Health continuing ed./tax

AN ACT Relating to exempting health care continuing education 1
classes from retail sales and use tax; amending RCW 82.04.050; and 2
creating new sections. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that Washington 5
is currently experiencing a significant health care workforce 6
shortage that threatens access to timely and quality care for 7
residents across the state. This shortage affects hospitals, clinics, 8
long-term care facilities, and other health systems, particularly in 9
rural and underserved areas.10
(2) The legislature finds that continuing education courses are 11
essential for licensed health professionals to maintain their 12
credentials, meet professional standards, and keep pace with advances 13
in medicine and patient care. These courses also support workforce 14
retention and advancement by enabling individuals to improve their 15
skills and remain current in their fields. 16
(3) The legislature finds that by applying Washington's new sales 17
tax on services to continuing education courses, the legislature 18
increased costs for health care professionals who are required to 19
complete such training to maintain their licenses. This increased 20
financial burden could discourage participation in necessary 21
H-2550.1
HOUSE BILL 2208
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives McClintock, Ley, Barnard, Dufault, Jacobsen,
Graham, and Marshall
Prefiled 12/29/25. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Finance.
p. 1 HB 2208
education, further exacerbating the state's workforce challenges and 1
impeding the professional development needed to sustain a skilled and 2
competent health care system. 3
(4) Therefore, the legislature intends to remove continuing 4
education courses from taxation under the state's new sales tax on 5
services to ensure that professional development and licensing 6
requirements remain affordable, accessible, and supportive of a 7
robust health care workforce that meets the needs of Washington's 8
communities. 9
Sec. 2. RCW 82.04.050 and 2025 c 422 s 101 are each amended to 10
read as follows: 11
(1)(a) "Sale at retail" or "retail sale" means every sale of 12
tangible personal property (including articles produced, fabricated, 13
or imprinted) to all persons irrespective of the nature of their 14
business and including, among others, without limiting the scope 15
hereof, persons who install, repair, clean, alter, improve, 16
construct, or decorate real or personal property of or for consumers 17
other than a sale to a person who: 18
(i) Purchases for the purpose of resale as tangible personal 19
property in the regular course of business without intervening use by 20
such person, but a purchase for the purpose of resale by a regional 21
transit authority under RCW 81.112.300 is not a sale for resale; or22
(ii) Installs, repairs, cleans, alters, imprints, improves, 23
constructs, or decorates real or personal property of or for 24
consumers, if such tangible personal property becomes an ingredient 25
or component of such real or personal property without intervening 26
use by such person; or 27
(iii) Purchases for the purpose of consuming the property 28
purchased in producing for sale as a new article of tangible personal 29
property or substance, of which such property becomes an ingredient 30
or component or is a chemical used in processing, when the primary 31
purpose of such chemical is to create a chemical reaction directly 32
through contact with an ingredient of a new article being produced 33
for sale; or 34
(iv) Purchases for the purpose of consuming the property 35
purchased in producing ferrosilicon which is subsequently used in 36
producing magnesium for sale, if the primary purpose of such property 37
is to create a chemical reaction directly through contact with an 38
ingredient of ferrosilicon; or 39
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(v) Purchases for the purpose of providing the property to 1
consumers as part of competitive telephone service, as defined in RCW 2
82.04.065; or 3
(vi) Purchases for the purpose of satisfying the person's 4
obligations under an extended warranty as defined in subsection (7) 5
of this section, if such tangible personal property replaces or 6
becomes an ingredient or component of property covered by the 7
extended warranty without intervening use by such person.8
(b) The term includes every sale of tangible personal property 9
that is used or consumed or to be used or consumed in the performance 10
of any activity defined as a "sale at retail" or "retail sale" even 11
though such property is resold or used as provided in (a)(i) through 12
(vi) of this subsection following such use. 13
(c) The term also means every sale of tangible personal property 14
to persons engaged in any business that is taxable under RCW 15
82.04.280(1) (a), (b), and (((g))) (f), 82.04.290, and 82.04.2908.16
(2) The term "sale at retail" or "retail sale" includes the sale 17
