Tacoma, WA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- TMC § 6A.30.050
- Retailing / printing rate
- 0.153% of gross
- Service & other rate
- 0.4% of gross
- Small-business exemption
- under $20,000/year gross
- Wholesaling rate
- 0.102% of gross
Summary
Tacoma's business and occupation tax splits gross receipts into distinct classifications, extracting, manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, retail services, printing and publishing, and a catch-all service category, each taxed at its own rate under city code.
Tax Classification
Buying and Wholesaling Wheat, Oats, Corn, Barley 0.0001 Extracting 0.0011 Manufacturing 0.0011 Printing & Publishing Newspaper 0.00153 Public Road Construction 0.0011 Retail Services 0.004 Retailing 0.00153 Service & Other 0.004 Wholesaling 0.00102
A. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, there is hereby levied upon and shall be collected from every person a tax for the act or privilege of engaging in business activities within the City, whether the person’s office or place of business be within or without the City. The tax shall be in amounts to be determined by application of rates against gross proceeds of sale, gross income of business, or value of products, including by-products, as the case may be, as follows:
1. Upon every person engaging within the City in business as an extractor; as to such persons the amount of the tax with respect to such business shall be equal to the value of the products, including by-products, extracted within the City for sale or for commercial or industrial use, multiplied by the rate of eleven one-hundredths of 1 percent (0.0011). The measure of the tax is the value of the products, including by-products, so extracted, regardless of the place of sale or the fact that deliveries may be made to points outside the City.
2.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4946110; v22 updated 2026-07-28).
Full Breakdown
Tacoma Municipal Code § 6A.30.050 levies its business and occupation (B&O) tax by classification rather than a flat rate: extracting and manufacturing at 0.11%, wholesaling at 0.102%, retailing and printing/publishing newspapers at 0.153%, retail services and the general "service and other" catch-all at 0.4%, public road construction at 0.11%, and wheat/oats/corn/barley wholesaling at 0.01%. Businesses report gross proceeds, gross income, or product value depending on classification. Firms with less than $20,000 in citywide gross receipts in a calendar year are exempt from the tax entirely under subsection B.
Violations & Fines
Misreporting gross receipts under the wrong classification, or claiming the under-$20,000 exemption without qualifying, can trigger back taxes, interest, and business-license enforcement by Tacoma's Finance Department.
Frequently Asked Questions
What business tax classifications does Tacoma use?
Is my small business exempt from Tacoma's B&O tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tacoma
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Business Tax Classification in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle business tax classification.