Effective October 1, 2025, Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5814 expanded Washington’s retail sales tax to include new types of services. Some of these new taxes directly affect arts and cultural organizations. Learn more about ESSB 5814 and how it may impact your organization at the links below.
From ArtsWA:
- Recording: Navigating SB 5814: New Sales Tax Changes for the Creative Sector
- One pager: Understanding ESSB 5814: What Arts & Cultural Nonprofits Need to Know
- FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Legislative updates: Heritage Caucus Bill Report
- House Bill 2101 (Dufault) amends the new sales tax on services by creating a focused exception. It ensures that live presentations like lectures, seminars, or courses are exempt from the retail sales tax if the participants and the instructor attend the event entirely in person.
- House Bill 2121 (Walsh) provides broad relief for certain organizations. This bill exempts nonprofits, schools, and educational institutions from paying the new sales tax on many professional services and digital automated services that ESSB 5814 made taxable.
- House Bill 2130 (Orcutt) is intended to entirely nullify the tax changes made by ESSB 5814. This bill seeks to repeal Section 101 (service tax), Section 201 (digital service tax changes), and Section 301 (nicotine product tax). HB 2130, if passed, would take effect on April 1, 2026.
From the Department of Revenue (DOR):
- The department’s ESSB 5814 landing page.
- Interim guidance statements:
- Reseller permit information page.
- Retail sales tax information page.
- Introduction to sales tax webinars.
- Introduction to sales tax video.
- Request a binding ruling.
- Affiliate organizations definition in RCW 82.04.299.
You can submit questions and comments to rulings@dor.wa.gov. You can also sign up for updates and alerts from DOR. ArtsWA will continue to collect support materials as new information becomes available.