of or charge made for tangible personal property consumed and/or for 18
labor and services rendered in respect to the following:19
(a) The installing, repairing, cleaning, altering, imprinting, or 20
improving of tangible personal property of or for consumers, 21
including charges made for the mere use of facilities in respect 22
thereto, but excluding charges made for the use of self-service 23
laundry facilities, and also excluding sales of laundry service to 24
nonprofit health care facilities, and excluding services rendered in 25
respect to live animals, birds and insects; 26
(b) The constructing, repairing, decorating, or improving of new 27
or existing buildings or other structures under, upon, or above real 28
property of or for consumers, including the installing or attaching 29
of any article of tangible personal property therein or thereto, 30
whether or not such personal property becomes a part of the realty by 31
virtue of installation, and also includes the sale of services or 32
charges made for the clearing of land and the moving of earth 33
excepting the mere leveling of land used in commercial farming or 34
agriculture; 35
(c) The constructing, repairing, or improving of any structure 36
upon, above, or under any real property owned by an owner who conveys 37
the property by title, possession, or any other means to the person 38
performing such construction, repair, or improvement for the purpose 39
of performing such construction, repair, or improvement and the 40
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property is then reconveyed by title, possession, or any other means 1
to the original owner; 2
(d) The cleaning, fumigating, razing, or moving of existing 3
buildings or structures, but does not include the charge made for 4
janitorial services; and for purposes of this section the term 5
"janitorial services" means those cleaning and caretaking services 6
ordinarily performed by commercial janitor service businesses 7
including, but not limited to, wall and window washing, floor 8
cleaning and waxing, and the cleaning in place of rugs, drapes and 9
upholstery. The term "janitorial services" does not include painting, 10
papering, repairing, furnace or septic tank cleaning, snow removal or 11
sandblasting; 12
(e) Automobile towing and similar automotive transportation 13
services, but not in respect to those required to report and pay 14
taxes under chapter 82.16 RCW; 15
(f) The furnishing of lodging and all other services by a hotel, 16
rooming house, tourist court, motel, trailer camp, and the granting 17
of any similar license to use real property, as distinguished from 18
the renting or leasing of real property, and it is presumed that the 19
occupancy of real property for a continuous period of one month or 20
more constitutes a rental or lease of real property and not a mere 21
license to use or enjoy the same. For the purposes of this 22
subsection, it is presumed that the sale of and charge made for the 23
furnishing of lodging for a continuous period of one month or more to 24
a person is a rental or lease of real property and not a mere license 25
to enjoy the same. For the purposes of this section, it is presumed 26
that the sale of and charge made for the furnishing of lodging 27
offered regularly for public occupancy for periods of less than a 28
month constitutes a license to use or enjoy the property subject to 29
sales and use tax and not a rental or lease of property;30
(g) The installing, repairing, altering, or improving of digital 31
goods for consumers; 32
(h) Persons taxable under (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) 33
of this subsection when such sales or charges are for property, labor 34
and services which are used or consumed in whole or in part by such 35
persons in the performance of any activity defined as a "sale at 36
retail" or "retail sale" even though such property, labor and 37
services may be resold after such use or consumption. Nothing 38
contained in this subsection may be construed to modify subsection 39
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(1) of this section and nothing contained in subsection (1) of this 1
section may be construed to modify this subsection.2
(3) The term "sale at retail" or "retail sale" includes the sale 3
of or charge made for personal, business, or professional services 4
including amounts designated as interest, rents, fees, admission, and 5
other service emoluments however designated, received by persons 6
engaging in the following business activities: 7
(a) Abstract, title insurance, and escrow services;8
(b) Credit bureau services; 9
(c) Automobile parking and storage garage services;10
(d) Landscape maintenance and horticultural services but 11
excluding (i) horticultural services provided to farmers and (ii) 12
pruning, trimming, repairing, removing, and clearing of trees and 13
brush near electric transmission or distribution lines or equipment, 14
if performed by or at the direction of an electric utility;15
