When meals are prepared offsite and sold to the school district, retail sales tax applies on the charge for the meals and the seller is subject to B&O tax under the Retailing classification on this income.
Income for the management of a food service program is subject to B&O tax under the Service and Other Activities classification. Such contracts are not subject to retail sales tax.
Sales of meals by the school to students, faculty, and staff are not subject to retail sales tax.
Nonenterprise activities are activities not financed and operated in a manner similar to a private business. Activities include all sales of goods and services that are exclusively governmental in nature, and related to providing public education.
Nonenterprise activities also include activities funded by less than 50% of user fees or charges to consumers.
For example, the cost of maintaining recreational facilities that a school may lease to organizations or groups is rarely, if ever, funded more than 50 percent with amounts charged to those groups or organizations.
Enterprise activities are activities financed and operated in a manner similar to a private business and includes activities in competition with private businesses. They are subject to tax in the same manner as a private business. Activities include sales of goods and services that are not exclusively governmental and are not directly related to providing public education.
The activity must also be funded by over 50% of user fees to be considered an enterprise activity. See non-enterprise activities for how to determine the percentage.
The school is considered the consumer of all goods that pass through a student store operated by the school. Therefore, the school is not eligible to use a reseller permit and must pay retail sales tax at the time of purchase on all taxable goods sold at student stores, such as student supplies, soft drinks, etc.
The school does not report the sales from the student store as these sales are not taxable and retail sales tax is not collected from students.
Sales made by Associated Student Body (ASB) organizations, Parent Teacher Associations (PTA), Parent Teacher Student Associations (PTSA), and Booster Clubs on a regular recurring basis are taxable in the same manner as sales made by regular business operations. These events include, but are not limited to, sales at the student store, concession stands at sporting events, ongoing sales of spirit wear, and weekly or monthly popcorn sales.
Updated October 2011
The rental of self-service storage units, where customers have direct access to individual storage units by separate access, is considered rental of real estate when space is rented for 30 days or longer. Income from this rental of real estate is not taxable under the business and occupation (B&O) tax. (See WAC 458-20-118)
If you provide solid waste, hazardous waste, recycling, or salvage services, use this guide to understand how state taxes apply to you.
Updated October 2018
If the materials are taken to a landfill, transfer station, or other facility for disposal, the materials are considered “solid waste” regardless of whether the materials could be recycled.
Market conditions and other factors may cause businesses collecting materials to determine that disposing the materials is more economically viable than recycling or salvaging them.
This publication was created to assist persons in the horse industry to better understand Washington State taxes and how they apply to their business.
For more information or answers to questions about Washington excise taxes, please contact us.
Updated June, 2018
Sales of horses may be made through claiming races, auctions, on the farm, or by individuals. All sales are considered retail sales unless otherwise specified. The sale must be reported under the Retailing B&O tax classification and the Retail Sales Tax classification.
Skip to main content
