Washington Sales Tax 2026: 6.5% State Rate Plus Local

Washington has no income tax, so sales tax matters more. The state rate is 6.5%, but the rate you pay depends on where you take delivery, and since 2025 more services carry it.

This guide explains the state and local rates, what is and is not taxed, how the destination rules work and when you owe use tax, using the Washington Department of Revenue's own pages read on 26 October 2026.

The Rate: State Plus Local

The Department of Revenue says the sales tax has two parts, a state portion and a local portion, and that retailers must collect tax at the rate based on where the customer receives the goods or services. Rates are updated quarterly and you can find the rate for an address with the department's Tax Rate Lookup Tool. Our illustration: on a $100 taxable purchase with an assumed 3.0% local rate, the combined rate is 9.5% and the tax is $9.50; the local rate here is a placeholder, so look up your own.

What Is Taxed

The department lists common exemptions and deductions including food, federal government sales, interstate and foreign sales, manufacturers' machinery and equipment, and tribal sales; see its full exemption list. Effective July 1, 2026 there are new exclusions and exemptions for some of the newly taxed services. The department's 2026 legislation page also lists ESSB 6346, which adds sales and use tax exemptions for grooming and hygiene products, diapers and over-the-counter drugs, with effective dates that vary by item; check the department's page for the date that applies to your purchase before relying on it. If your vendor now adds sales tax to a bill for one of these services, that is why. See our sales tax by state guide and Washington tax guide.

Where the Sale Is Located

Washington uses destination-based rules. If the customer takes possession at the seller's business location, the seller's location rate applies; if the customer receives the item somewhere else, tax is coded to that location. Without a delivery address the seller uses the address in its records, then an address obtained at the time of the sale, and only then a fallback by type of sale: the location the goods were shipped from, the location where a service or warranty was provided, or the location where software or a digital good was first made available for transmission. Online and out-of-town buyers therefore pay the rate of the place they receive the item.

Use Tax

Use tax is a tax on the use of goods or certain services in Washington when sales tax was not paid at the time of purchase. It is the buyer's responsibility, businesses and individuals both owe it, and a transaction is subject to sales tax or use tax, not both. The department's example is a business or Washington resident who buys items in Oregon to use in Washington: because no sales tax was paid, the buyer reports and pays use tax. Anyone using a reseller permit incorrectly owes the tax and a 50% penalty, even without fraud. Sales tax collected by a seller is held in trust for the department.

Official Sources

Washington DOR: Retail sales tax, Washington DOR: Sales & use tax rates, Washington DOR: Use tax, Washington DOR: Services newly subject to retail sales tax, Washington DOR: Determine the location of my sale.