(e) Service charges associated with tickets to professional 16
sporting events; 17
(f) The following personal services: Tanning salon services, 18
tattoo parlor services, steam bath services, turkish bath services, 19
escort services, and dating services; 20
(g) Information technology training services, technical support, 21
and other services including, but not limited to, assisting with 22
network operations and support, help desk services, in-person 23
training related to hardware or software, network system support 24
services, data entry services, and data processing services;25
(h) Custom website development services. For the purposes of this 26
subsection (3), "website development services" means the design, 27
development, and support of a website provided by a website developer 28
to a customer; 29
(i) Investigation, security services, security monitoring 30
services, and armored car services including, but not limited to, 31
background checks, security guard and patrol services, personal and 32
event security, armored car transportation of cash and valuables, and 33
security system services and monitoring. This does not include 34
locksmith services; 35
(j) Temporary staffing services. For the purposes of this 36
subsection (3), "temporary staffing services" means providing workers 37
to other businesses, except for hospitals licensed under chapter 38
70.41 or 71.12 RCW, for limited periods of time to supplement their 39
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workforce and fill employment vacancies on a contract or for fee 1
basis; 2
(k) Advertising services. (i) For the purposes of this subsection 3
(3), "advertising services" means all digital and nondigital services 4
related to the creation, preparation, production, or dissemination of 5
advertisements including, but not limited to: 6
(A) Layout, art direction, graphic design, mechanical 7
preparation, production supervision, placement, referrals, 8
acquisition of advertising space, and rendering advice concerning the 9
best methods of advertising products or services; and10
(B) Online referrals, search engine marketing ((,)) and lead 11
generation optimization, web campaign planning, the acquisition of 12
advertising space in the internet media, and the monitoring and 13
evaluation of website traffic for purposes of determining the 14
effectiveness of an advertising campaign. 15
(ii) "Advertising services" do not include: 16
(A) Web hosting services and domain name registration;17
(B) Services rendered in respect to the following:18
(I) "Newspapers" as defined in RCW 82.04.214; 19
(II) Printing or publishing under RCW 82.04.280; and20
(III) "Radio and television broadcasting" within this state as 21
defined in RCW 82.04.281; and 22
(C) Services rendered in respect to out-of-home advertising, 23
including: Billboard advertising; street furniture advertising; 24
transit advertising; place-based advertising, such as in-store 25
display advertising or point-of-sale advertising; dynamic or static 26
signage at live events; naming rights; and fixed signage advertising. 27
Out-of-home advertising does not include direct mail;28
(l) Live presentations including, but not limited to, lectures, 29
seminars, workshops, or courses where participants attend either in-30
person or via the internet or telecommunications equipment that 31
allows audience members and the presenter or instructor to give, 32
receive, and discuss information with each other in real time . Live 33
presentations do not include health care continuing education 34
classes; and 35
(m)(i) Operating an athletic or fitness facility, including all 36
charges for the use of such a facility or for any associated services 37
and amenities, except as provided in (m)(ii) of this subsection.38
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(ii) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in (m)(i) of this 1
subsection (3), the term "sale at retail" and "retail sale" under 2
this subsection does not include: 3
(A) Separately stated charges for the use of an athletic or 4
fitness facility where such use is primarily for a purpose other than 5
engaging in or receiving instruction in a physical fitness activity;6
(B) Separately stated charges for the use of a discrete portion 7
of an athletic or fitness facility, other than a pool, where such 8
discrete portion of the facility does not by itself meet the 9
definition of "athletic or fitness facility" in this subsection;10
(C) Separately stated charges for services, such as massage, 11
nutritional consulting, and body composition testing, that do not 12
require the customer to engage in physical fitness activities to 13
receive the service. The exclusion in this subsection (3)(m)(ii)(C) 14
does not apply to personal training services and instruction in a 15
physical fitness activity; 16
(D) Separately stated charges for physical therapy provided by a 17
physical therapist, as those terms are defined in RCW 18.74.010, or 18
