Sales tax holiday

AN ACT Relating to providing financial relief for families by 1
establishing a sales tax holiday for back-to-school shopping; adding 2
a new section to chapter 82.08 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 3
82.12 RCW; creating new sections; providing an effective date; and 4
declaring an emergency. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that back-to-7
school shopping places a significant financial burden on families, 8
particularly as the costs of essential supplies, clothing, and 9
technology continue to rise. Families with children in elementary 10
through high school plan to spend an average of $874.68 on clothing, 11
shoes, school supplies, and electronics, making these expenses a 12
substantial challenge for many households.13
(2) The legislature finds that inflation and the rising cost of 14
living have made it increasingly difficult for families to afford the 15
necessities their children need to start the school year prepared. 16
Many parents are forced to make difficult financial choices, 17
prioritizing school essentials over other household expenses. A sales 18
tax holiday would provide direct relief, helping families stretch 19
their budgets further during this critical time. 20
H-2067.1
HOUSE BILL 2066
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Couture and Nance
Read first time 03/31/25. Referred to Committee on Finance.
p. 1 HB 2066
(3) The legislature finds that ensuring children have the 1
supplies, clothing, and technology they need is essential for their 2
academic success and overall well-being. No child should have to 3
start the school year without the tools necessary for learning simply 4
because their family cannot afford them. Reducing this financial 5
strain allows parents to focus on supporting their children's 6
education rather than worrying about basic school necessities.7
(4) The legislature finds that many other states have 8
successfully implemented back-to-school sales tax holidays, 9
recognizing the importance of providing relief to families. These 10
initiatives have proven effective in helping parents manage school-11
related costs while ensuring students have the resources they need 12
for success. Implementing a similar policy in this state would 13
provide families with the same kind of support already available 14
elsewhere. 15
(5) Therefore, the legislature intends to establish a back-to-16
school sales tax holiday to provide financial relief for families and 17
support students as they return to the classroom. This policy will 18
help make school-related expenses more manageable and ensure that all 19
children can start the academic year with the supplies they need.20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 82.08 21
RCW to read as follows: 22
(1) Subject to the limitations and conditions provided in this 23
section, this chapter does not apply to sales of qualified items 24
purchased by an individual each year between 12:00 a.m. on the second 25
Friday of August, and 11:59 p.m. on the Sunday following the second 26
Friday of August. 27
(2) Qualified items are limited to the following:28
(a) Clothing, including certain footwear and accessories intended 29
for use by persons aged 18 or under with a sales price of $100 or 30
less per item; 31
(b) School supplies with a sales price of $50 or less per item; 32
and 33
(c) Personal computers and computer-related accessories with a 34
sales price of $1,500 or less when purchased for noncommercial home 35
or personal use. 36
(3) A business may opt out of the sales and use tax holiday 37
exemption under this section if the business anticipates less than 38
five percent of the business' gross sales are derived from the exempt 39
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items under this section and section 3 of this act. To opt out, the 1
business must retain any documentation and submit any forms in any 2
manner required by the department. 3
(4) The department must adopt rules for the administration of 4
this section and may adopt emergency rules. These rules must be 5
consistent with the streamlined sales and use tax agreement, to the 6
extent the department considers advisable, so long as the rules are 7
consistent with this section. The department must electronically 8
publish a publicly available list of exempt products and provide 9
taxpayer guidance regarding the sales and use tax holiday created in 10
this section and section 3 of this act. 11
(5) The following definitions apply throughout this section:12
(a) "Business" means any business entity, including a sole 13
proprietorship, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity that 14
provides, offers, or sells goods or services to persons who are 15
residents of Washington. 16
(b) "Clothing" means any article of wearing apparel, including 17
footwear intended to be worn on or about the human body. Clothing 18
does not mean skis, swim fins, roller blades, skates, or similar 19
recreational wear. Clothing also does not mean watches, watchbands, 20
jewelry, umbrellas, handkerchiefs, or similar accessories.21
(c) "Individual" means a natural person purchasing the qualified 22
item for personal use or consumption. An individual does not include 23
a natural person purchasing the qualified item for use or consumption 24
by a business or in a business capacity. 25
(d) "Personal computers" means electronic book readers, 26
calculators, laptops, desktops, handheld devices, tablets, or tower 27
computers. Personal computers does not mean cellular telephones, 28
video game consoles, digital media receivers, or devices that are not 29
primarily designed to process data. 30
(e) "School supplies" means pens, pencils, erasers, crayons, 31
notebooks, notebook filler paper, legal pads, binders, lunch boxes, 32
construction paper, markers, folders, poster board, composition 33
books, poster paper, scissors, cellophane tape, glue, paste, rulers, 34
computer disks, staplers and staples used to secure paper products, 35
protractors, and compasses. 36
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 82.12 37
RCW to read as follows: 38
p. 3 HB 2066
(1) Subject to the limitations and conditions provided in this 1
section, this chapter does not apply to the use of qualified items 2
purchased by an individual each year between 12:00 a.m. on the second 3
Friday of August, and 11:59 p.m. on the Sunday following the second 4
Friday of August. 5
(2) Qualified items are limited to the following:6
(a) Clothing, including certain footwear and accessories intended 7
for use by persons aged 18 or under with a sales price of $100 or 8
less per item; 9
(b) School supplies with a sales price of $50 or less per item; 10
and 11
(c) Personal computers and computer-related accessories with a 12
sales price of $1,500 or less when purchased for noncommercial home 13
or personal use. 14
(3) A business may opt out of the sales and use tax holiday 15
exemption under this section and section 2 of this act if the 16
business anticipates less than five percent of the business' gross 17
sales are derived from the exempt items under this section. To opt 18
out, the business must retain any documentation and submit any forms 19
in any manner required by the department. 20
(4) The department must adopt rules for the administration of 21
this section and may adopt emergency rules. These rules must be 22
consistent with the streamlined sales and use tax agreement, to the 23
extent the department considers advisable, so long as the rules are 24
consistent with this section. The department must electronically 25
publish a publicly available list of exempt products and provide 26
taxpayer guidance regarding the sales and use tax holiday created in 27
this section and section 2 of this act. 28
(5) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 29
section. 30
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. RCW 82.32.805 and 82.32.808 do not apply 31
to this act.32
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act is necessary for the immediate 33
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of 34
the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes 35
effect July 1, 2025.36
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