TPS-TIE | Washington Department of Revenue

Irrigation Districts Operating on US Government Property

Read more about Irrigation Districts Operating on US Government Property

It is common in Washington for irrigation districts to operate facilities owned by the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), an agency of the US government. Does this relationship mean irrigation districts are exempt from sales and use tax on their purchases?

The department has determined that irrigation districts are not an instrumentality of the US government. Therefore, they do not qualify for a broad sales and use tax exemption for purchases made by the US government.

Foreign Diplomats Tax Exemption

Read more about Foreign Diplomats Tax Exemption

Purchases made by foreign diplomats are generally exempt from retail sales tax if they use a valid Diplomatic Tax Exemption Card.

The U.S. Department of State issues Diplomatic Tax Exemption Cards. These cards allow cardholders to make certain purchases in the United States free from sales tax and other taxes imposed on the purchaser.

The cards have one of four distinct images of animals native to North America to indicate the level of tax exemption authorized by a particular Diplomatic Tax Exemption Card.

Personal property tax

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:

Read more about Personal property tax

Foreclosed property cleanup

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:

Read more about Foreclosed property cleanup

Construction cleanup services

Construction cleanup services are taxable depending on the type of construction work being done.

Read more about Construction cleanup services

Common janitorial services

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:

Read more about Common janitorial services

Specialized cleaning services

Specialized or non-repetitive cleaning services are considered a retail sale. They are subject to Retailing business and occupation (B&O) tax and you must collect retail sales tax.

Examples include:

Read more about Specialized cleaning services

Janitorial and other cleaning services

This guide explains how janitorial and cleaning services are taxed in Washington.

Read more about Janitorial and other cleaning services

Attributing royalty income

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:

Read more about Attributing royalty income

Attributing service income

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:

Read more about Attributing service income