PERMANENT RULES
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: WAC 458-20-101 explains the tax registration and tax reporting requirements for businesses engaging in business activities within Washington. WAC 458-20-217 explains the administrative collection remedies and procedures available to the department to collect unpaid and overdue tax liabilities.
These rules have been amended to conform to SSB [2SHB] 3104 (chapter 6, Laws of 2008). SSB [2SHB] 3104 expanded the rights, privileges, obligations, and liabilities of domestic partners and domestic partnerships registered under chapter 26.60 RCW. These amendments revise:
| • | Subsection (11)(b)(iii) of WAC 458-20-101 to add the phrase "or registered domestic partnership" to "marital community" and "or surviving domestic partner" to "surviving spouse." |
| • | Subsection (6)(c) of WAC 458-20-217 to add the phrase "or surviving domestic partner" to "surviving spouse," change "the surviving spouse's separate property" to "the separate property of the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner," add the phrase "or property of the domestic partnership" to "community property," change "the spouse's property" to "property of the surviving spouse or the surviving domestic partner," add the phrase "or deceased domestic partner" to "deceased spouse," and change "the deceased spouse's estate" to "the estate of the deceased spouse or deceased domestic partner." |
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 458-20-101 Tax registration and tax reporting and 458-20-217 Lien for taxes.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 82.32.300 and 82.01.060(2).
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 08-10-113 on May 7, 2008.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: July 31, 2008.
Janis P. Bianchi
Assistant Director
Interpretations and
Technical Advice Division
OTS-1547.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 07-03-031, filed 1/8/07,
effective 2/8/07)
WAC 458-20-101
Tax registration and tax reporting.
(1)
Introduction. This section explains tax registration and tax
reporting requirements for the Washington state department of
revenue as established in RCW 82.32.030 and 82.32.045. This
section discusses who is required to be registered, and who
must file excise tax returns. This section also discusses
changes in ownership requiring a new registration, the
administrative closure of taxpayer accounts, and the
revocation and reinstatement of a tax reporting account with
the department of revenue. Persons required to file tax
returns should also refer to WAC 458-20-104 (Small business
tax relief based on volume of business).
(2) Persons required to obtain tax registration endorsements. Except as provided in (a) of this subsection, every person who is engaged in any business activity for which the department of revenue is responsible for administering and/or collecting a tax or fee, shall apply for and obtain a tax registration endorsement with the department of revenue. (See RCW 82.32.030.) This endorsement shall be reflected on the face of the business person's registrations and licenses document. The tax registration endorsement is nontransferable, and valid for as long as that person continues in business.
(a) Registration under this section is not required if all of the following conditions are met:
(i) The person's value of products, gross proceeds of sales, or gross income of the business, from all business activities taxable under chapter 82.04 RCW (business and occupation tax), is less than twelve thousand dollars per year;
(ii) A person's gross income from all business activities taxable under chapter 82.16 RCW (public utility tax), is less than twelve thousand dollars per year;
(iii) The person is not required to collect or pay to the department of revenue retail sales tax or any other tax or fee which the department is authorized to administer and/or collect; and
(iv) The person is not otherwise required to obtain a license or registration subject to the master application procedure provided in chapter 19.02 RCW. For the purposes of this section, the term "license or registration" means any agency permit, license, certificate, approval, registration, charter, or any form or permission required by law, including agency rule, to engage in any activity.
(b) The term "tax registration endorsement," as used in this section, has the same meaning as the term "tax registration" or "certificate of registration" used in Title 82 RCW and other sections in chapter 458-20 WAC.
(c) The term "person" has the meaning given in RCW 82.04.030.
(d) The term "tax reporting account number" as used in this section, is the number used to identify persons registered with the department of revenue.
(3) Requirement to file tax returns. Persons registered with the department must file tax returns and remit the appropriate taxes to the department, unless they are placed on an "active nonreporting" status by the department.
