Does TechBrot serve Washington businesses?
Yes. TechBrot delivers bookkeeping, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor services, payroll, and sales-tax tracking to Washington businesses statewide — remote-first. All 39 counties covered, from the Puget Sound corridor (Seattle’s cloud, tech, and maritime economy, Bellevue, Tacoma’s port and logistics, and Everett’s Boeing aerospace base) to Spokane and Eastern Washington. Independent firm — not affiliated with Intuit Inc.
Does Washington have a state income tax?
No. Washington has no individual income tax and no corporate income tax. Because there’s no income tax, Washington employers do not withhold state income tax from payroll. But “no income tax” is not “low tax”: the state raises revenue through the Business & Occupation (B&O) gross-receipts tax, a high combined sales/use tax (6.5% state plus local), and a 7% capital-gains tax on owners. Payroll still carries the PFML and WA Cares premiums, plus federal income tax, FICA, and state unemployment.
What is the Washington Business & Occupation (B&O) tax?
It’s Washington’s defining business tax — a gross-receipts tax on the value of products or the gross income of the business, levied by classification. Retailing is 0.471%, wholesaling and manufacturing are 0.484%, and service & other activities are tiered: 1.5% below $1M of prior-year taxable income, 1.75% from $1M to under $5M, and a higher top tier above that. The defining feature is that there’s no deduction for labor, materials, rent, or any cost, so even a break-even business owes it. We track gross receipts by B&O classification in QuickBooks so the Combined Excise Tax Return reconciles to the books; you or your CPA file it.
What is the city B&O tax?
Many Washington cities — including Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue, and Everett — levy their own local B&O tax on top of the state B&O, administered by the city rather than the Department of Revenue. Specific city B&O rates vary, so confirm the current rate with the city. We track gross receipts by city where a local B&O applies so the city return reconciles to the books alongside the state Combined Excise Tax Return; you or your CPA file each one.
How high is Washington’s sales tax?
Among the highest in the country. The state sales-tax rate is 6.5%, and local jurisdictions add their own, so the combined rate commonly lands around 8.5–10.5% depending on location — and Washington is destination-based, so the rate follows where the buyer is. Use tax mirrors the sales tax on untaxed purchases, which matters near the Oregon border since Oregon has no sales tax. We configure QuickBooks for the correct combined rate by destination and sub-reconcile the liability monthly; confirm specific local rates against the Washington Department of Revenue rate lookup.
Does Washington have a capital-gains tax?
Yes — since 2022, Washington imposes a 7% tax on long-term capital gains above a standard deduction ($278,000 for 2025, inflation-indexed), plus an additional 2.9% on the excess over $1M. Real estate, retirement-account assets, and assets used in a trade or business are exempt. It’s an individual excise tax that applies to owners on the sale of stocks, bonds, and business interests — not to the business’s ordinary income. We keep clean cost-basis and gain records so your CPA can determine and file it; TechBrot does not file the capital-gains tax.
Does TechBrot file Washington tax returns?
No. TechBrot is an independent Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor firm — we do not file Washington or federal returns, the B&O / Combined Excise Tax Return, the sales-tax return, the capital-gains tax, or the city B&O return, and we do not represent clients before the Washington Department of Revenue. We deliver clean, CPA-ready bookkeeping, configure the sales-tax tracking, track gross receipts by B&O classification and city, set up the WA payroll premiums, and coordinate with your Washington CPA or EA and the Department of Revenue, who file.
How does a Washington engagement start, and how fast can we begin?
Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We review your Washington operational context — which B&O classifications and city B&O taxes you owe, where your combined sales-tax rates land by location, whether the capital-gains tax touches the owners, how the WA payroll premiums should be configured, and where your multi-state footprint runs — recommend the right engagement, and deliver a written fixed-fee scope within 3 business days. Prefer to talk it through first? Call a Certified ProAdvisor at (877) 751-5575 — not a call center — for a same-day diagnostic.
How much does Washington bookkeeping or QuickBooks work cost?
Fixed fees against a written scope — no hourly billing. Starting ranges: monthly bookkeeping from $400/mo; cleanup and catch-up from $1,200; QuickBooks setup from $750; QuickBooks cleanup from $1,200; sales-tax help from $250/mo; payroll setup from $300; fractional CFO from $1,500/mo. Final pricing depends on volume, employee count, the number of sales-tax jurisdictions you report, how many B&O classifications and city B&O taxes apply, and how far behind the books are. To scope it now, call (877) 751-5575 and a Certified ProAdvisor will walk through it with you.