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City of Bellevue Tax Division
Guide to the City’s Business & Occupation Tax
January 1, 2024
This pamphlet provides a basic description
of Bellevue’s business and occupation (B&O)
tax and focuses on the more typical types
of businesses and business activities. The
material is intended for general information
purposes only. It is current at the time of
publication, but future changes in the city
code or state law may invalidate some of this
information, and not all possible applications
of tax are discussed.
Additional information and specics relating
to your business may be obtained in Chapters
4.03 and 4.09 of the Bellevue City Code or
by contacting the city’s Tax Division. Copies
of the code can be found online at Bellevue.
Municipal.Codes/BCC. The Tax Division can
be reached at:
phone: 425-452-6851
email: tax@bellevuewa.gov
website: BellevueWA.gov/tax
B&O TAX PAYMENT PROCEDURES
To conduct business in Bellevue, businesses
must register with the city and obtain a
Bellevue business license if they meet any of
the following criteria:
1. They have a physical location in the city, or
2. Their annual B&O taxable gross receipts in
the city will exceed $2,000 and they have
physical nexus in the City, or
3. They are subject to other taxes administered
by the city such as utility taxes.
You must still obtain all applicable regulatory
licenses and permits. If a regulatory license is
required, you will need to remit an application
with the appropriate addendums. A one-time
$113 general business license registration
fee is required. Register and le on-line at
FileLocal-WA.gov. A user and service fee
will apply. B&O tax returns or portal ling
reminders are sent to all taxpayers near the
end of each reporting period. Returns must
be completed and remitted with payment of
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CITY’S
BUSINESS & OCCUPATION TAX
◼ All businesses registered to do business
with the city, whether located in the
city or located outside the city limits,
must report to the city based upon their
assigned reporting frequency even if no
tax is due.
◼ All businesses are subject to the
business and occupation (B&O) tax
unless specically exempted by Bellevue
City Code.
◼ B&O tax is due for businesses with
annual taxable receipts over $205,000.
◼ Businesses with annual taxable receipts
of $205,000 or less (and taxable square
footage of 250 square feet or less) will be
placed on an annual status.
◼ Current B&O tax rates:
f Gross receipts tax~ .1596% of gross
receipts
f Square footage tax~ $0.313286 per
square foot per quarter
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any taxes due by the due date. Penalties and
interest are due if tax returns are not led
and taxes paid by the due date. Penalties and
interest are charged as follows:
Penalties
1 day –1 month overdue 9% ($5 min.)
over 1 month– 2 months 19% ($5 min.)
over 2 months 29% ($5 min.)
Annual interest rate for 2024 is 6%.
B&O TAX SCHEDULE
Quarterly multi-purpose tax return is due on
the following schedule:
Quarter Ending Payment Due
March 31 April 30
June 30 July 31
September 30 October 31
December 31 January 31
Helpful hints when submitting your
tax return
◼ File on-line at FileLocal-WA.gov to bypass
the next three bullet points. Fees may apply.
◼ Use the returns provided. Substitutions can
cause errors.
◼ Use the pre-addressed envelope provided
and add a return address.
◼ Make check or money order payable to City
of Bellevue. Do not send cash.
◼ Email the Tax Division of registration
changes such as address or status of
ownership changes to:
tax@bellevuewa.gov.
A tax return is due if a business is placed
on a ling status even if below Bellevue’s tax
exemption levels.
Taxpayers are required to keep records for
the most recent ve-year period. All books,
records, invoices, receipts, etc. shall be open
for examination at reasonable times by the
city’s Tax Division or designated agent.
COMPONENTS OF THE CITY’S B&O TAX
There are two components of the business
and occupation tax: gross receipts and square
footage. These B&O taxes support general
governmental services and the city’s Capital
Investment Program.
Every person, rm, association, or corporation
doing business in the city is subject to the
business and occupation tax. Some exemptions
are provided from the city’s B&O tax and will
be discussed later in this pamphlet. In general,
most businesses will report in the gross
receipts business tax category. A number of
businesses will report in the square footage tax
category. A limited number of businesses will
report in both categories.
GROSS RECEIPTS B&O TAX
The gross receipts B&O tax is primarily
measured on gross proceeds of sales or gross
income for the reporting period. For purposes
of the gross receipts tax, businesses have
been divided into several classications which
are discussed below. Businesses conducting
multiple activities will report in more than one
tax classication. The current gross receipts
tax rate of .1596% applies to all gross receipts
tax classications. As an example, for each
$100,000 in gross receipts, $159.60 tax is due.
