Port Townsend, WA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 0.2% flat, all 7 classes
- Small-business exemption
- under $100,000 gross receipts/year
- Classifications
- extractor, manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, service, more
- License fee
- $30-$75/year, by gross receipts
- Late-license penalty
- 10% of fee per month unlicensed
Summary
Port Townsend taxes gross receipts under seven B&O classifications - retailing, wholesaling, manufacturing, extracting, printing/publishing, retail services, and other services - each at a flat 0.2 percent rate, with a full exemption below $100,000 in citywide annual gross receipts.
Upon every person engaging within the city in the business of making sales at retail, as to such persons, the amount of tax with respect to such business shall be equal to the gross proceeds of such sales... multiplied by the rate of 0.2 of one percent. ... The gross receipts tax imposed in this section shall not apply to any person whose gross proceeds of sales, gross income of the business, and value of products... from all activities conducted within the city during any calendar year are less than $100,000.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 3364, passed May 18, 2026).
Full Breakdown
PTMC 5.04A.050 sorts every business operating in Port Townsend into one of seven B&O tax classifications: extracting, manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, printing/publishing, retail services, and a catch-all "service and other activities" class covering everything else, including custom software and commissions. Every classification is taxed at the same flat rate of 0.2 percent of gross proceeds, gross income, or value of products - Port Townsend does not tier its service-tax rate the way some Washington cities do. Businesses with less than $100,000 in citywide gross receipts in a calendar year owe no B&O tax under this section, though a business license under Chapter 5.08 PTMC is still required to operate.
Violations & Fines
Operating without the required business license triggers a penalty of 10 percent of the annual license fee per month unlicensed (PTMC 5.08.080); the license itself can be denied or revoked for B&O tax noncompliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What business tax classifications does Port Townsend use?
Do small businesses owe Port Townsend B&O tax?
What happens if I operate without a business license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Port Townsend
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