(1)
Introduction. This rule provides guidelines for determining if food or food ingredients qualify for the retail sales tax and use tax exemptions under RCW
82.08.0293 and
82.12.0293 (collectively referred to in this rule as the "exemptions").
There is no corresponding business and occupation (B&O) tax exemption. Even if a sale of food or food ingredients is exempt from retail sales tax or use tax under the exemptions, gross proceeds from sales of food or food ingredients remain subject to the retailing B&O tax.
(2) Other rules that may apply. Rules in the following list may contain additional relevant information:
(a) WAC
458-20-119 Sales by caterers and food service contractors;
(b) WAC
458-20-124 Restaurants, cocktail bars, taverns and similar businesses;
(c) WAC
458-20-166 Hotels, motels, boarding houses, rooming houses, resorts, hostels, trailer camps, short-term rentals and similar lodging businesses;
(d) WAC
458-20-167 Educational institutions, school districts, student organizations, and private schools;
(e) WAC
458-20-168 Hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult family homes, and similar health care facilities. This rule also provides information on an exclusion from retail sales tax for certain food, drinks, or meals furnished by senior living communities;
(3) Items qualifying for the exemptions.
(a) In general. The exemptions apply to food and food ingredients. "Food and food ingredients" means substances, whether in liquid, concentrated, solid, frozen, dried, or dehydrated form, that are sold for ingestion or chewing by humans and are consumed for their taste or nutritional value.
(b) Items not used solely for ingestion or chewing. Items that are commonly ingested or chewed by humans for their taste or nutritional value but which may also be used for other purposes are generally treated as food or food ingredients. For example, pumpkins are presumed to be a food or food ingredient unless the pumpkin is sold painted or is otherwise clearly for decorative purposes rather than consumption. This is true even though the purchaser may use an undecorated pumpkin for carving and display rather than for eating.
(4) Items not qualifying for the exemptions. The exemptions do not apply to the following items, which are not considered "food or food ingredients" or which are otherwise specifically excluded from the exemptions:
(a) Items sold for medical or hygiene purposes. Items commonly used for medical or hygiene purposes, such as cough drops, breath sprays, toothpaste, etc., are not ingested for taste or nutrition and are not considered a food or food ingredient. In contrast, breath mints are commonly ingested for taste and are considered a food or food ingredient.
(b)
Bulk sales of ice. Ice sold in bags, containers, or units of greater than 10 pounds and blocks of ice of any weight are not considered a food or food ingredient. Ice sold in cubed, shaved, or crushed form in packages or quantities of 10 pounds or less is considered a food or food ingredient. Refer to WAC
458-20-120, Sales of ice, for additional guidance on the sale of ice.
(c) Alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages are excluded from the definition of food and food ingredients. "Alcoholic beverages" means beverages that are suitable for human consumption and contain one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume.
(d) Tobacco. Tobacco is excluded from the definition of food and food ingredients. "Tobacco" includes cigarettes, cigars, chewing or pipe tobacco, or any other item that contains tobacco.
(e)
Cannabis. Cannabis, useable cannabis, cannabis concentrates, or cannabis-infused products, as defined in RCW
69.50.101, are excluded from the definition of food and food ingredients. "Cannabis" means all parts of the plant
Cannabis, whether growing or not, with a THC concentration greater than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.
(f) Bottled water. Bottled water is excluded from the exemptions for food and food ingredients. "Bottled water" means water that is placed in a safety sealed container or package for human consumption.
(i) Bottled water is calorie free and does not contain sweeteners or other additives except that it may contain:
(A) Antimicrobial agents;
(B) Fluoride;
(C) Carbonation;
(D) Vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes;
(E) Oxygen;
(F) Preservatives; and
(G) Only those flavors, extracts, or essences derived from a spice or fruit.
(ii) Exemptions for tax on bottled water. There are limited retail sales tax exemptions on bottled water. Sellers must collect the retail sales tax on all sales of bottled water, unless the bottled water is delivered to the buyer as described in (f)(ii)(C) of this subsection. Any buyer that has paid at least $25.00 in state and local taxes on purchases of bottled water subject to the exemptions described in (f)(ii)(A) and (B) of this subsection may apply for a refund of the taxes directly from the department.
