AP Badge #11 - Sales & Tax Use-AP Badge #11

AP Badge #11 - PowerPoint

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Badge #11 explains Washington State sales and use tax requirements for school districts, including taxable vs. exempt purchases, digital products, and ASB/student-store activities.<br /><br />Sales tax is paid by the consumer on purchases, rentals, repairs, and installation of tangible personal property (including labor). School districts must pay sales tax like any other Washington consumer. Vendors must separately state sales tax on invoices, and delivery/shipping & handling charges on retail sales are also taxable. The correct tax rate depends on where the item is received—either the in-store purchase location or the shipment/delivery destination. Washington’s sales tax is a combined rate: 6.5% to the state plus local rates that vary by jurisdiction. Each city/county has a unique four-digit location code used by the Department of Revenue (DOR) to distribute local revenue accurately. Districts can look up rates and codes by address/ZIP/GPS on the DOR website or mobile app. If a vendor charges the wrong rate, districts should request a corrected invoice rather than altering payment.<br /><br />Use tax is the companion to sales tax for goods acquired for use in Washington when sales tax was not properly charged (often with out-of-state vendors). District accounts payable should review invoices for missing Washington tax and for improper charging of another state’s tax (which districts are not required to pay). If sales tax is not charged, the district either returns the invoice for correction or pays use tax directly to DOR. Use tax is calculated on the value including delivery, at the rate for the location of first use in Washington. It may also apply to employee reimbursements, card transactions, and imprest checks. Districts accrue use tax in a liability account and report/remit it on the Combined Excise Tax Return.<br /><br />The badge lists common taxable items/services and common exemptions, and clarifies that many digital goods and digital automated services are taxable unless an educational exemption applies (e.g., online language learning may be exempt; survey software or gaming subscriptions are taxable). It also covers student stores and ASB fundraising rules, reseller permits, and when ASBs must collect/remit sales tax (e.g., certain commission sales). Resources include DOR guides, My DOR Help, and tax ruling requests.

Keywords

Washington State sales tax

Washington use tax

school district tax compliance

Department of Revenue (DOR) location codes

local sales tax rate lookup

taxable vs exempt purchases

digital products and digital automated services tax

Combined Excise Tax Return reporting

ASB student store fundraising sales tax

reseller permit and commission sales