WAC 172

Washington State Tax Guide - Trucking

Interior Decorators, Designers & Consultants

Construction Tax Guide

"Sale at retail", "retail sale"

"Consumer"

Tax on Retailers

Tax on Selected Business Services, Financial Businesses, or Other Business or Service Activities.

Retail Sales Tax Imposed

Exemption - trail grooming services

Sales and Use Taxes Authorized - Additional Taxes Authorized - Maximum Rates

Clearing land, moving earth, cleaning, fumigating, razing or moving existing buildings and janitorial services, etc.

REMOVAL OF LOG DAMS AS CLEARING LAND Revised 2/2/09 See ETA 3023.2009

SNOW REMOVAL AND POWER SWEEPING OF PARKING LOTS Revised 2/2/09 See ETA 3034.2009

EXTERMINATION AND PEST CONTROL SERVICES Revised 2/2/09 See ETA 3036.2009

“Clearing of Land and Moving of Earth” Include Removal of Log Dams and Cleaning Settling Ponds

Snow removal and power sweeping of parking lots and roads

Extermination and pest control services

Extermination and pest control services. Effective January 1, 2010, reseller permits will replace resale certificates as the means to substantiate wholesale purchases. Chapter 563, Laws of 2009.

Dump truck operators

Dump Truck Operators The Department has issued ETA 3050.2013. This Excise Tax Advisory (ETA) explains the public utility (PUT), business and occupation (B&O), and retail sales tax reporting responsibilities for various services commonly provided by dump truck operators.

Dump Truck Operators This ETA explains the public utility tax (PUT), business and occupation tax (B&O), and retail sales tax reporting responsibilities for various services commonly provided by dump truck operators. This ETA previously issued on May 24, 2013, is being reissued in order to clarify how to distinguish the taxability of persons hauling for hire from persons hauling construction debris.

Taxability of oil and chemical spill cleanup

DUMP TRUCK OPERATORS Revised 2/2/09 See ETA 3050.2009

CLEARING LAND AND MOVING EARTH FOR COMMERCIAL FARMERS - This document can be misleading with respect to removing stumps from an existing orchard in preparation for continued cultivation of agricultural crops, which the Department considers a horticultural service subject to the service and other activities B&O tax. Cancelled by ETA 2003-4s 8/8/01

RETAIL SALES TAX: TREE-PLANTING AND TREE-THINNING - This document explains the taxability of tree planting and tree thinning. This document is no longer needed as these issues are addressed in WAC 458-20-13501. Cancelled by ETA 2003-3s 07/16/2001

MOVING A STRUCTURE (BRIDGE) AS A RETAIL SALE Cancelled effective 02/28/07 This document states that a bridge is a structure, and charges for moving an existing structure (in this case a bridge) is a retail sale under RCW 82.04.050(2)(d). This document is not needed.

CLEANING SETTLING PONDS AS RETAIL SALES Revised 2/2/09 See ETA 3023.2009

CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH A CONTRACTOR-OWNER RELATIONSHIP EXISTS. Cancelled effective Feb 28, 2007. This document addresses the situation where a contractor and an owner enter into an agreement to transfer employees from the contractor to the owner during the period of construction, and when the construction was completed transfer the employees back to the contractor. The ETA explains that it is the Department’s position to examine the conduct of the parties and the agreement between them to determine whether an employer-employee relationship exists.

TAXABILITY OF CORE DRILLING WAC 458-20-17001 currently addresses the taxation of core drilling. Cancelled by ETA 2003 -0 6/30/99.

TAXABILITY OF OIL AND CHEMICAL SPILL CLEANUP Revised 2/2/09 See ETA 3088.2009

Taxability Information for Providing Landscape Maintenance, Ecological Restoration, and Wetland Banking Activities

Farm Worker Drinking Water Special Notice

Trail Grooming - Sales Tax Exemption

Environmental Remedial Action Sunsets

The Tax Application for Tree and/or Stump Removal from Existing Orchards

SALES TAX -- USE TAX -- JANITORIAL SERVICES -- CLEANING AGENTS. Cleaning agents consumed in the course of cleaning buildings or structures are not resold to the customer. The provider of the cleaning service owes sales or use tax on the cleaning agents.

SALES TAX -- CLEARING LAND -- TREE REMOVAL & STUMP GRINDING. The activity of removing individual trees located on a landowner's property, or grinding stumps to below ground level is a tree thinning or pruning activity taxable under the Service and Other Activities tax classification.

RETAIL SALES TAX -- EXTRACTOR FOR HIRE -- MOVING OF EARTH -- OPEN-PIT MINE -- REMOVAL OF ORE, WASTE AND OVERBURDEN. The "moving of earth" is a sales taxable activity. However, where a person contracts with the owner to remove ore, waste, and overburden in connection with an open-pit mining operation, the person is performing as an extractor for hire and does not charge sales tax on its charges for performing the extractive services.

B&O TAX RETAIL SALES TAX TENNIS COURTS CLEANING OF. Specialized cleaning of tennis courts done infrequently at significant expense does not qualify for sales tax exemption as a janitorial service. It is a special clean-up job, not regularly or normally performed by a commercial janitorial service.