(A)
Prescription issued bottled water. Bottled water prescribed to patients for use in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease or other medical condition is exempt. RCW
82.08.9994. The bottled water must be prescribed, through an order, formula, or recipe issued in any form of oral, written, electronic, or other means of transmission, by a licensed practitioner authorized by Washington law to prescribe.
(B)
Primary water source unsafe. Bottled water for human use by persons whose primary source of drinking water is unsafe is exempt. RCW
82.08.99941. A person's primary source of drinking water is unsafe if:
(I) The public water system providing the drinking water has issued a public notification that the drinking water may pose a health risk, and the notification is still in effect on the date that the bottled water was purchased;
(II) Test results on the person's drinking water, which are no more than 12 months old, from a laboratory certified to perform drinking water testing show that the person's drinking water does not meet safe drinking water standards applicable to public water systems; or
(III) The person otherwise establishes, to the department's satisfaction, that the person's drinking water does not meet safe drinking water standards applicable to public water systems.
(C) Bottled water delivered to the buyer in a reusable container not sold with the water. Buyers claiming an exemption listed in (f)(ii)(A) or (B) of this subsection that have the qualifying water delivered in a reusable container that is not sold with the water must complete a retail sales exemption certificate and provide it to the seller. The seller must retain a copy of the certificate.
(iii) For information regarding exemption certificates and refund requests, visit dor.wa.gov.
(g) Soft drinks. Soft drinks are excluded from the exemptions for food and food ingredients. "Soft drinks" means any nonalcoholic beverage that contains natural or artificial sweeteners, except beverages that contain:
(i) Milk or milk products;
(ii) Soy, rice, or similar milk substitutes; or
(iii) More than 50 percent by volume of vegetable or fruit juice.
For example, sweetened sports beverages are considered "soft drinks," but a sweetened soy beverage is a food or food ingredient.
Beverage mixes that are not sold in liquid form are not soft drinks even though they are intended to be made into a beverage by the customer. Examples include powdered fruit drinks, powdered tea or coffee drinks, and frozen concentrates. These items are food or food ingredients and are not subject to retail sales tax.
(h) Dietary supplements. Dietary supplements are excluded from the exemptions for food and food ingredients. "Dietary supplement" means any product intended to supplement the diet, other than tobacco, which meets all of the following requirements:
(i) Contains a vitamin; mineral; herb or other botanical; an amino acid; a substance for use by humans to increase total dietary intake; or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract; or a combination of any of these ingredients;
(ii) Is intended for ingestion in tablet, capsule, powder, soft gel, gelcap, or liquid form, or if not intended for ingestion in such a form, is not represented as conventional food and is not represented for use as a sole item of a meal or of the diet; and
(iii) Is required to be labeled with a Food and Drug Administration "supplement facts" box. If a product is otherwise considered a food or food ingredient and labeled with both a "supplement facts" box and "nutrition facts" box, the product is treated as a food or food ingredient.
Nutrition products formulated to provide balanced nutrition as a sole source of a meal or of the diet are considered a food or food ingredient and not a dietary supplement. Refer to RCW
82.08.925 for information on the retail sales tax exemption applicable to dietary supplements dispensed under a prescription.
(i) Prepared food. Prepared food is excluded from the exemptions for food and food ingredients. Prepared food generally means heated foods, combined foods, or foods sold with utensils provided by the seller, as described in more detail in subsection (5) of this rule.
(5) Items designated as prepared foods. Food or food ingredients are "prepared foods" if any one of the following is true:
(a) Heated foods. Food or food ingredients are "prepared foods" if sold in a heated state or are heated by the seller, except bakery items. "Bakery items" include bread, rolls, buns, biscuits, bagels, croissants, pastries, donuts, Danish, cakes, tortes, pies, tarts, muffins, bars, cookies, and tortillas. Food is sold in a heated state or is heated by the seller when the seller provides the food to the customer at a temperature that is higher than the air temperature of the seller's establishment. Food is not sold in a heated state or heated by the seller if the customer, rather than the seller, heats the food in a microwave provided by the seller.