(a) The department may relieve any person of the requirement to file returns by placing the person in an active nonreporting status if all of the following conditions are met:
(i) The person's value of products (RCW 82.04.450), gross proceeds of sales (RCW 82.04.070), or gross income of the business (RCW 82.04.080), from all business activities taxable under chapter 82.04 RCW (business and occupation tax), is:
(A) Beginning July 1, 1999, less than twenty-eight thousand dollars per year (chapter 357, Laws of 1999); or
(B) Prior to July 1, 1999, less than twenty-four thousand dollars per year;
(ii) The person's gross income (RCW 82.16.010) from all business activities taxable under chapter 82.16 RCW (public utility tax) is less than twenty-four thousand dollars per year; and
(iii) The person is not required to collect or pay to the department retail sales tax or any other tax or fee the department is authorized to collect.
(b) The department will notify those persons it places on an active nonreporting status. (A person may request to be placed on an active nonreporting status if the conditions of (a) of this subsection are met.)
(c) Persons placed on an active nonreporting status by the department are required to timely notify the department if their business activities do not meet any of the conditions explained in (a) of this subsection. These persons will be removed from an active nonreporting status, and must file tax returns and remit appropriate taxes to the department, beginning with the first period in which they do not qualify for an active nonreporting status.
(d) Persons that have not been placed on an active nonreporting status by the department must continue to file tax returns and remit the appropriate taxes.
(4) 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 status of each situation must be determined after a review of all facts and circumstances.
(a) Bob Brown is starting a bookkeeping service. The gross income of the business is expected to be less than twelve thousand dollars per year. Due to the nature of the business activities, Bob is not required to pay or collect any other tax which the department is authorized to collect.
Bob Brown is not required to apply for and obtain a tax registration endorsement with the department of revenue. The conditions under which a business person may engage in business activities without obtaining the tax registration endorsement have been met. However, if Bob Brown in some future period has gross income exceeding twelve thousand dollars per year, he will be required to obtain a tax registration endorsement. If Bob's gross income exceeds twenty-eight thousand dollars per year, he will be required to file tax returns and remit the appropriate taxes.
(b) Cindy Smith is opening a business to sell books written for children to local customers at retail. The gross proceeds of sales are expected to be less than twelve thousand dollars per year.
Cindy Smith must apply for and obtain a tax registration endorsement with the department of revenue. While gross income is expected to be less than twelve thousand dollars per year, Cindy Smith is required to collect and remit retail sales tax.
(c) Alice Smith operates a taxicab service with an average gross income of eighteen thousand dollars per year. She also owns a management consulting service with an average gross income of fifteen thousand dollars per year. Assume that Alice is not required to collect or pay to the department any other tax or fee the department is authorized to collect. Alice qualifies for an active nonreporting status because her taxicab income is less than the twenty-four thousand dollar threshold for the public utility tax, and her consulting income is less than the twenty-four thousand dollar threshold for the business and occupation (B&O) tax. If the department of revenue does not first place her on an active nonreporting status, she may request the department to do so.
(5) Out-of-state businesses. The B&O and public utility taxes are imposed on the act or privilege of engaging in business activity within Washington. RCW 82.04.220 and 82.16.020. Out-of-state persons who have established sufficient nexus in Washington to be subject to Washington's B&O or public utility taxes must obtain a tax registration endorsement with this department if they do not satisfy the conditions expressed in subsection (2)(a) of this section. Out-of-state persons required to collect Washington's retail sales or use tax, or who have elected to collect Washington's use tax, even though not statutorily required to do so, must obtain a tax registration endorsement.
(a) Persons with out-of-state business locations should not include income that is disassociated from their instate activities in their computations for determining whether the gross income thresholds provided in subsection (2)(a)(i) and (ii) of this section are satisfied.
(b) Out-of-state persons making sales into or doing business within Washington should also refer to the following rules in chapter 458-20 WAC for a discussion of their tax reporting responsibilities:
(i) WAC 458-20-103 (Time and place of sale);
(ii) WAC 458-20-193 (Inbound and outbound interstate sales of tangible personal property);
(iii) WAC 458-20-193D (Transportation, communication, public utility activities, or other services in interstate or foreign commerce);
(iv) WAC 458-20-194 (Doing business inside and outside the state); and
(v) WAC 458-20-221 (Collection of use tax by retailers and selling agents).
(6) Registration procedure. The state of Washington initiated the unified business identifier (UBI) program to simplify the registration and licensing requirements imposed on the state's business community. Completion of the master application enables a person to register or license with several state agencies, including the department of revenue, using a single form. The person will be assigned one unified business identifier number, which will be used for all state agencies participating in the UBI program. The department may assign the unified business identifier number as the taxpayer's revenue tax reporting account number, or it may assign a different or additional number as the revenue tax reporting account number.
(a) Persons completing the master application will be issued a registrations and licenses document. The face of this document will list the registrations and licenses (endorsements) which have been obtained.
(b) The department of revenue does not charge a registration fee for issuing a tax registration endorsement. Persons required to complete a master application may, however, be subject to other fees.
(c) While the UBI program is administered by the department of licensing, master applications are available at any participating UBI service provider location. The following agencies of the state of Washington participate in the UBI program (see RCW 19.02.050 for a more complete listing of participating agencies):
(i) The office of the secretary of state;
(ii) The department of licensing;
(iii) The department of employment security;
(iv) The department of labor and industries;
(v) The department of revenue.
(7) Temporary revenue registration certificate. A temporary revenue registration certificate may be issued to any person who operates a business of a temporary nature.
(a) Temporary businesses, for the purposes of registration, are those with:
(i) Definite, predetermined dates of operation for no more than two events each year with each event lasting no longer than one month; or
(ii) Seasonal dates of operation lasting no longer than three months. However, persons engaging in business activities on a seasonal basis every year should refer to subsection (8) of this section.
(b) Each temporary registration certificate is valid for a single event. Persons that subsequently make sales into Washington may incur additional tax liability. Refer to WAC 458-20-193 (Inbound and outbound interstate sales of tangible personal property) for additional information on tax reporting requirements. It may be required that a tax registration endorsement be obtained, in lieu of a temporary registration certificate. See subsection (2) of this section.
(c) Temporary revenue registration certificates may be obtained by making application at any participating UBI agency office, or by completing a seasonal registration form.
(8) Seasonal revenue tax reporting accounts. Persons engaging in seasonal business activities which do not exceed two quarterly reporting periods each calendar year may be eligible for a tax reporting account with a seasonal reporting status. This is a permanent account until closed by the taxpayer. The taxpayer must specify in which quarterly reporting periods he or she will be engaging in taxable business activities. The quarterly reporting periods in which the taxpayer is engaging in taxable business activities may or may not be consecutive, but the same quarterly period or periods must apply each year. The taxpayer is not required to be engaging in taxable business activities during the entire period.
The department will provide and the taxpayer will be required to file tax returns only for the quarterly reporting periods specified by the taxpayer. Examples of persons which may be eligible for the seasonal reporting status include persons operating Christmas tree and/or fireworks stands. Persons engaging in taxable business activities in more than two quarterly reporting periods in a calendar year will not qualify for the seasonal reporting status.
(9) Display of registrations and licenses document. The taxpayer is required to display the registrations and licenses document in a conspicuous place at the business location for which it is issued.
(10) Multiple locations. A registrations and licenses document is required for each place of business at which a taxpayer engages in business activities for which the department of revenue is responsible for administering and/or collecting a tax or fee, and any main office or principal place of business from which excise tax returns are to be filed. This requirement applies to locations both within and without the state of Washington.
(a) For the purposes of this subsection, the term "place of business" means:
(i) Any separate establishment, office, stand, cigarette vending machine, or other fixed location; or
(ii) Any vessel, train, or the like, at any of which the taxpayer solicits or makes sales of tangible personal property, or contracts for or renders services in this state or otherwise transacts business with customers.
(b) A taxpayer wishing to report all tax liability on a single excise tax return may request a separate registrations and licenses document for each location. The original registrations and licenses document shall be retained for the main office or principal place of business from which the returns are to be filed, with additional documents obtained for all branch locations. All registrations and licenses documents will reflect the same tax reporting account number.
(c) A taxpayer desiring to file a separate excise tax return covering a branch location, or a specific construction contract, may apply for and receive a separate revenue tax reporting account number. A registrations and licenses document will be issued for each tax reporting account number and will represent a separate account.
(d) A master application must be completed to obtain a separate registrations and licenses document, or revenue tax reporting account number, for a new location.
(11) Change in ownership. When a change in ownership of a business occurs, the new owner must apply for and obtain a new registrations and licenses document. The original document must be destroyed, and any further use of the tax reporting account number for tax purposes is prohibited.
(a) A "change in ownership," for purposes of registration, occurs upon but is not limited to:
(i) The sale of a business by one individual, firm or corporation to another individual, firm or corporation;
(ii) The dissolution of a partnership;
(iii) The withdrawal, substitution, or addition of one or more partners where the general partnership continues as a business organization and the change in the composition of the partners is equal to or greater than fifty percent;
(iv) Incorporation of a business previously operated as a partnership or sole proprietorship;
(v) Changing from a corporation to a partnership or sole proprietorship; or
(vi) Changing from a corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship to a limited liability company or a limited liability partnership.
(b) For the purposes of registration, a "change in ownership" does not occur upon:
(i) The sale of all or part of the common stock of a corporation;
(ii) The transfer of assets to an assignee for the benefit of creditors or upon the appointment of a receiver or trustee in bankruptcy;
(iii) The death of a sole proprietor where there will be a continuous operation of the business by the executor, administrator, or trustee of the estate or, where the business was owned by a marital community or registered domestic partnership, by the surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner of the deceased owner;
(iv) The withdrawal, substitution, or addition of one or more partners where the general partnership continues as a business organization and the change in the composition of the partners is less than fifty percent; or
(v) A change in the trade name under which the business is conducted.
(c) While changes in a business entity may not result in a "change in ownership," the completion of a new master application may be required to reflect the changes in the registered account.
(12) Change in location. Whenever the place of business is moved to a new location, the taxpayer must notify the department of the change. A new registrations and licenses document will be issued to reflect the change in location.
(13) Lost registrations and licenses documents. If any registrations and licenses document is lost, destroyed or defaced as a result of accident or of natural wear and tear, a new document will be issued upon request.
(14) Administrative closure of taxpayer accounts. The department may, upon written notification to the taxpayer, close the taxpayer's tax reporting account and rescind its tax registration endorsement whenever the taxpayer has reported no gross income and there is no indication of taxable activity for two consecutive years.
The taxpayer may request, within thirty days of notification of closure, that the account remain open. A taxpayer may also request that the account remain open on an "active nonreporting" status if the requirements of subsection (3)(a) of this section are met. The request shall be reviewed by the department and if found to be warranted, the department will immediately reopen the account. The following are acceptable reasons for continuing as an active account:
(a) The taxpayer is engaging in business activities in Washington which may result in tax liability.
(b) The taxpayer is required to collect or pay to the department of revenue a tax or fee which the department is authorized to administer and/or collect.
(c) The taxpayer has in fact been liable for excise taxes during the previous two years.
(15) Reopening of taxpayer accounts. A business person choosing to resume business activities for which the department of revenue is responsible for administering and/or collecting a tax or fee, may request a previously closed account be reopened. The business person must complete a new master application. When an account is reopened a new registrations and licenses document, reflecting a current tax registration endorsement, shall be issued. Persons requesting the reopening of an account which had previously been closed due to a revocation action should refer to subsection (16) of this section.
(16) Revocation and reinstatement of tax registration endorsements. Actions to revoke tax registration endorsements must be conducted by the department pursuant to the provisions of chapter 34.05 RCW, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the taxpayers bill of rights of chapter 82.32A RCW. Persons should refer to WAC 458-20-10001, Adjudicative proceedings -- Brief adjudicative proceedings -- Wholesale and retail cigarette license revocation/suspension -- Certificate of registration (tax registration endorsement) revocation, for an explanation of the procedures and processes pertaining to the revocation of tax registration endorsements.
(a) The department of revenue may, by order, revoke a tax registration endorsement if any tax warrant issued under the provisions of RCW 82.32.210 is not paid within thirty days after it has been filed with the clerk of the superior court, or for any other reason expressly provided by law.
(b) The revocation order will be posted in a conspicuous place at the main entrance to the taxpayer's place of business and must remain posted until the tax registration endorsement has been reinstated. A revoked endorsement will not be reinstated until:
(i) The amount due on the warrant has been paid, or satisfactory arrangements for payment have been approved by the department; and
(ii) The taxpayer has posted with the department a bond or other security in an amount not exceeding one-half the estimated average annual liability of the taxpayer.
(c) It is unlawful for any taxpayer to engage in business after its tax registration endorsement has been revoked.
(17) Penalties for noncompliance. The law provides that any person engaging in any business activity, for which registration with the department of revenue is required, shall obtain a tax registration endorsement.
(a) The failure to obtain a tax registration endorsement prior to engaging in any taxable business activity constitutes a gross misdemeanor.
(b) Engaging in business after a tax registration endorsement has been revoked by the department constitutes a Class C felony.
(c) Any tax found to have been due, but delinquent, and any tax unreported as a result of fraud or misrepresentation, may be subject to penalty as provided in chapter 82.32 RCW, WAC 458-20-228 and 458-20-230.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 82.32.300 and 82.01.060(2). 07-03-031, § 458-20-101, filed 1/8/07, effective 2/8/07. Statutory Authority: RCW 82.32.300. 00-01-069, § 458-20-101, filed 12/13/99, effective 1/13/00; 97-08-050, § 458-20-101, filed 3/31/97, effective 5/1/97; 95-07-089, § 458-20-101, filed 3/17/95, effective 4/17/95; 93-13-126, § 458-20-101, filed 6/22/93, effective 7/23/93; 86-12-015 (Order ET 86-11), § 458-20-101, filed 5/27/86; 83-07-032 (Order ET 83-15), § 458-20-101, filed 3/15/83; Order ET 73-1, § 458-20-101, filed 11/2/73; Order ET 71-1, § 458-20-101, filed 7/22/71; Order ET 70-3, § 458-20-101 (Rule 101), filed 5/29/70, effective 7/1/70.]
OTS-1548.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 02-15-158, filed 7/23/02,
effective 8/23/02)
WAC 458-20-217
Lien for taxes.
(1) Introduction. This
rule provides an overview of the administrative collection
remedies and procedures available to the department of revenue
(department) to collect unpaid and overdue tax liabilities. It discusses tax liens and the liens that apply to probate,
insolvency, assignments for the benefit of creditors,
bankruptcy and public improvement contracts. The rule also
explains the personal liability of persons in control of
collected but unpaid sales tax. Although the department may
use judicial remedies to collect unpaid tax, most of the
department's collection actions are enforced through the
administrative collection remedies discussed in this rule.
(2) Tax liens. The department is not required to obtain a judgment in court to have a tax lien. A tax lien is created when a warrant issued under RCW 82.32.210 is filed with a superior court clerk who enters it into the judgment docket. A copy of the warrant may be filed in any county in this state in which the department believes the taxpayer has real and/or personal property. The department is not required to give a taxpayer notice prior to filing a tax warrant. Peters v Sjoholm, 95 Wn.2d 871, 877, 631 P.2d 937 (1981) appeal dismissed, cert. denied 455 U.S. 914 (1982). The tax lien is an encumbrance on property. The department may enforce a tax lien by administrative levy, seizure or through judicial collection remedies.
(a) Attachment of lien. The filed warrant becomes a specific lien upon all personal property used in the conduct of the business and a general lien against all other real and personal property owned by the taxpayer against whom the warrant was issued.
(i) The specific lien attaches to all goods, wares,
merchandise, fixtures, equipment or other personal property
used in the conduct of the business of the taxpayer. Other
personal property includes both tangible and intangible
property. For example, the specific lien attaches to business
assets such as accounts receivable, chattel paper, royalties,
licenses and franchises. The specific lien also attaches to
property used in the business which is owned by persons other
than the taxpayer who have a beneficial interest, direct or
indirect, in the operation of the business. (See subsection
(3) ((below)) of this section for what constitutes a
beneficial interest.) The lien is perfected on the date it is
filed with the superior court clerk. The lien does not attach
to property used in the business that was transferred prior to
the filing of the warrant. It does attach to all property
existing at the time the warrant is filed as well as property
acquired after the filing of the warrant. No sale or transfer
of such personal property affects the lien.
(ii) The general lien attaches to all real and personal nonbusiness property such as the taxpayer's home and nonexempt personal vehicles.
(b) Lien priorities. The department does not need to levy or seize property to perfect its lien. The lien is perfected when the warrant is filed. The tax lien is superior to liens that vest after the warrant is filed.
(i) The lien for taxes is superior to bona fide interests of third persons that vested prior to the filing of the warrant if such persons have a beneficial interest in the business.
(ii) The lien for taxes is also superior to any interest of third persons that vested prior to the warrant if the interest is a mortgage of real or personal property or any other credit transaction that results in the mortgagee or the holder of the security acting as the trustee for unsecured creditors of the taxpayer mentioned in the warrant.
(iii) In most cases, to have a vested or perfected security interest in personal property, the secured party must file a UCC financing statement indicating its security interest. RCW 62A.9-301. See RCW 62A.9-302 for the exceptions to this general rule. The financing statement must be filed prior to the filing of the tax warrant for the lien to be superior to the department's lien.
(c) Period of lien. A filed tax warrant creates a lien that is enforceable for the same period as a judgment in a civil case that is docketed with the clerk of the superior court. RCW 82.32.210(4). A judgment lien expires ten years from the date of filing. RCW 4.56.310. The department may extend the lien for an additional ten years by filing a petition for an order extending the judgment with the clerk of the superior court. The petition must be filed within ninety days of the expiration of the original ten-year period. RCW 6.17.020.
(3) Persons who have a beneficial interest in a business. A third party who receives part of the profit, a benefit, or an advantage resulting from a contract or lease with the business has a beneficial interest in the operation of the business. A party whose only interest in the business is securing the payment of debt or receiving regular rental payments on equipment does not have a beneficial interest. Also, the mere loaning of money by a financial institution to a business and securing that debt with a UCC filing does not constitute a beneficial interest in the business. Rather, a party who owns property used by a delinquent taxpayer must also have a beneficial interest in the operation of that business before the lien will attach to the party's property. The definition of the term "beneficial interest" for purposes of determining lien priorities is not the same as the definition used for tax free transfers described in WAC 458-20-106.
(a) Third party. A third party is simply a party other than the taxpayer. For example, if the taxpayer is a corporation, an officer or shareholder of that corporation is a "third party" with a beneficial interest in the operation of the business. If the corporate insider has a security interest in property used by the business, the tax lien will be superior even if the corporate insider's lien was filed before the department's lien.
(b) Beneficial interest of lessor. In some cases a lessor or franchisor will have a beneficial interest in the leased or franchised business. For example, an oil company that leases a gas station and other equipment to an operator and requires the operator to sell its products is a third party with a beneficial interest in the business. Factors which support a finding of a beneficial interest in a business include the following:
(i) The business operator is required to pay the lessor or franchisor a percentage of gross receipts as rent;
(ii) The lessor or franchisor requires the business operator to use its trade name and restricts the type of business that may be operated on the premises;
(iii) The lease places restrictions on advertising and hours of operation; and/or
(iv) The lease requires the operator to sell the lessor's products.
(c) A third party who has a beneficial interest in a business with a filed lien is not personally liable for the amounts owing. Instead, the amount of tax, interest and penalties as reflected in the warrant becomes a specific lien upon the third party's property that is used in the business.
(4) Notice and order to withhold and deliver. A tax lien is sufficient to support the issuance of a writ of garnishment authorized by chapter 6.27 RCW. RCW 82.32.210(4). A tax lien also allows the department to issue a notice and order to withhold and deliver. A notice and order to withhold and deliver (order) is an administrative garnishment used by the department to obtain property of a taxpayer from a third party such as a bank or employer. See RCW 82.32.235. The department may issue an order when it has reason to believe that a party is in the possession of property that is or shall become due, owing or belonging to any taxpayer against whom a warrant has been filed.
(a) Service of order. The department may serve an order to withhold and deliver to any person, or to any political subdivision or department of the state. The order may be served by the sheriff or deputy sheriff of the county where service is made, by any authorized representative of the department, or by certified mail.
(b) Requirement to answer order. A person upon whom service has been made is required to answer the order in writing within twenty days of service of the order. The date of mailing or date of personal service is not included when calculating the due date of the answer. All answers must be true and made under oath. If an answer states that it cannot presently be ascertained whether any property is or shall become due, owing, or belonging to such taxpayer, the person served must answer when such fact can be ascertained. RCW 82.32.235.
(i) If the person served with an order possesses property of the taxpayer subject to the claim of the department, the party must deliver the property to the department or its duly authorized representative upon demand. If the indebtedness involved has not been finally determined, the department will hold the property in trust to apply to the indebtedness involved or for return without interest in accordance with the final determination of liability or nonliability. In the alternative, the department must be furnished a satisfactory bond conditioned upon final determination of liability. RCW 82.32.235.
(ii) If the party upon whom service has been made fails to answer an order to withhold and deliver within the time prescribed, the court may enter a default judgment against the party for the full amount claimed owing in the order plus costs. RCW 82.32.235.
(c) Continuing levy. A notice and order to withhold and deliver constitutes a continuing levy until released by the department. RCW 82.32.237.
(d) Assets that may be attached. Both tangible assets, as a vehicle, and intangible assets may be attached. Examples of intangible assets that may be attached by an order to withhold and deliver include, but are not limited to, checking or savings accounts; accounts receivable; refunds or deposits; contract payments; wages and commissions, including bonuses; liquor license deposits; rental income; dealer reserve accounts held by service stations or auto dealers; and funds held in escrow pending sale of a business. Certain insurance proceeds are subject to attachment such as the cash surrender value of a policy. The department may attach funds in a joint account that are owned by the delinquent taxpayer. Funds in a joint account with the right of survivorship are owned by the depositors in proportion to the amount deposited by each. RCW 30.22.090. The joint tenants have the burden to prove the separate ownership.
(e) Assets exempt from attachment. Examples of assets which are not attachable include Social Security, railroad retirement, welfare, and unemployment benefits payable by the federal or state government.
(5) Levy upon real and/or personal property. The department may issue an order of execution, pursuant to a filed warrant, directing the sheriff of the county in which the warrant was filed to levy upon and sell the real and/or personal property of the taxpayer in that county. RCW 82.32.220. If the department has reason to believe that a taxpayer has personal property in the taxpayer's possession that is not otherwise exempt from process or execution, the department may obtain a warrant to search for and seize the property. A search warrant is obtained from a superior or district court judge in the county in which the property is located. See RCW 82.32.245.
(6) Probate, insolvency, assignment for the benefit of creditors or bankruptcy. In all of these cases or conditions, the claim of the state for unpaid taxes and increases and penalties thereon, is a lien upon all real and personal property of the taxpayer. RCW 82.32.240. All administrators, executors, guardians, receivers, trustees in bankruptcy, or assignees for the benefit of creditors are required to notify the department of such administration, receivership, or assignment within sixty days from the date of their appointment and qualification. In cases of insolvency, this includes the duty of the person who is winding down the business to notify the department.
(a) The state does not have to take any action to perfect its lien. The lien attaches the date of the assignment for the benefit of creditors or of the initiation of the probate or bankruptcy. In cases of insolvency, the lien attaches at the time the business becomes insolvent. The lien, however, does not affect the validity or priority of any earlier lien that may have attached in favor of the state under any other provision of the Revenue Act.
(b) Any administrator, executor, guardian, receiver, or assignee for the benefit of creditors who does not notify the department as provided above is personally liable for payment of the taxes and all increases and penalties thereon. The personal liability is limited to the value of the property subject to administration that otherwise would have been available to pay the unpaid liability.