occupational therapy provided by an occupational therapy 19
practitioner, as those terms are defined in RCW 18.59.020, when 20
performed pursuant to a referral from an authorized health care 21
practitioner or in consultation with an authorized health care 22
practitioner. For the purposes of this subsection (3)(m)(ii)(D), an 23
authorized health care practitioner means a health care practitioner 24
licensed under chapter 18.83, 18.25, 18.36A, 18.57, 18.71, or 18.71A 25
RCW, or, until July 1, 2022, chapter 18.57A RCW; 26
(E) Rent or association fees charged by a landlord or residential 27
association to a tenant or residential owner with access to an 28
athletic or fitness facility maintained by the landlord or 29
residential association, unless the rent or fee varies depending on 30
whether the tenant or owner has access to the facility;31
(F) Services provided in the regular course of employment by an 32
employee with access to an athletic or fitness facility maintained by 33
the employer for use without charge by its employees or their family 34
members; 35
(G) The provision of access to an athletic or fitness facility by 36
an educational institution to its students and staff. However, 37
charges made by an educational institution to its alumni or other 38
members of the public for the use of any of the educational 39
institution's athletic or fitness facilities are a retail sale under 40
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this subsection (3)(m). For purposes of this subsection 1
(3)(m)(ii)(G), "educational institution" has the same meaning as in 2
RCW 82.04.170; 3
(H) Yoga, chi gong, or martial arts classes, training, or events 4
held at a community center, park, school gymnasium, college or 5
university, hospital or other medical facility, private residence, or 6
any other facility that is not operated within and as part of an 7
athletic or fitness facility. 8
(iii) Nothing in (m)(ii) of this subsection (3) may be construed 9
to affect the taxation of sales made by the operator of an athletic 10
or fitness facility, where such sales are defined as a retail sale 11
under any provision of this section other than this subsection (3).12
(iv) For the purposes of this subsection (3)(m), the following 13
definitions apply: 14
(A) "Athletic or fitness facility" means an indoor or outdoor 15
facility or portion of a facility that is primarily used for: 16
Exercise classes; strength and conditioning programs; personal 17
training services; tennis, racquetball, handball, squash, or 18
pickleball; or other activities requiring the use of exercise or 19
strength training equipment, such as treadmills, elliptical machines, 20
stair climbers, stationary cycles, rowing machines, pilates 21
equipment, balls, climbing ropes, jump ropes, and weightlifting 22
equipment. 23
(B) "Martial arts" means any of the various systems of training 24
for physical combat or self-defense. "Martial arts" includes, but is 25
not limited to, karate, kung fu, tae kwon do, Krav Maga, boxing, 26
kickboxing, jujitsu, shootfighting, wrestling, aikido, judo, hapkido, 27
Kendo, tai chi, and mixed martial arts. 28
(C) "Physical fitness activities" means activities that involve 29
physical exertion for the purpose of improving or maintaining the 30
general fitness, strength, flexibility, conditioning, or health of 31
the participant. "Physical fitness activities" includes participating 32
in yoga, chi gong, or martial arts. 33
For the purposes of (g) through (i) and (k) of this subsection 34
(3), the terms "sale at retail" and "retail sale" do not include a 35
sale between members of an affiliated group as defined in RCW 36
82.04.299(1)(f). 37
(4)(a) The term also includes the renting or leasing of tangible 38
personal property to consumers. 39
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(b) The term does not include the renting or leasing of tangible 1
personal property where the lease or rental is for the purpose of 2
sublease or subrent. 3
(5) The term also includes the providing of "competitive 4
telephone service," "telecommunications service," or "ancillary 5
services," as those terms are defined in RCW 82.04.065, to consumers.6
(6)(a) The term also includes the sale of prewritten computer 7
software, custom software, and customization of prewritten computer 8
software to a consumer, regardless of the method of delivery to the 9
end user. For purposes of this subsection (6)(a), the sale of 10
prewritten computer software includes the sale of or charge made for 11
a key or an enabling or activation code, where the key or code is 12
required to activate prewritten computer software and put the 13
software into use. There is no separate sale of the key or code from 14
the prewritten computer software, regardless of how the sale may be 15
characterized by the vendor or by the purchaser. 16
(b)(i) The term also includes the charge made to consumers for 17
the right to access and use prewritten computer software, custom 18
software, and customization of prewritten computer software, where 19
