Washington state lawmakers have recently passed a series of bills that may affect your business. Here is a brief overview of what you need to know!
-Transportation budget: State is increasing the gas tax from 6 cents per gallon to 12 cents per gallon on diesel.
-Business and Occupation (B&O) tax is going to increase as well. Even if a business nets a loss, a business will still have to pay B&O taxes on all received revenue.
– Increase to the business and occupation tax (“B&O Tax”) rate to 0.5 percent for business activity categories including manufacturing, wholesaling, and retailing beginning in 2027.
-You will see a 1.75% B&O (gross) tax on storage units.
-Sales tax is expanding! State sales tax will apply to numerous new services, including IT, technical support, assisting with network operations, data entry, in-person training related to computers and software, data-processing services, custom website development, various security and investigation services, temporary staffing services, and advertising.
-Long Term Capital Assets Sold valued at over $1 million will see an increase on capital gains from 7% to 9.9%. This will add a significant cost to selling investments or other capital assets. Any estate larger than $9 million and up will see an increase rate of 15%.
-Estate tax exclusion amount is increased to $3 million as of July 1 and sets a new tax rate for larger estates of $9 million and up, from 20% to 35%.
We know that there may be a lot to take in and lead to a handful of more questions. Here are some links that can provide you with more information.
2025 Washington State Legislative Session Update
WA Gov. Ferguson signs $78 billion state budget, new taxes | The Olympian