Oct. update from WA State Dept. of Revenue

Washington Department of Revenue sent this bulletin at 10/03/2025 01:48 PM PDT

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Washington State Department of Revenue

Permanent changes to Voluntary Disclosure Program began Sept. 1

Effective Sept. 1, 2025, the Department of Revenue (DOR) expanded eligibility for the Voluntary Disclosure Program.

This program allows unregistered businesses to pay outstanding taxes. In exchange, DOR will:

  • Limit the lookback period to four years plus current year.
  • Waive the following penalty types: Delinquent return, tax assessment, and unregistered.

New eligibility criteria – See if you qualify!

To qualify, a business must meet all of the following:

  • Was not registered with DOR at the start of the statutory period (four years plus current year).
  • Had no enforcement contact from DOR during the statutory period.
  • Did not engage in evasion or misrepresentation.

Qualified businesses may avoid up to 39% in penalties. Visit our website to see if you qualify and learn how to apply.

Oct. 1 sales tax updates - Find answers and guidance

Resources to help you prepare for Oct. 1 sales tax updates

Starting Oct. 1, 2025, sales tax applies to several services that were previously not taxed (ESSB 5814). If your business provides any of the services listed below, we want to help you get ready. The resources below are designed to support you in understanding the change and how to collect and report sales tax correctly:

Available resources

We’ve also published the following to help impacted businesses prepare:

  • Special Notices: Explain how sales tax will apply to newly taxable services.
  • Interim Guidance Statements: Offer clarification and detailed examples about the retail sales tax changes. Taxpayers can rely on interim guidance until we issue permanent guidance, or cancel the interim guidance.
  • Frequently Asked Questions: Address common questions about the legislation and its impact on specific industries and services.
  • Introduction to sales tax webinars: Designed for businesses that are new to sales tax collection. These webinars explain the basics and help you understand your obligations under the new law. An on-demand video is also available.

Learn more about services newly subject to sales tax.

Recently published Special Notices

The department has recently issued the following Special Notices:

For a full list of Special Notices, visit our website at dor.wa.gov/SpecialNotices.