possession of the software is maintained by the seller or a third 20
party, regardless of whether the charge for the service is on a per 21
use, per user, per license, subscription, or some other basis.22
(ii)(A) The service described in (b)(i) of this subsection (6) 23
includes the right to access and use prewritten computer software, 24
custom software, and customization of prewritten computer software to 25
perform data processing. 26
(B) For purposes of this subsection (6)(b)(ii), "data processing" 27
means the systematic performance of operations on data to extract the 28
required information in an appropriate form or to convert the data to 29
usable information. Data processing includes check processing, image 30
processing, form processing, survey processing, payroll processing, 31
claim processing, and similar activities. 32
(7) The term also includes the sale of or charge made for an 33
extended warranty to a consumer. For purposes of this subsection, 34
"extended warranty" means an agreement for a specified duration to 35
perform the replacement or repair of tangible personal property at no 36
additional charge or a reduced charge for tangible personal property, 37
labor, or both, or to provide indemnification for the replacement or 38
repair of tangible personal property, based on the occurrence of 39
specified events. The term "extended warranty" does not include an 40
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agreement, otherwise meeting the definition of extended warranty in 1
this subsection, if no separate charge is made for the agreement and 2
the value of the agreement is included in the sales price of the 3
tangible personal property covered by the agreement. For purposes of 4
this subsection, "sales price" has the same meaning as in RCW 5
82.08.010. 6
(8)(a) The term also includes the following sales to consumers of 7
digital goods, digital codes, and digital automated services:8
(i) Sales in which the seller has granted the purchaser the right 9
of permanent use; 10
(ii) Sales in which the seller has granted the purchaser a right 11
of use that is less than permanent; 12
(iii) Sales in which the purchaser is not obligated to make 13
continued payment as a condition of the sale; and 14
(iv) Sales in which the purchaser is obligated to make continued 15
payment as a condition of the sale. 16
(b) A retail sale of digital goods, digital codes, or digital 17
automated services under this subsection (8) includes any services 18
provided by the seller exclusively in connection with the digital 19
goods, digital codes, or digital automated services, whether or not a 20
separate charge is made for such services. 21
(c) A retail sale of digital goods, digital codes, or digital 22
automated services does not include the following services if the 23
sale occurs between members of an affiliated group as defined in RCW 24
82.04.299(1)(f): 25
(i) Any service that primarily involves the application of human 26
effort by the seller, and the human effort originated after the 27
customer requested the service; 28
(ii) Live presentations, such as lectures, seminars, workshops, 29
or courses, where participants are connected to other participants 30
via the internet or telecommunications equipment, which allows 31
audience members and the presenter or instructor to give, receive, 32
and discuss information with each other in real time . Live 33
presentations do not include health care continuing education 34
classes; 35
(iii) Advertising services. For purposes of this subsection 36
(8)(c), "advertising services" means all services directly related to 37
the creation, preparation, production, or dissemination of 38
advertisements. Advertising services include layout, art direction, 39
graphic design, mechanical preparation, production supervision, 40
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placement, and rendering advice to a client concerning the best 1
methods of advertising that client's products or services. 2
Advertising services also include online referrals, search engine 3
marketing and lead generation optimization, web campaign planning, 4
the acquisition of advertising space in the internet media, and the 5
monitoring and evaluation of website traffic for purposes of 6
determining the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. Advertising 7
services do not include web hosting services and domain name 8
registration; and 9
(iv) Data processing services. For purposes of this subsection 10
(8)(c), "data processing service" means a primarily automated service 11
provided to a business or other organization where the primary object 12
of the service is the systematic performance of operations by the 13
service provider on data supplied in whole or in part by the customer 14
to extract the required information in an appropriate form or to 15
convert the data to usable information. Data processing services 16
include check processing, image processing, form processing, survey 17
processing, payroll processing, claim processing, and similar 18
activities. Data processing does not include the service described in 19
subsection (6)(b) of this section. 20
(d) For purposes of this subsection, "permanent" means perpetual 21
or for an indefinite or unspecified length of time. A right of 22
permanent use is presumed to have been granted unless the agreement 23
between the seller and the purchaser specifies or the circumstances 24
surrounding the transaction suggest or indicate that the right to use 25
terminates on the occurrence of a condition subsequent.26
(9) The term also includes the charge made for providing tangible 27
personal property along with an operator for a fixed or indeterminate 28
period of time. A consideration of this is that the operator is 29
necessary for the tangible personal property to perform as designed. 30
For the purpose of this subsection (9), an operator must do more than 31
maintain, inspect, or set up the tangible personal property.32
(10) The term does not include the sale of or charge made for 33
labor and services rendered in respect to the building, repairing, or 34
improving of any street, place, road, highway, easement, right-of-35
way, mass public transportation terminal or parking facility, bridge, 36
tunnel, or trestle which is owned by a municipal corporation or 37
political subdivision of the state or by the United States and which 38
is used or to be used primarily for foot or vehicular traffic 39
including mass transportation vehicles of any kind.40
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(11) The term also does not include sales of chemical sprays or 1
washes to persons for the purpose of postharvest treatment of fruit 2
for the prevention of scald, fungus, mold, or decay, nor does it 3
include sales of feed, seed, seedlings, fertilizer, agents for 4
enhanced pollination including insects such as bees, and spray 5
materials to: (a) Persons who participate in the federal conservation 6
reserve program, the environmental quality incentives program, the 7
wetlands reserve program, and the wildlife habitat incentives 8
program, or their successors administered by the United States 9
department of agriculture; (b) farmers for the purpose of producing 10
for sale any agricultural product; (c) farmers for the purpose of 11
providing bee pollination services; and (d) farmers acting under 12
cooperative habitat development or access contracts with an 13
organization exempt from federal income tax under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 14
501(c)(3) of the federal internal revenue code or the Washington 15
state department of fish and wildlife to produce or improve wildlife 16
habitat on land that the farmer owns or leases. 17
(12) The term does not include the sale of or charge made for 18
labor and services rendered in respect to the constructing, 19
repairing, decorating, or improving of new or existing buildings or 20
other structures under, upon, or above real property of or for the 21
United States, any instrumentality thereof, or a county or city 22
housing authority created pursuant to chapter 35.82 RCW, including 23
the installing, or attaching of any article of tangible personal 24
property therein or thereto, whether or not such personal property 25
becomes a part of the realty by virtue of installation. Nor does the 26
term include the sale of services or charges made for the clearing of 27
land and the moving of earth of or for the United States, any 28
instrumentality thereof, or a county or city housing authority. Nor 29
does the term include the sale of services or charges made for 30
cleaning up for the United States, or its instrumentalities, 31
radioactive waste and other by-products of weapons production and 32
nuclear research and development. 33
(13) The term does not include the sale of or charge made for 34
labor, services, or tangible personal property pursuant to agreements 35
providing maintenance services for bus, rail, or rail fixed guideway 36
equipment when a regional transit authority is the recipient of the 37
labor, services, or tangible personal property, and a transit agency, 38
as defined in RCW 81.104.015, performs the labor or services.39
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(14) The term does not include the sale for resale of any service 1
described in this section if the sale would otherwise constitute a 2
"sale at retail" and "retail sale" under this section.3
(15)(a) The term "sale at retail" or "retail sale" includes 4
amounts charged, however labeled, to consumers to engage in any of 5
the activities listed in this subsection (15)(a), including the 6
furnishing of any associated equipment or, except as otherwise 7
provided in this subsection, providing instruction in such 8
activities, where such charges are not otherwise defined as a "sale 9
at retail" or "retail sale" in this section: 10
(i)(A) Golf, including any variant in which either golf balls or 11
