Is appliance repair taxable in Washington?
Yes. Washington taxes the LABOR on repairs to tangible personal property — an appliance, a boiler or a unit that never becomes part of the building — as well as the parts. This is a different question from work on the real property itself: the same technician on the same visit can be doing taxable work on an appliance and differently treated work on the structure, and the invoice has to tell them apart. Source: RCW 82.04.050(2)(b); WAC 458-20-170 (constructing, repairing or improving real property for a consumer is a retail sale).
| What | Washington |
|---|---|
| Repair labor on an appliance | Taxable |
| Parts | Taxable |
| Repair labor on the building — residential | Taxable |
| Repair labor on the building — commercial | Taxable |
Where this gets more complicated
Washington is the clearest retailer state: the entire contract — labor, materials, overhead and profit — is one taxable retail sale, and the contractor buys materials on resale. Retailing B&O tax also applies to the same receipts and is a separate liability this row does not compute. Public road and government work has its own treatment.
Source
RCW 82.04.050(2)(b); WAC 458-20-170 (constructing, repairing or improving real property for a consumer is a retail sale).
Read the statute in the Revised Code of Washington (Washington State Legislature): app.leg.wa.gov.
This is a summary of a state’s published guidance, not tax or legal advice. Rates and rules change, local jurisdictions add their own, and the treatment of a specific job depends on the contract and the work. Check the citation and speak to a CPA or a state tax adviser before relying on it.
How Seayora uses this rule
Seayora resolves this rule on every invoice a contractor raises — per line, from the job site’s own address — and prints the rate, the jurisdiction and this citation on the document itself, so the estimate a customer accepts is the invoice they are billed. Where the rule is more nuanced than a single answer, Seayora refuses to guess a total rather than quoting a confident wrong one.
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The same question in other states
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina