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Washington B&O Tax Reconciliations of Apportionable Income

This article was updated September 29, 2023.

Businesses subject to the Washington State Business and Occupation (B&O) tax that reported apportionable income—royalties or services and other activities, for example—in 2022, are required to submit an Annual Reconciliation of Apportionable Income by October 31, 2023.

Extensions may be requested by contacting the Washington Department of Revenue prior to the filing deadline.

Late filing fees may apply.

Conducting Business in Washington

The state of Washington applies an economic-nexus standard rather than a physical-presence standard to certain activities.

This means an out-of-state business without any physical presence in Washington can do business in Washington and is required to file the annual reconciliation, in addition to filing Washington Combined Excise Tax returns.

Calculating Apportionable Revenue

In general, businesses with apportionable income attribute their receipts within and outside of Washington based on where benefit is received, using a receipts-factor formula.

In this case, the numerator is Washington annual apportionable revenue and the denominator is worldwide annual apportionable revenue minus annual throw-out revenue.

Because many businesses are required to file monthly or quarterly tax returns, the state allows taxpayers to estimate current taxable income using a prior-year annual-receipts factor.

Consequently, taxpayers are required to reconcile to the actual-receipts factor to determine any refund or incremental tax due on account of reconciliation, and the annual reconciliation must be filed regardless of whether the calculation results in an adjustment of tax reported and paid during 2022.

Apportionable Income

Taxpayers with apportionable income include, but aren’t limited to, those filing under the following B&O tax activities and operations:

  • Services and other activities
  • Royalties
  • Travel agents and tour operators
  • International business activities, including steamship agent, customs house broker, freight forwarder, vessel or cargo charter broker in foreign commerce, and air cargo agent
  • Stevedoring and associated activities
  • Disposing of low-level waste
  • Insurance producers, title insurance agents, or surplus line brokers
  • Public or not-for-profit hospitals
  • Real estate brokers
  • R&D performed by not-for-profit corporations or associations
  • Inspecting, testing, labeling, and storing canned salmon owned by another person
  • Representing and performing services for fire or casualty insurance companies as an independent resident
  • Contests of chance
  • Horse races
  • International investment management
  • Aerospace product development
  • Printing or publishing a newspaper, but only with respect to advertising income
  • Printing materials other than newspapers, publishing periodicals, or magazines, but only with respect to advertising income
  • Select activities involving cleaning up radioactive waste and other byproducts of weapons production and nuclear R&D

Refer to the Annual Reconciliation of Apportionable Income form on the department’s website for the complete activity list—on page two—as well as instructions.

Filing Deadlines and Forms

The annual reconciliation must be submitted by October 31, 2023.

This can be done either through the taxpayer’s MyDOR account or by downloading the form from the department’s website and mailing it.

Interest and Penalties

Interest may apply in a manner consistent with tax assessments on underpayment of tax calculated on the annual reconciliation.

Although late filing of the annual reconciliation in Washington State can result in penalties ranging from 9% to 29%, penalties won’t apply to any additional 2022 tax that may be due on account of the reconciliation if the reconciliation is filed by October 31, 2023, for the 2022 calendar year.

Extensions can be requested by contacting the department prior to the due date.

We’re Here to Help

For help determining if you have nexus in Washington, or to calculate your company’s apportionable revenue and file the required tax returns and forms before the deadline, contact your Moss Adams professional.

You can also send us an email with any questions regarding state and local tax compliance or to discuss additional tax refund opportunities.

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