Gross receipts tax classifications:
◼ Manufacturing/Processing for Hire
Manufacturing is the business of producing
articles for sale from raw or prepared
materials by giving these materials new
forms or qualities, such as fabricating,
processing, rening, mixing, packing,
canning, etc. B&O tax is calculated on the
value of products manufactured, determined
by selling price. Processing for hire means
the performance of labor and mechanical
services upon materials or ingredients
belonging to others so that as a result a new,
dierent or useful product is produced for
sale or commercial or industrial use. B&O
tax is calculated on gross receipts.
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◼ Extracting/Extracting for Hire
Extracting is the taking of natural products,
such as logging, mining, quarrying, etc. B&O
tax is calculated on the value of products
extracted, determined by selling price.
Extractor for hire means a person who
performs under contract necessary labor or
mechanical services for an extractor. B&O
tax is calculated on gross receipts.
◼ Wholesaling
Sellers of products to persons other than
consumers are considered to be wholesalers.
The B&O tax is calculated on the wholesale
selling price.
◼ Retailing/Retail Service
Businesses that sell products and specic
services to consumers are dened as
retailers. Taxable retail services include
those generally performed on property, such
as repair, but not personal or professional
services, such as services performed by
doctors, attorneys, or accountants. The B&O
tax is calculated on gross receipts.
◼ Printing/Publishing
Publishers of newspapers, magazines
and periodicals are taxable under this
classication, as well as persons who both
print and publish books, music, circulars,
etc. Printing includes letterpress, oset-
lithography, and gravure processes as well
as multigraph, mimeograph, autotyping,
and similar activities. B&O tax is calculated
on gross receipts. Firms engaging in
photocopying documents should report
under the Retailing classication.
◼ Services and Other Activities
Businesses that provide personal and
professional services, such as lawyers,
doctors, nancial institutions, real estate
brokers, insurance brokers and solicitors,
and accountants, are subject to the B&O tax
under this classication. Also, any business
that is not subject to another B&O tax
classication must report under this “catch-
all” category. B&O tax is calculated on the
gross receipts of the business.
Exemptions, deductions, and credit allowed
for certain business activities:
The following section discusses a number
of the most common exemptions from the
gross receipts tax and deductions allowed
for certain business activities or sources of
income. This discussion is not intended to
be all inclusive. If you have questions about
specic exemptions or deductions, please
contact the city’s Tax Division.
Deductions are to be included in the gross
receipts amounts and then deducted when
calculating the taxable amount on which
the gross receipts tax rate applies. The most
common exemptions and deductions are
listed below.
Common Exemptions
◼ Taxable gross receipts equal to or less than
$205,000 annually. If you report quarterly
or monthly under the period threshold, then
you need to reconcile at year-end to the
annual threshold.
◼ Manufacturing, selling or distributing motor
vehicle fuel.
◼ Liquor, beer, and wine sales.
◼ Sale, lease, or rental of real estate. However,
no exemption is allowed for license to use
real estate or for amounts received as
commissions.
◼ Insurance agents (brokers are subject to tax).
◼ Farm products or edibles raised, produced
or manufactured within the State of
Washington and sold by the farmer.
◼ Nonprot organizations holding Federal IRS
nonprot status under 26 U.S.C. Section
501(c)(3), (4), or (7), except with respect to
retail sales.
◼ Casual and isolated sales, such as an
accountant selling his or her oce furniture.
◼ Day care homes in residences.
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Common Deductions
◼ Retail or wholesale sales delivered outside
of Bellevue.
◼ Cash discounts taken by customers.
◼ Credit losses or bad debts sustained
by sellers.
Credit
Multiple activities tax credit applies to persons
who engage in business activities that
are subject to tax under two or more tax
classications on the same revenues.
SQUARE FOOTAGE TAX
The square footage B&O tax was implemented
to tax support space of oces whose business
activities are not directly attributable to the
generation of gross receipts to such activity.
Generally, the tax applies to businesses that
perform administrative activities or activities
that support sales delivered to locations
outside the city. Examples of administrative
activities include, but are not limited to
accounting, payroll, human resources, legal,
and other activities that are of only indirect
support to the activity subject to the gross
receipts B&O tax.
If a business has both an administrative
oce and a sales oce that generates gross
receipts, they may need to report the gross
receipts reportable to Bellevue and both
square footage of the administrative oce
and the square footage of the sales oce that
supports sales delivered to locations outside
the city. This is true whether personnel
performing administrative activities share
oce space with those that generate gross
receipts or sit in separate oces in the city.
Examples of businesses that pay the tax
include headquarter oces and businesses
that make out-of-city sales.