(b) Combined foods. Food or food ingredients are "prepared foods" if the item sold consists of two or more foods or food ingredients mixed or combined by the seller for sale as a single item, unless the food or food ingredients are any of the following:
(i) Bakery items (defined in (a) of this subsection);
(ii) Items that the seller only cuts, repackages, or pasteurizes;
(iii) Items that contain eggs, fish, meat, or poultry, in a raw or undercooked state requiring cooking as recommended by the federal Food and Drug Administration in chapter 3, part 401.11 of The Food Code, published by the Food and Drug Administration, as amended or renumbered as of January 1, 2003, so as to prevent foodborne illness; or
(iv) Items sold in an unheated state as a single item at a price that varies based on weight or volume.
(c) Food sold with utensils provided by the seller. Food or food ingredients are "prepared foods" if sold with utensils provided by the seller. Utensils include plates, knives, forks, spoons, glasses, cups, napkins, and straws. A plate does not include a container or packaging used to transport the food.
(i) Utensils are customarily provided by the seller. A food or food ingredient is "sold with utensils provided by the seller" if the seller's customary practice for that item is to physically deliver or hand a utensil to the customer with the food or food ingredient as part of the sales transaction. If the food or food ingredient is prepackaged with a utensil, the seller is considered to have physically delivered a utensil to the customer unless the food and utensil are prepackaged together by a food manufacturer classified under sector 311 of the NAICS. Examples of utensils provided by such manufacturers include juice boxes that are packaged with drinking straws, and yogurt or ice cream cups that are packaged with wooden or plastic spoons.
(ii) Utensils are necessary to receive the food. Individual food or food ingredient items are "sold with utensils provided by the seller" if a plate, glass, cup, or bowl is necessary to receive the food or food ingredient and the seller makes those utensils available to its customers. For example, items obtained from a self-serve salad bar are sold with utensils provided by the seller, because the customer must use a bowl or plate provided by the seller in order to receive the items.
(iii) More than 75 percent prepared food sales with utensils available. All food and food ingredients sold at an establishment, including foods prepackaged with a utensil by a manufacturer classified under sector 311 of the NAICS, are "sold with utensils provided by the seller" if the seller makes utensils available to its customers and the seller's gross retail sales of prepared food under (a), (b), and (c)(ii) of this subsection equal more than 75 percent of the seller's gross retail sales of all food and food ingredients, including prepared food, soft drinks, bottled water, and dietary supplements.
(A) Exception for four or more servings. Even if a seller has more than 75 percent prepared food sales, four servings or more of food or food ingredients packaged for sale as a single item and sold for a single price are not "sold with utensils provided by the seller" unless the seller's customary practice for the package is to physically hand or otherwise deliver a utensil to the customer as part of the sales transaction. Whenever available, the number of servings included in a package of food or food ingredients is to be determined based on the manufacturer's product label. If no label is available, the seller must reasonably determine the number of servings.
(B) Determining total sales of prepared foods. The seller must determine a single prepared food sales percentage annually for all the seller's establishments in the state based on the prior year of sales. The seller may elect to determine its prepared food sales percentage based either on the prior calendar year or on the prior fiscal year. A seller may not change its elected method for determining its prepared food percentage without the written consent of the department of revenue. The seller must determine its annual prepared food sales percentage as soon as possible after accounting records are available, but in no event later than 90 days after the beginning of the seller's calendar or fiscal year. A seller may make a good faith estimate of its first annual prepared food sales percentage if the seller's records for the prior year are not sufficient to allow the seller to calculate the prepared food sales percentage. The seller must adjust its good faith estimate prospectively if its relative sales of prepared foods in the first 90 days of operation materially depart from the seller's estimate.
(d) Examples. The following examples identify a number of facts and then state a conclusion. These examples should be used only as a general guide. The tax results of other situations must be determined after a review of all of the facts and circumstances.