COST PLUS CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS INCLUDABLE EXPENSES Where the entity providing the cost plus services is liable for an expense, that amount is included in the total project cost even if the expense is paid by another individual.

JANITORIAL MAINTENANCE. A property management companys employees who changed light bulbs, furnace filters and belts; adjusted temperature; and cleaned buildings and fixtures; were performing janitorial services.

B&O TAX -- RETAIL SALES TAX JANITORIAL SERVICE. Pressure washing and roof clean-up are not janitorial services and are thus subject to the payment of retailing B&O tax and the collection of retail sales tax.

RETAIL SALES TAX; RETAILING B&O TAX JANITORIAL SERVICES CLEANING AWNINGS. Janitorial services, for purposes of Rule 172 and RCW 82.04.050(2)(d), are services regularly and normally performed by commercial janitor service businesses. For the most part, janitorial services are activities performed inside buildings.

RCW 82.04.050: RETAIL SALES TAX -- DEFINITION OF RETAIL SALE -- JANITORIAL SERVICES -- CONSTRUCTION CLEAN-UP. Cleaning services billed to a speculative builder for re-cleans of finished homes held for sale were janitorial services and not subject to retail sales tax.

RETAIL SALES TAX -- USE OF OZONE FOR CLEANING INDOOR AIR AND SURFACES -- FUMIGATING. Pumping high levels of pure ozone into homes, buildings, motor vehicles, boats, etc. to cleanse indoor air and surfaces is fumigating, which is a retail activity.

RETAIL SALES TAX USE TAX PUBLIC ROAD CONSTRUCTION TAILGATE SPREADING OF MATERIALS CONSUMER. A public road contractor that incorporates road materials into the roadway by having its materials supplier deliver the materials by tailgate spreading, is the consumer of the materials, and retail sales tax applies to the sale of the materials to the contractor. The manner of delivery, by tailgate spreading, does not, by itself, make the materials supplier the consumer of the materials. Mere hauling and tailgate spreading of materials on public road jobs is not public road construction.

CLEANING SERVICE -- JANITORIAL -- UNCOLLECTED RETAIL SALES TAX. Charges for cleaning beer taps, lines, and heads are retail sales. This type of activity is not a service ordinarily performed by a commercial janitorial business. A "seller" of such services is liable for uncollected retail sales tax, even if he did not know of the obligation to collect the tax.

RULE 172; RCW 82.08.020(2)(d): RETAIL SALES TAX; RETAILING B&O TAX – JANITORIAL SERVICES – WATER DAMAGE CARPET RESTORATION “Janitorial services,” for purposes of Rule 172 and RCW 82.04.050(2)(d), are services regularly and normally performed by commercial janitor services businesses. Water damage clean up jobs resulting from flooding or some other unforeseen cause are “special clean up jobs,” are not performed in the course of a “regular” and “normal” janitorial service, and are therefore properly characterized as retail-taxable.

RULE 172; RCW 82.04.050(2)(d); ETA 3034: RETAIL SALES TAX; RETAILING B&O TAX – JANITORIAL SERVICES – EXTERIOR MAINTENANCE SERVICES. “Janitorial services,” for purposes of Rule 172 and RCW 82.04.050(2)(d), are services regularly and normally performed by commercial janitor services businesses. For the most part, janitorial services are activities performed inside buildings.

RULE 172; RCW 82.04.050(2)(d): RETAIL SALES TAX; RETAILING B&O TAX – JANITORIAL SERVICES – WATER DAMAGE CARPET RESTORATION – DECK CLEANING “Janitorial services,” for purposes of Rule 172 and RCW 82.04.050(2)(d), are services regularly and normally performed by commercial janitor services businesses. Water damage carpet restoration jobs resulting from flooding or some other unforeseen cause, and deck cleaning, are “special clean up jobs,” are not performed in the course of a “regular” and “normal” janitorial service, and are therefore properly characterized as retail-taxable.

RETAIL SALES TAX -- MOVING OF EARTH -- DISKING -- HARROWING. Activity of spreading sludge and mixing it into soil with a disk harrow does not constitute "moving of earth," for purpose of statute defining "retail sale."

B&O TAX -- SALES TAX -- LANDFILL -- MAINTENANCE OF -- CLASSIFICATION OF. The maintenance of a landfill wherein a person uses his own equipment to clear land and move earth is a retail sale.

USE TAX -- EXEMPTION -- JANITORIAL SERVICES -- SIDEWALK SWEEPING -- OBJECTIVE STANDARDS. Janitorial services for buildings which include picking up litter, sweeping or hosing dirt or debris from entryways and adjacent sidewalks or the removal of snow or ice from them by shoveling, sweeping or applying salt, sand or similar substances is exempt from the sales and use taxes. THIS DETERMINATION HAS BEEN OVERRULED OR MODIFIED IN WHOLE OR PART BY DET.NO. 93-269ER, 14 WTD 153 (1995).