Seattle's Business License Tax Rates

Manufacturing is the business of "producing articles for sale from raw or prepared materials by giving these materials a new or different form or qualities." Examples of manufacturing include fabricating, processing, refining, mixing, packing, canning, etc.

Processing for hire. A processor for hire is any person who engages in manufacturing activities on the materials or ingredients of others.

Tax is calculated on the gross income of the business.

Extracting is the "taking of natural products," such as logging, fishing, mining, quarrying, etc. The tax obligation is calculated on the value of products extracted or manufactured and is generally determined by the selling price.

Printing & Publishing. Newspapers, magazines and periodical publishers are required to report under the printing and publishing classification. This classification includes people who both print, publish or print and publish books, music, circulars, etc. Printing includes letterpress, offset-lithography, and gravure processes, as well as multigraph, mimeograph, autotyping, addressographing and similar activities. Printing and publishing does not include photocopying documents, which is reported under retailing or wholesaling classifications. Printing and publishing includes use of electronic media. The tax is measured by the value of the products as determined by the selling price.

Wholesaling. This is the "selling of products to people other than consumers." The selling price or "gross proceeds of sales" is the measure of the tax.

Retailing. People selling products and specific services associated with the installation or improvement of tangible personal property or real property directly to consumers are retailers. The selling price is the measure of the tax.

Service and other business activities. People providing "personal professional services," such as attorneys, doctors, accountants, insurance brokers and solicitors, financial institutions, and real estate brokers, are taxable under the service and other business activities classification. Any person or business not specifically taxable under one of the other classifications is required to report under the service and other business activities classification. Tax is calculated on the gross income of the business.

Motor Carrier Transporting Freight for Hire. Any person engaged in the business of providing, contracting for, or undertaking to provide transportation of property for compensation over the public highways of Seattle as a motor carrier or freight forwarder is subject to tax under this classification. The measure of the tax is the gross proceeds of sale.

Tour Operators. "Tour operator business" means a business activity of purchasing various travel components, such as transportation, lodging, meals and other associated services and reselling the same to consumers where the purchaser/reseller is liable itself to pay the vendor of the components purchased and does not make payment solely as an agent for the consumer.

International Investment Management Services. This classification covers A person is engaged in the business of providing international investment management services if such a person is engaged primarily in the business of providing investment management services and at least ten percent of the gross income of such person is derived from providing investment management services to any of the following: 1) persons or collective investment funds residing outside of the United States; or 2) persons or collective investment funds with at least ten percent of their investments located outside the United States. For more information on this classification, see SMC 5.30.035 Definitions (H).

The material in this site is intended for general informational purposes only. While it is current at the time of publication, changes to the Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) or state law may invalidate some of this information. In the event of a conflict between this guide and the SMC, the SMC prevails.