golf clubs are used, such as miniature golf, hitting golf balls at a 12
driving range, and golf simulators, and including fees charged by a 13
golf course to a player for using his or her own cart. However, 14
charges for golf instruction are not a retail sale, provided that if 15
the instruction involves the use of a golfing facility that would 16
otherwise require the payment of a fee, such as green fees or driving 17
range fees, such fees, including the applicable retail sales tax, 18
must be separately identified and charged by the golfing facility 19
operator to the instructor or the person receiving the instruction.20
(B) Notwithstanding (a)(i)(A) of this subsection (15) and except 21
as otherwise provided in this subsection (15)(a)(i)(B), the term 22
"sale at retail" or "retail sale" does not include amounts charged to 23
participate in, or conduct, a golf tournament or other competitive 24
event. However, amounts paid by event participants to the golf 25
facility operator are retail sales under this subsection (15)(a)(i). 26
Likewise, amounts paid by the event organizer to the golf facility 27
are retail sales under this subsection (15)(a)(i), if such amounts 28
vary based on the number of event participants; 29
(ii) Ballooning, hang gliding, indoor or outdoor sky diving, 30
paragliding, parasailing, and similar activities; 31
(iii) Air hockey, billiards, pool, foosball, darts, shuffleboard, 32
ping pong, and similar games; 33
(iv) Access to amusement park, theme park, and water park 34
facilities, including but not limited to charges for admission and 35
locker or cabana rentals. Discrete charges for rides or other 36
attractions or entertainment that are in addition to the charge for 37
admission are not a retail sale under this subsection (15)(a)(iv). 38
For the purposes of this subsection, an amusement park or theme park 39
is a location that provides permanently affixed amusement rides, 40
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games, and other entertainment, but does not include parks or zoos 1
for which the primary purpose is the exhibition of wildlife, or 2
fairs, carnivals, and festivals as defined in (b)(i) of this 3
subsection; 4
(v) Batting cage activities; 5
(vi) Bowling, but not including competitive events, except that 6
amounts paid by the event participants to the bowling alley operator 7
are retail sales under this subsection (15)(a)(vi). Likewise, amounts 8
paid by the event organizer to the operator of the bowling alley are 9
retail sales under this subsection (15)(a)(vi), if such amounts vary 10
based on the number of event participants; 11
(vii) Climbing on artificial climbing structures, whether indoors 12
or outdoors; 13
(viii) Day trips for sightseeing purposes; 14
(ix) Bungee jumping, zip lining, and riding inside a ball, 15
whether inflatable or otherwise; 16
(x) Horseback riding offered to the public, where the seller 17
furnishes the horse to the buyer and providing instruction is not the 18
primary focus of the activity, including guided rides, but not 19
including therapeutic horseback riding provided by an instructor 20
certified by a nonprofit organization that offers national or 21
international certification for therapeutic riding instructors;22
(xi) Fishing, including providing access to private fishing areas 23
and charter or guided fishing, except that fishing contests and 24
license fees imposed by a government entity are not a retail sale 25
under this subsection; 26
(xii) Guided hunting and hunting at game farms and shooting 27
preserves, except that hunting contests and license fees imposed by a 28
government entity are not a retail sale under this subsection;29
(xiii) Swimming, but only in respect to (A) recreational or 30
fitness swimming that is open to the public, such as open swim, lap 31
swimming, and special events like kids night out and pool parties 32
during open swim time, and (B) pool parties for private events, such 33
as birthdays, family gatherings, and employee outings. Fees for 34
swimming lessons, to participate in swim meets and other 35
competitions, or to join a swim team, club, or aquatic facility are 36
not retail sales under this subsection (15)(a)(xiii);37
(xiv) Go-karting, bumper cars, and other motorized activities 38
where the seller provides the vehicle and the premises where the 39
buyer will operate the vehicle; 40
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(xv) Indoor or outdoor playground activities, such as inflatable 1
bounce structures and other inflatables; mazes; trampolines; slides; 2
ball pits; games of tag, including laser tag and soft-dart tag; and 3
human gyroscope rides, regardless of whether such activities occur at 4
the seller's place of business, but not including playground 5
activities provided for children by a licensed child day care center 6
or licensed family day care provider as those terms are defined in 7
RCW 43.216.010; 8
(xvi) Shooting sports and activities, such as target shooting, 9
skeet, trap, sporting clays, "5" stand, and archery, but only in 10