(i) Example 1. Fast Cafe sells hot and cold coffee and mixed coffee and mixed milk beverages, cold soft drinks, milk and juice in single-serving containers, sandwiches, whole fruits, cold pasta salad, cookies and other pastries. Fast Cafe prepares the pasta salad on-site. It orders the pastries from a local bakery, including specialty cakes which it sells both as whole cakes and by the slice. It purchases its sandwiches from a local caterer. The sandwiches are delivered by the caterer prewrapped in plastic with condiments and a plastic knife. Fast Cafe makes straws, napkins and cup lids available for all customers by placing them on a self-service stand. In its first full year of operation, Fast Cafe's annual gross retail sales of all food and food ingredients, including prepared food, soft drinks, bottled water, and dietary supplements is $100,000. Of this gross retail sales total, $80,000 is from the sale of hot coffee and hot and cold mixed coffee and milk beverages, all sold in disposable paper or plastic cups with the Fast Cafe logo.
Because more than 75 percent of Fast Cafe's total retail sales of food and food ingredients, including prepared food, soft drinks, bottled water, and dietary supplements are sales of food or food ingredients that are heated or combined by the seller or sold with a utensil (cups) necessary to receive the food, Fast Cafe has more than 75 percent prepared food sales. Because Fast Cafe makes utensils available for its customers, all food and food ingredients sold by Fast Cafe are considered "prepared food," including the cold milk beverages, cookies and pastries, pasta salad, sandwiches and whole fruits. The only exception is the sale of whole specialty cakes. Because a whole cake contains four or more servings, it is not subject to retail sales tax unless Fast Cafe customarily hands a utensil to the customer as part of the sale transaction.
(ii) Example 2. Assume the same facts as in Example 1, but that only $60,000 of Fast Cafe's Year 1 gross retail sales were sales of hot coffee and hot and cold mixed coffee and milk beverages. The remainder of its retail sales were sales of sandwiches, whole fruits, cookies and other pastries. Under these facts, Fast Cafe does not have more than 75 percent prepared food sales. Thus, the items sold by Fast Cafe are taxed as follows:
(A) Hot coffee and milk beverages are heated by the seller and are also sold by Fast Cafe with a utensil (a paper cup) necessary to receive the food. The hot coffee and milk beverages are "prepared food" for either reason and are subject to retail sales tax.
(B) Cold mixed milk beverages are a combination of two or more foods or food ingredients and are also sold by Fast Cafe with a utensil (a paper or plastic cup) necessary to receive the food. The cold milk beverages are "prepared food" for either reason and are subject to retail sales tax.
(C) Cold soft drinks are not exempt and are subject to retail sales tax.
(D) Sandwiches prepared by the caterer are subject to retail sales tax. Even though the caterer, rather than the seller, combines the ingredients and includes a utensil, Fast Cafe is considered to have provided the utensil because the caterer is not a food manufacturer classified under sector 311 of the NAICS.
(E) Pasta salad is combined by the seller and is subject to retail sales tax. Note that if the pasta salad was sold by the pound, rather than by servings, it would not be subject to retail sales tax.
(F) Milk and juice in single serving containers, whole fruit, cookies, pastries, slices of cake, and whole cakes are not subject to retail sales tax unless the seller's customary practice is to hand a utensil to the customer as part of the sales transaction. None of these items are heated by the seller, combined by the seller, or require a plate, glass, cup, or bowl in order to receive the item. Even if Fast Cafe heats the pastries for its customers, the pastries are not subject to retail sales tax.
(iii) Example 3. A pizza restaurant sells whole hot pizzas, hot pizza by the slice, and unheated ready-to-bake pizzas. The whole hot pizzas and hot pizza sold by the slice, including delivered pizzas, are "prepared food" because these items are sold in a heated state. If the unheated ready-to-bake pizzas are prepared by the seller, they are "prepared food" because the seller has mixed or combined two or more food ingredients. This is true even though some ingredients in the unheated pizzas are raw or uncooked, because those ingredients do not require cooking to prevent foodborne illness. If the unheated ready-to-bake pizzas are prepared by a manufacturer other than the seller, they will be taxable as "prepared food" only if sold with utensils provided by the seller.
