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If you promote special events, you are required to make a “good faith effort” to verify your vendors have an active registration with the Department of Revenue.
Who is an event promoter?
An event promoter is a person who organizes, operates, or sponsors a special event and who contracts with participating vendors.
A person is not a promoter if they only provide a venue, supplies, furnishings, fixtures, equipment, or services for a special event but do not organize, operate, or sponsor it.
What is a special event?
A special event is an entertainment, amusement, recreational, educational, or marketing event, held on a regular or irregular basis with more than one participating vendor.
Examples include:
- Auto, recreational vehicle, or boat shows.
- Home, garden, or craft shows.
- Antique shows, carnivals, circuses, or fairs.
Excluded events
The event promoter requirements may not apply to a special event for:
- Exclusive benefit of a nonprofit organization, where all the gross proceeds of vendor sales benefit the nonprofit organization.
- Events whose promoters charge vendors $200 or less to participate, or if you charge a percentage of sales fee instead of a flat charge to participate, and you believe in good faith that no vendor will pay more than $200 to participate.
- On-going athletic contests involving team competition, when at least one team holds more than five contests per calendar year at the same location.
What is a good faith effort?
A "good faith effort" means the event promoter is making a sincere attempt to meet the requirements. To show this, the promoter should meet both requirements:
- Include a statement on all written contracts with vendors that says a valid tax registration certificate with the department is required to participate in the event and vendors need to provide their registration number on the contract.
- Provide the department with a list of vendors and their registration numbers within 20 days of receiving a written request.
Event promoter requirements
A promoter of a special event is required to make a good faith effort to comply with the following requirements:
- Verify that all vendors who make or solicit sales of tangible personal property or services at an event have a valid tax registration number with the department. If the vendors are not registered, they cannot participate in the event unless they certify in writing that they are exempt from registration requirements.
- Record the date, place of each event, name, mailing address, and Washington tax registration number for each vendor. This information shall be maintained on record for a period of one year from the date of the special event.
- Provide a list of vendors permitted to make or solicit retail sales within 20 days of receiving a written request from the department.
Penalty information
If you do not make a good faith effort to comply with these requirements, you are subject to the following penalties:
- $100 for each unregistered vendor that you allow to sell goods or services at your event. This excludes vendors who are exempt and provide certification to the promoter in writing to document their exempt status.
- $250 if the event and vendor information is not provided to the department within 20 days of the request.
- $100 for each vendor whose information is not provided to the department.
- If this is your first offense, the department can penalize you up to $2,500.
How vendors register with the department
Vendors can register with the department by filing a Business License Application online through My DOR (our online portal).
If you have no more than two events per year in Washington, with each event lasting no longer than one month, you can register for a Temporary registration certificate.
Persons who make sales into Washington outside of the two events may be responsible for additional tax liability and may be required to get a “tax registration endorsement” instead of a temporary registration certificate. Visit our out-of-state businesses page for more information on registration and tax reporting requirements.
Trade show attendees who meet the exception from establishing nexus do not need a temporary registration certificate. For specific requirements related to trade convention attendance, please see the Special Notice Trade Convention Exception from Nexus for Retail Sales.
Sales at special events
Sales of tangible personal property at special events are subject to sales tax. Vendors must collect and pay the combined state and local sales tax rate to the department. In addition, gross sales amounts are also subject to business and occupation (B&O) tax under the Retailing classification.
The amount of state and local tax you collect and submit varies depending on the event’s location. See our website for the correct sales tax rate to charge for a specific location.
References
RCW 82.32.033 Registration certificates – Special events – Promoter’s duties – Penalties – Definitions.
RCW 82.04.3651 Exemptions – Amounts received by nonprofit organizations for fund-raising activities.
