At what rate do I charge Washington sales tax on an online order?

At the rate for the place where the customer receives the goods. The Department of Revenue lists the state rate at 6.5 percent and says the local portion is set by each city or county, so the total varies. It offers a Tax Rate Lookup Tool for any location. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Washington State Department of Revenue.

When does a remote seller have to register in Washington?

The Department says a remote seller must register with more than 100,000 dollars in combined gross receipts sourced or attributed to Washington in the current or prior year, and then collect and report for the rest of that year and the following year.

Does Washington tax advertising services?

Yes, since Oct. 1, 2025, according to the Department. The definition includes digital services such as search engine marketing and lead generation optimization. The Department also says the amended definition is in litigation and that sellers should collect under the law as enacted. Ask your vendors how they are handling it.

Is Washington part of the Streamlined Sales Tax project?

Yes. The project's own state page says Washington became a full member on July 1, 2008. For the rate of a specific address, use the Department's lookup tool.

How big is the Seattle and Tacoma port network?

The Northwest Seaport Alliance, a partnership of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, reported 3,156,598 twenty-foot equivalent units for 2025, down 5.5 percent from the year before.

Selling into Washington: destination tax, the ad services change and a progress bar plan

Washington asks a Shopify store three questions that other states do not ask in the same way: where does the customer receive the order, since the tax rate follows that place; is your Washington revenue past 100,000 dollars; and, if you are based there, are your own advertising bills now taxable. The Department of Revenue says advertising services became subject to retail sales tax on Oct. 1, 2025, and that digital advertising is included. On the freight side the Northwest Seaport Alliance, the partnership of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, handled 3,156,598 twenty-foot equivalent units of container volume in 2025. This page sets out what the Department and the port say, then builds a progress bar offer that shows shoppers a threshold they can trust.

Updated October 10, 2026 · 10 sourced facts

Aerial view of the Port of Tacoma container terminal with green ship-to-shore cranes and stacks of colored containers — Photo: Brian Harris, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Shipping into the state

The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which runs the Seattle and Tacoma container terminals together, counted 3,156,598 twenty-foot units in 2025, 5.5 percent fewer than the year before, so inbound containers for Pacific Northwest stock arrive through two harbors operated together. For delivery outbound, Washington is spread across 66,456 square miles of land, and the sales tax follows the address where the customer receives the order, not the address of your warehouse.

Source: Northwest Seaport Alliance: NWSA finishes an unprecedented year (Feb. 2, 2026, full-year 2025 volumes)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010)

Source: Washington State Department of Revenue: Retail sales tax

A progress bar plan for a destination-based state

Before you choose the threshold
Decide whether the progress bar counts the product subtotal or the total with tax, and write that in the bar. Washington sales tax is set by the delivery address, so a bar tied to the total moves differently for each shopper, while a bar tied to product prices behaves the same for everyone.
Source: Washington State Department of Revenue: Retail sales tax
When you set the copy
Put the rule in plain words next to the bar, for example whether shipping and tax are excluded from the amount shown. Under a destination-based system the shopper's final total is known only after the address is entered, so the bar should never promise a final total.
Source: Washington State Department of Revenue: Retail sales tax
Each quarter
Check your receipts from Washington buyers against the Department's line of more than 100,000 dollars in the current or prior year. Once you cross it you collect and report for the rest of that year and the next, so a promotion that lifts Washington sales belongs in that count.
Source: Washington State Department of Revenue: Remote sellers
If your business is based in Washington
Ask your agencies and platforms whether their invoices to you now include sales tax. The Department says advertising services, digital ones included, have been subject to retail sales tax since Oct. 1, 2025, and that the amended definition is being contested in court. Put the invoiced tax in your promotion budget.
Source: Washington State Department of Revenue: Advertising services
Before an inbound stock-up
Plan stock arrivals for the Seattle and Tacoma terminals and keep the bar's reward tied to stock you hold, since volumes through the two harbors fell 5.5 percent in 2025 and the number can move again.
Source: Northwest Seaport Alliance: NWSA finishes an unprecedented year (Feb. 2, 2026, full-year 2025 volumes)