(6) Combined sales of taxable and exempt items. Where two or more distinct and identifiable items of tangible personal property, at least one of which is a food or food ingredient, are sold for one nonitemized price that does not vary based on the selection by the purchaser of items included in the transaction:
(a) The entire transaction is taxable if the seller's purchase price or sales price of the taxable items is greater than 50 percent of the combined purchase price or sales price; and
(b) The entire transaction is exempt from retail sales tax if the seller's purchase price or sales price of the taxable items is 50 percent or less of the combined purchase price or sales price.
The seller may make the determination based on either purchase price or sales price, but may not use a combination of the purchase price and sales price.
Example. A combination wine and cheese picnic basket contains four items packaged together: A bottle of wine, a wine opener, single-serving cheeses, and the picnic basket holding these items. The seller's purchase price for the wine, wine-opener, and picnic basket totals $10.00. The seller's purchase price for the cheeses is two dollars. The seller must collect retail sales taxes on the entire package, because the seller's purchase price for the taxable items ($10.00) is greater than 50 percent of the combined purchase price ($12.00).
(c) Incidental packaging. "Distinct and identifiable items" does not include packaging which is immaterial or incidental to the sale of another item or items. For example, a decorative bag sold filled with candy is not the sale of "distinct and identifiable" items where the bag is merely ornamental packaging immaterial in the sale of the candy.
(d) Free items. "Distinct and identifiable items" does not include items provided free of charge. An item is only provided free of charge if the seller's sales price does not vary depending on whether the item is included in the sale.
(7) Seller's accounting requirements. All sales of food and food ingredients at an establishment will be treated as taxable unless the seller separately accounts for sales of exempt and nonexempt food and food ingredients. It is sufficient separation for accounting purposes if cash registers or the like are programmed to identify items that are not tax exempt and to calculate and assess the proper sales tax accordingly.
(8) Other retail sales tax exemptions that may apply.
(a) Meals served to certain persons. The exemptions apply to food and food ingredients furnished, prepared, or served as meals:
(i) Under a state-administered nutrition program for the aged as provided for in the Older Americans Act (Public Law 95-478 Title III) and RCW
74.38.040(6);
(ii) Provided to senior citizens, individuals with disabilities, or low-income persons by a nonprofit organization organized under chapter
24.03A or
24.12 RCW; or
(iii) Provided to residents, 62 years of age or older, of a qualified low-income senior housing facility by the lessor or operator of the facility. The sale of a meal that is billed to both spouses of a marital community or both domestic partners of a domestic partnership meets the age requirement in this subsection (a)(iii) if at least one of the spouses or domestic partners is at least 62 years of age. For purposes of this subsection, "qualified low-income senior housing facility" means a facility:
(A) That meets the definition of a qualified low-income housing project under Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 42 of the federal Internal Revenue Code, as existing on August 1, 2009;
(B) That has been partially funded under Title 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1485 of the federal Internal Revenue Code; and
(C) For which the lessor or operator has at any time been entitled to claim a federal income tax credit under Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 42 of the federal Internal Revenue Code.
(b)
Foods exempt under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Under RCW
82.08.0297, eligible foods purchased with food benefits under the SNAP or a successor program are exempt from the retail sales tax. This is a separate and broader exemption than the retail sales tax exemption for food and food ingredients under RCW
82.08.0293. For example, bottled water, soft drinks, garden seeds, and plants which produce food for the household to eat are "eligible foods" but are not "food or food ingredients." If such items are purchased with food benefits under SNAP or a successor program, they are exempt from the retail sales tax under RCW
82.08.0297, even though the items do not qualify for the exemption under RCW
82.08.0293.
(i)
Use of food benefits combined with other means of payment. When both food benefits and other means of payment are used in the same sales transaction, for purposes of collecting retail sales taxes, the other means of payment must be applied first to items which are food and food ingredients exempt under RCW
82.08.0293. The intent is to apply the benefits and other means of payment in such a way as to provide the greatest possible exemption from retail sales tax.
(ii)
Example. A customer purchases the following at a grocery store: Meat for three dollars, cereal for three dollars, canned soft drinks for five dollars, and soap for two dollars for a total of $13.00. The customer pays with seven dollars in benefits and six dollars in cash. The cash is applied first to the soap because the soap is neither exempt under RCW
82.08.0293 nor an eligible food under SNAP. The remaining cash (four dollars) is applied first to the meat and the cereal. The food benefits are applied to the balance of the meat and cereal (two dollars) and to the soft drinks (five dollars). Retail sales tax is due only on the soap.
