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Washington sales tax rates by ZIP code
Local rates vary widely and change frequently — Washington regularly accounts for the largest share of rate changes in any given month.
Counts and the combined rate range are drawn from our October 2026 file. Rates change monthly.
What you actually have to charge in Washington
Local jurisdictions add their own rate on top, so the rate you must actually charge is almost never the state rate.
- State base rate6.5%
- Local taxesYes — city, county and/or special district rates apply on top
- ShippingTaxable either way — separate or combined with handling
- Taxing jurisdictions we track412
- ZIP codes with more than one rate330 of 715 (46%) — a single rate per ZIP code would be wrong for these
- Update frequencyMonthly, delivered two business days before the month begins
See the WA data before you buy. Every edition has a free sample file cut from our October 2026 file, with the full state, county, city and district breakdown exactly as it ships, including 30 WA rows.
What's in the Washington rate file
Washington data ships inside every edition — we do not sell single-state files. Each row carries the ZIP code, county and city name, the rate at each jurisdiction level, the combined total, and whether shipping is taxable. The higher editions add district reporting codes, FIPS codes, effective dates and sales tax holiday windows.
Research
Official Washington sales tax resources
Every link below goes to an official Washington government source, not to us. The state is always the authority — our file is how you avoid checking it by hand every month.
- Washington State Department of RevenueThe agency that administers sales tax in Washington (opens in a new tab)
- Sales & use tax sectionRules, guidance and forms straight from the agency (opens in a new tab)
- Official rate lookupCheck a rate at the source, by address or jurisdiction (opens in a new tab)
- Downloadable rate tablesThe state's own rate and boundary files (opens in a new tab)
- Local & municipal taxHow cities and counties handle their share (opens in a new tab)
- Register for a permitApply for a sales tax licence or permit (opens in a new tab)
- File and payThe state's online filing and payment portal (opens in a new tab)
How local tax works in Washington. State-collected. All local taxes — city, county, transit benefit area, Sound Transit and other districts — are collected by DOR on the combined excise tax return and distributed by location code. No local return is ever filed.
Worth knowing. Strictly destination-based, requiring a four-digit location code on every line of the return — so address-level accuracy matters more here than almost anywhere. Washington publishes the best public rate data in the country: quarterly downloadable databases, GIS boundary shapefiles, a lookup API and a free address-conversion service.
Questions
Washington sales tax questions
What is the sales tax rate in Washington?
The statewide base rate is 6.5%. Local jurisdictions add their own rate on top, so the rate you must actually charge is almost never the state rate.
Is shipping taxable in Washington?
Generally yes. In Washington a delivery charge is taxable whether you bill it on its own or roll it in with handling.
That distinction catches people out, which is why our file carries both flags — TAX_SHIPPING_ALONE and TAX_SHIPPING_AND_HANDLING_TOGETHER — on every row, for the specific jurisdiction. Your system doesn't have to encode the rule.
How many sales tax jurisdictions are there in Washington?
We track 412 bodies that actually levy a sales tax in Washington — 39 counties, 293 cities and 80 special districts — across 715 WA ZIP codes. We count a county, city or district only where it charges something, not merely because it appears in the file.
Where can I download Washington sales tax rates?
Every Sales Tax Systems edition includes Washington along with the other 49 states, DC and Canada — we do not sell state-by-state files. Download a free sample to see the format and the WA rows in it.
Sales tax rates in other states
Washington is one state. The file covers all of them.
Every edition includes all 50 states, DC and Canada, updated monthly, from $499/year.
See pricing Free sample