities B&O tax.

Generally, you are allowed to sell no more than four vehicles per year without having an auto dealers license under Department of Licensing (DOL) guidelines. Additionally, you must pay either sales or use tax when you title these vehicles in your name.

Purchasing vehicles

If you want to purchase a vehicle for resale without paying sales tax or use tax:

Pet cremation services are taxable under the service and other activities business and occupation (B&O) tax classification. No retail sales tax is due, regardless of whether the pet owner receives the ashes after cremation.

Both landowners and contractors bidding on a project should determine the taxability of the project before finalizing the bid. In certain cases, the contractor is the consumer of the materials they install or incorporate into the project. The contractor owes sales/use tax on the value of those materials. A bid by the contractor should reflect any possible sales/use tax obligation.

Propane made from crude oil

Propane made from crude oil is subject to the hazardous substance tax (HST).

Propane made from crude oil is not subject to the petroleum products tax (PPT). This is because propane is a liquefiable gas, which is excluded from this tax.

Propane made from natural gas

Propane made from natural gas is not subject to HST or the PPT. This is because this propane is not made from crude oil for HST purposes, and it is an excluded liquefiable gas for PPT purposes.

Core drilling charges are subject to business and occupation (B&O) tax under the service and other activities classification when:

• The business performs core drilling for the purpose of getting soil samples.
• The business uses the drilling samples for planning the construction of subsurface structures. 

For tax purposes, the state considers the nature of the actual activity to classify the gross income, not the verbiage in a contract. 

Compensation received from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or other governmental agencies for providing Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) are subject to business and occupation (B&O) tax under the service and other activities classification.  

Customers who purchase telecommunications plans that provide TRS are still subject to retail sales tax. This includes purchasing a wireless phone plan with a telecommunications provider that provide TRS free of charge.

Delivery charges includes charges for shipping and handling, postage, freight, transportation, drayage, transfer, crating, packing, wrapping, parcel post, portage, loading, rigging, lading, tonnage, weight, burden, and documentation. Delivery charges can vary by weight, size, fragility, and speed of shipping.

Delivery charges by a seller are part of the selling price whether they are billed separately, itemized on the sales invoice, or the seller is also the carrier. The seller may not deduct or exclude the cost of delivery. 

States cannot tax the United States and its departments, institutions, and certain other federal entities.

Taxes these entities are exempt from include: 

• Retail sales tax.
• Use tax.
• Business and occupation (B&O) tax.
• Public utility tax.
• Leasehold excise tax.
• Litter tax.

Federal law exempts the following executive branch presidential cabinet departments from state taxation: