Washington Sales Tax Amnesty - A Carrot This Time

The state of Washington has been active so far this year with regards to transaction taxes.  You may have seen in a previous blog post Washington’s ruling regarding nexus for an out of state manufacturer.  I guess they thought they could move away from the stick and put a carrot out there for tax payers.

The carrot this time is a tax amnesty program effective February 1, 2011 and running through April 18, 2011.  The amnesty program allows taxpayers to avoid penalties AND INTEREST on the following tax types:

• State business and occupation (B&O) tax
• State public utility tax
• State and local sales and use tax including:
  • General retail sales and use taxes
  • Rental car taxes
  • King County food and beverage tax
  • Additional sales and use tax on motor vehicle sales/leases
  • Lodging taxes, but not including tourism promotion area lodging charges
  • Brokered natural gas use tax

The program applies to BOTH registered and non-registered companies with taxes due before February 1, 2011.  If you have filed and paid all tax returns as of November 25, 2010, you are not eligible for amnesty on tax returns due after that date.

Qualified companies must complete and submit the Amnesty Application Form AMN-APP, along with all outstanding tax returns or amended returns, by April 18, 2011.  Payment in full of the total tax due must be received by the Washington Department of Revenue by April 30, 2011.