The square footage B&O tax is reported
under the Square Footage Tax Classication
on the multi-purpose tax return and is
measured on the taxable oor area of oce
space computed to the nearest square foot.
The current square footage B&O tax rate is
$0.313286 per taxable square foot per quarter.
As an example, for each 1,000 square feet of
taxable oce space, $313.29 tax is due each
quarter. This rate is adjusted each January
based on the change in the Consumer Price
Index to reect the eects of ination or
deation on the local economy.
Exemptions and deductions:
◼ Oces with taxable square feet of 250 or
less (Exemption).
◼ Oces which support business activity, all
or a portion of which is taxed under one
of the gross receipts tax classications
(Deduction). For example, a retailer who
sells in Bellevue, as well as outside the city
Limits, may deduct the percentage of oce
space which has been taxed under another
classication as noted in the following
example:
Sales % of Total Sales
In-city
sales
$600,000 60% taxed
under Retailing
Out-of-city
sales
$400,000 40% deduction
under Retailing
Total sales $1,000,000 100%
40% of oce square footage is subject to the
square footage tax.
If a business has both an administrative oce
and a sales location which generates revenue
in Bellevue, they may need to report both the
square footage of the administrative oce and
the gross receipts and/or square footage of the
sales oce.
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FAM-23-5702
OTHER TAXES AND LICENSES
There are several other taxes and regulatory
licenses that are administered by the city
which aect businesses in Bellevue. Following
is a brief synopsis of the additional taxes and/
or regulatory licenses that may apply to your
business:
Utility Tax: This tax is similar to the gross
receipts business and occupation tax except it
is imposed on utility businesses. The business
activities aected by this tax are telephone,
cellular, gas, electric, water, sewerage,
drainage, cable, and garbage. The rates range
from 4.5% to 10.4%.
Admission Tax: This tax is levied upon
persons who pay an admission charge for
entrance to an event or establishment. It is
collected for the city by the business charging
the admission, similar to the sales tax. The
admission tax is computed on the ticket price.
The rate is 3.0%.
Gambling Tax: All persons who are
licensed by the Washington State Gambling
Commission and conduct gambling activities
in the city are required to pay the gambling
tax. Such activities include bingo games,
raes, amusement games, and punchboards
& pulltabs. The rate ranges from 2.0% to 5.0%.
Regulatory Licenses: The following regulatory
licenses are administered by the Tax Division
and require annual renewal:
1. Ambulance Operator: Applies to
businesses which provide ambulance
services in Bellevue.
2. Dance Hall Operator and Premise: Applies
to the operator and premise where a public
dance is held for persons under twenty-
one years of age where no food or liquor is
served ($100/375).
3. Cabaret (music and dance): Applies to any
establishment which serves food or liquor
and where music, singing, dancing, or similar
entertainment is permitted ($400).
4. Adult Entertainment Cabaret: Applies to
any establishment open to the public where
adult entertainment is provided. Managers
and entertainers need an additional license
($700/$100).
5. Pawnbroker/Dealer: Applies to pawnbroker
activities and those dealing in precious
metals, stones or gems, jewelry, and bullion
($100).
6. Panoram: Applies to establishments which
charge for the display, viewing, or exhibition
of adult lms or video ($200).
7. Temporary Special Event: Applies to the
promoter of a special event where fteen
or more vendors are participating in the
selling, bartering, exchanging, trading, or
displaying of goods or services at an event
open to the public ($5 per day per vendor).
OTHER INFORMATION
All businesses should make every eort to be
fully informed of their tax liability, since the
nal responsibility for proper tax reporting
rests with the taxpayer. Failure to receive a
tax form does not relieve taxpayers of their
tax liability. Tax Forms are available on our
website at BellevueWA.gov/taxforms.
QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions, please visit the
Tax Division on our website at:
BellevueWA.gov/tax,
or Email: tax@bellevuewa.gov.
You may also write to the:
City of Bellevue Tax Division
P.O. Box 90012,
Bellevue, WA 98009-9012
or visit the Tax Division
Bellevue City Hall
450 110th Avenue NE
Phone: 425-452-6851
Fax: 425-452-6198
City of Bellevue
Tax Division
P.O. Box 90012
Bellevue, WA 98009-9012
For alternate formats, interpreters, or reasonable modication requests
please phone at least 48 hours in advance 425-452-6800 (voice) or email tax@
bellevuewa.gov. For complaints regarding modications, contact the City of Bellevue
ADA, Title VI, and Equal Opportunity Ocer at [email protected].
City of Bellevue Tax Division
Guide to the City’s Business & Occupation Tax
January 1, 2024