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Questions merchants ask

At what rate do I charge Washington sales tax on an online order?: At the rate for the place where the customer receives the goods. The Department of Revenue lists the state rate at 6.5 percent and says the local portion is set by each city or county, so the total varies. It offers a Tax Rate Lookup Tool for any location. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Washington State Department of Revenue.
When does a remote seller have to register in Washington?: The Department says a remote seller must register with more than 100,000 dollars in combined gross receipts sourced or attributed to Washington in the current or prior year, and then collect and report for the rest of that year and the following year.
Does Washington tax advertising services?: Yes, since Oct. 1, 2025, according to the Department. The definition includes digital services such as search engine marketing and lead generation optimization. The Department also says the amended definition is in litigation and that sellers should collect under the law as enacted. Ask your vendors how they are handling it.
Is Washington part of the Streamlined Sales Tax project?: Yes. The project's own state page says Washington became a full member on July 1, 2008. For the rate of a specific address, use the Department's lookup tool.
How big is the Seattle and Tacoma port network?: The Northwest Seaport Alliance, a partnership of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, reported 3,156,598 twenty-foot equivalent units for 2025, down 5.5 percent from the year before.

Facts and sources

The Department of Revenue states that the state sales tax rate is 6.5 percent, and that sales tax has a state portion and a local portion set by each city or county, so the total varies by location.
Washington State Department of Revenue: Retail sales tax (accessed October 10, 2026)
Retailers must collect sales tax at the rate based on where the customer receives the goods or services, and the seller is responsible for collecting and submitting the correct rate; the Department offers a Tax Rate Lookup Tool for any location in the state.
Washington State Department of Revenue: Retail sales tax (accessed October 10, 2026)
A remote seller must register once it has more than 100,000 dollars in combined gross receipts sourced or attributed to Washington in the current or prior year, and after meeting the threshold it must collect and report for the remainder of the current and the following calendar year.
Washington State Department of Revenue: Remote sellers (accessed October 10, 2026)
A remote seller registers through a business license application and is told to indicate that it is a remote seller in the business activity description; sales tax is collected based on the location where the sale is sourced or delivered.
Washington State Department of Revenue: Remote sellers (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department states that starting Oct. 1, 2025, advertising services are subject to Washington retail sales tax, and its definition covers all digital and nondigital services related to advertising, including online referrals, search engine marketing and lead generation optimization.
Washington State Department of Revenue: Advertising services (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department says it is involved in ongoing legal proceedings in which plaintiffs argue that the amended definition, as applied to certain advertising services, violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, that these questions have not been decided by the courts, and that sellers should collect and remit tax under the law as enacted.
Washington State Department of Revenue: Advertising services (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Streamlined Sales Tax project states that Washington became a full member on July 1, 2008.
Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board: Washington (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Northwest Seaport Alliance describes itself as a marine cargo operating partnership of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.
Northwest Seaport Alliance: NWSA finishes an unprecedented year (Feb. 2, 2026, full-year 2025 volumes) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Northwest Seaport Alliance finished 2025 at 3,156,598 twenty-foot equivalent units, 5.5 percent below the prior year.
Northwest Seaport Alliance: NWSA finishes an unprecedented year (Feb. 2, 2026, full-year 2025 volumes) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Washington has 66,456 square miles of land area and 71,298 square miles in total.
U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010) (accessed October 10, 2026)

Cities in Washington

SeattleSeattle's 10.55 percent rate, the October to April rain normals and a cycle pricing plan for a coffee-style refill subscription on Shopify.

Not tax advice. Confirm current rules with the state revenue department before you rely on a date or an exemption.

Run the Washington plan in Freebies Engine by Log Studio Lab.