(9) Vending machine sales. The exemptions do not apply to sales of food and food ingredients dispensed from vending machines. There are special requirements for reporting retail sales tax collected on vending machine sales, discussed in (a) of this subsection. "Honor box" sales (sales of snacks or other items from open display trays) are not considered vending machine sales.
(a)
Calculating and reporting retail sales tax collected on vending machine sales. Vending machine owners do not need to state the retail sales tax amount separately from the selling price. See RCW
82.08.050 and
82.08.0293. Instead, vending machine owners must determine the amount of retail sales tax collected on the sale of food or food ingredients by using one of the following methods:
(i) Food or food ingredients dispensed in a heated state, soft drinks, and bottled water. For food or food ingredients dispensed from vending machines in a heated state (e.g., hot coffee, soups, tea, and hot chocolate) and vending machine sales of soft drinks and bottled water, a vending machine owner must calculate the amount of retail sales tax that has been collected ("tax in gross") based on the gross vending machine proceeds. The "tax in gross" is a deduction against the gross amount of both retailing B&O and retail sales. The formula is:
gross machine proceeds - [(gross machine proceeds)/(1 + sales tax rate)] = tax in gross |
(ii) All other food or food ingredients. For all other food and food ingredients dispensed from vending machines, a vending machine owner must calculate the amount of retail sales tax that has been collected ("tax in gross") based on 57 percent of the gross vending machine proceeds. The "tax in gross" is a deduction against the gross amount of both retailing B&O and retail sales. The formula is:
(gross machine proceeds x .57) x sales tax rate = tax in gross |
The remaining 43 percent of the gross vending machine proceeds, less the "tax in gross" amount, is reported as an exempt food sales deduction against retail sales proceeds only calculated as follows:
(gross machine proceeds x .43) - tax in gross = exempt food deduction |
(b) Example. Jane owns a vending machine business with machines in Spokane and Seattle. In each location, she has a vending machine selling candy and a second vending machine selling hot cocoa and coffee drinks. Her annual sales for the vending machines and the combined retail sales tax rates for Seattle and Spokane are as follows:
| | Coffee Machine (cocoa & coffee) | Candy Machine | Combined Retail Sales Tax Rate | |
| Seattle | $2,500 | $10,000 | .101 | |
| Spokane | $3,000 | $6,000 | .089 | |
To determine the amount of retail sales tax she collected on the sale of cocoa and coffee (food dispensed in a heated state, subject to retail sales tax), Jane calculates the "tax in gross" deduction amount as follows:
gross machine proceeds - [(gross machine proceeds)/(1 + sales tax rate)] = tax in gross |
$2,500 - ($2,500/ 1.101) | = | $229.34 | (Seattle coffee machine) |
$3,000 - ($3,000/ 1.089) | = | $245.18 | (Spokane coffee machine) |
| | $474.52 | |
Thus, for both retailing B&O and retail sales, Jane must report her total gross coffee machine proceeds of $5,500 with a "tax in gross" deduction of $474.52.
To determine the amount of retail sales tax she collected on the sale of candy, Jane calculates the "tax in gross" deduction amount as follows:
(gross machine proceeds x .57) x sales tax rate = tax in gross |
$10,000 x .57 x .101 | = | $575.70 | (Seattle candy machine) |
$6,000 x .57 x .089 | = | $304.38 | (Spokane candy machine) |
| | $880.08 | |
Thus, for both retailing B&O and retail sales, Jane must report her total gross candy machine proceeds of $16,000 with a "tax in gross" deduction of $880.08.
Jane must also report an exempt food sales deduction representing the remaining 43 percent of the gross candy machine proceeds.
(43% x gross machine proceeds) - tax in gross = exempt food deduction |
(.43 x $16,000) - $880.08 = $5999.92 |
Jane reports the exempt food sales deduction only against the gross amount of her retail sales. The deduction does not apply to retailing B&O.