respect to discrete charges to members of the public to engage in 11
these activities, but not including fees to enter a competitive 12
event, instruction that is entirely or predominately classroom based, 13
or to join or renew a membership at a club, range, or other facility;14
(xvii) Paintball and airsoft activities; 15
(xviii) Skating, including ice skating, roller skating, and 16
inline skating, but only in respect to discrete charges to members of 17
the public to engage in skating activities, but not including skating 18
lessons, competitive events, team activities, or fees to join or 19
renew a membership at a skating facility, club, or other 20
organization; 21
(xix) Nonmotorized snow sports and activities, such as downhill 22
and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, ski jumping, sledding, snow 23
tubing, snowshoeing, and similar snow sports and activities, whether 24
engaged in outdoors or in an indoor facility with or without snow, 25
but only in respect to discrete charges to the public for the use of 26
land or facilities to engage in nonmotorized snow sports and 27
activities, such as fees, however labeled, for the use of ski lifts 28
and tows and daily or season passes for access to trails or other 29
areas where nonmotorized snow sports and activities are conducted. 30
However, fees for the following are not retail sales under this 31
subsection (15)(a)(xix): (A) Instructional lessons; (B) permits 32
issued by a governmental entity to park a vehicle on or access public 33
lands; and (C) permits or leases granted by an owner of private 34
timberland for recreational access to areas used primarily for 35
growing and harvesting timber; and 36
(xx) Scuba diving; snorkeling; river rafting; surfing; 37
kiteboarding; flyboarding; water slides; inflatables, such as water 38
pillows, water trampolines, and water rollers; and similar water 39
sports and activities. 40
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(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this subsection 1
(15), the term "sale at retail" or "retail sale" does not include 2
charges: 3
(i) Made for admission to, and rides or attractions at, fairs, 4
carnivals, and festivals. For the purposes of this subsection, fairs, 5
carnivals, and festivals are events that do not exceed 21 days and a 6
majority of the amusement rides, if any, are not affixed to real 7
property; 8
(ii) Made by an educational institution to its students and staff 9
for activities defined as retail sales by (a)(i) through (xx) of this 10
subsection. However, charges made by an educational institution to 11
its alumni or other members of the general public for these 12
activities are a retail sale under this subsection (15). For purposes 13
of this subsection (15)(b)(ii), "educational institution" has the 14
same meaning as in RCW 82.04.170; 15
(iii) Made by a vocational school for commercial diver training 16
that is licensed by the workforce training and education coordinating 17
board under chapter 28C.10 RCW; or 18
(iv) Made for day camps offered by a nonprofit organization or 19
state or local governmental entity that provide youth not older than 20
age 18, or that are focused on providing individuals with 21
disabilities or mental illness, the opportunity to participate in a 22
variety of supervised activities. 23
(16)(a) The term "sale at retail" or "retail sale" includes the 24
purchase or acquisition of tangible personal property and specified 25
services by a person who receives either a qualifying grant exempt 26
from tax under RCW 82.04.767 or 82.16.320 or a grant deductible under 27
RCW 82.04.4339, except for transactions excluded from the definition 28
of "sale at retail" or "retail sale" by any other provision of this 29
section. Nothing in this subsection (16) may be construed to limit 30
the application of any other provision of this section to purchases 31
by a recipient of either a qualifying grant exempt from tax under RCW 32
82.04.767 or a grant deductible under RCW 82.04.4339, or by any other 33
person. 34
(b) For purposes of this subsection (16), "specified services" 35
means: 36
(i) The constructing, repairing, decorating, or improving of new 37
or existing buildings or other structures under, upon, or above real 38
property, including the installing or attaching of any article of 39
tangible personal property therein or thereto, whether or not such 40
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personal property becomes a part of the realty by virtue of 1
installation; 2
(ii) The clearing of land or the moving of earth, whether or not 3
associated with activities described in (b)(i) of this subsection 4
(16); 5
(iii) The razing or moving of existing buildings or structures; 6
and 7
(iv) Landscape maintenance and horticultural services.8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. RCW 82.32.805 and 82.32.808 do not apply 9
to this act.10
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