Tax Information
Retail Sales Tax
Retail sales tax in Washington is established and governed by RCW 82.08 [Hyperlink: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=82.08]. When taxable goods or services are sold in Washington, the merchant must collect and remit sales tax.
If a user marks a deposit as taxable, Workday will automatically calculate the appropriate amount of tax to withhold and remit to the Department of Revenue.
To resolve rounding errors between POS systems and Workday, users may also opt to mark deposits as non-taxable, and manually enter the retail sales tax amount collected.
When selecting a tax code, in-person sales should use the tax code associated with the physical retail location. Online sales should use the tax code associated with the item’s ultimate destination.
Use Tax
Use tax in Washington is established and governed by RCW 82.12 [Hyperlink: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=82.12]. Use tax is due when a taxable good or service is used in Washington, but the merchant did not collect the appropriate amount of sales tax.
Workday determines if use tax is due on procurement transactions by comparing the actual tax paid to the expected tax amount based on the tax code entered by the user. For example:
A department orders a $100 taxable widget online for delivery to the City of Spokane (tax rate 9%). The merchant sees Washington State University as the customer, and incorrectly charges tax at the City of Pullman rate (7.9%). The 1.1% difference in the charged rate and correct rate would be calculated by Workday and expensed to the ordering department.
Leasehold Tax
Leasehold tax in Washington is established and governed by RCW 82.29A [Hyperlink: https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=82.29A]. When public property is leased by private parties, those private parties must pay a leasehold excise tax to the property owner in lieu of property tax. The statewide leasehold tax rate is 12.84% for a land or building lease, and 8.6% for a product or crop lease.
Generally, leases must be at least 30 continuous days in duration and have an annual rent exceeding $250.
Similar to retail sales tax, Workday will automatically calculate the leasehold tax portion of any revenue deposits made with a leasehold-taxable revenue category if the deposit is marked taxable.
Useful Information
WSU Federal Employee Identification Number (EIN): 91‐6001108
WSU Washington State Unified Business Identifier (UBI): 385 000 328
Sales and use tax codes and rates: https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/sales-use-tax-rates/local-sales-use-tax
Procurement Transaction Tax Guide (how to enter transactions in Workday): https://jira.esg.wsu.edu/servicedesk/customer/kb/view/165875936