(c) In probate cases in which a surviving spouse or
surviving domestic partner is separately liable for unpaid
taxes and increases and penalties thereon, the department does
not need to file a probate claim to protect the state's
interest against the surviving spouse or surviving domestic
partner. The department may collect from the ((surviving
spouse's)) separate property of the surviving spouse or
surviving domestic partner and any assets formerly community
property or property of the domestic partnership which become
the ((surviving spouse's)) property of the surviving spouse or
the surviving domestic partner. If the deceased spouse or
deceased domestic partner and/or the community or domestic
partnership also was liable for the tax debt, the claim also
could be asserted in the administration of the ((deceased
spouse's)) estate of the deceased spouse or deceased domestic
partner.
(7) Lien on retained percentage of public improvement contracts. Every public entity engaging a contractor under a public improvement project of twenty thousand dollars or more, shall retain five percent of the total contract price, including all change orders, modifications, etc. This retainage is a trust fund held for the benefit of the department and other statutory claimants. In lieu of contract retainage, the public entity may require a bond. All taxes, increases, and penalties due or to become due under Title 82 RCW from a contractor or the contractor's successors or assignees with respect to a public improvement contract of twenty thousand dollars or more shall be a lien upon the amount of the retained percentage withheld by the disbursing officer under such contract. RCW 60.28.040.
(a) Priorities. The employees of a contractor or the contractor's successors or assignees who have not been paid the prevailing wage under the public improvement contract have a first priority lien against the bond or retainage. The department's lien for taxes, increases, and penalties due or to become due under such contract is prior to all other liens. The amount of all other taxes, increases and penalties due from the contractor is a lien upon the balance of the retained percentage after all other statutory lien claims have been paid. RCW 60.28.040.
(b) Release of funds. Upon final acceptance by the public entity or completion of the contract, the disbursing officer shall contact the department for its consent to release the funds. The officer cannot make any payment from the retained percentage until the department has certified that all taxes, increases, and penalties due have been paid or are readily collectible without recourse to the state's lien on the retained percentage. RCW 60.28.050 and 60.28.051.
(8) Personal liability for unpaid trust funds. The retail sales tax is to be held in trust. RCW 82.08.050. As a trust fund, the retail sales tax is not to be used to pay other corporate or personal debts. RCW 82.32.145 imposes personal liability on any responsible person who willfully fails to pay or cause to be paid any collected but unpaid retail sales tax. Collection authority and procedures prescribed in chapter 82.32 RCW apply to the collection of trust fund liability assessments.
(a) Responsible person. A responsible person is any officer, member, manager, or other person having control or supervision of retail sales tax funds collected and held in trust or who has the responsibility for filing returns or paying the collected retail sales tax.
(i) A responsible person may have "control and supervision" of collected retail sales tax or the responsibility to report the tax under corporate bylaws, job description, or other proper delegation of authority. The delegation of authority may be established by written documentation or by conduct.
(ii) A responsible person must have significant but not necessarily exclusive control or supervision of the trust funds. Neither a sales clerk who only collects the tax from the customer nor an employee who only deposits the funds in the bank has significant supervision or control of the retail sales tax. An employee who has the responsibility to collect, account for, and deposit trust funds does have significant supervision or control of the tax.
(iii) A person is not required to be a corporate officer or have a proprietary interest in the business to be a responsible person.
(iv) A member of the board of directors, a shareholder, or an officer may have trust fund liability if that person has the authority and discretion to determine which corporate debts should be paid and approves the payment of corporate debts out of the collected retail sales trust funds.
(v) More than one person may have personal liability for the trust funds if the requirements for liability are present for each person.
(b) Requirements for liability. In order for a responsible person to be held personally liable for collected and unpaid retail sales tax:
(i) The tax must be the liability of a corporate or limited liability business;
(ii) The corporation must be terminated, dissolved, or abandoned;
(iii) The failure to pay must be willful; and
(iv) The department must not have a reasonable means of collecting the tax from the corporation.
(c) Willful failure to pay. A willful failure to pay means that the failure was an intentional, conscious, and voluntary course of action. An intent to defraud or a bad motive is not required. For example, using collected retail sales tax to pay other corporate obligations is a willful failure to pay the trust funds to the state.
(i) A responsible person depositing retail sales tax funds in a bank account knowing that the bank might use the funds to off-set amounts owing to it is engaging in a voluntary course of action. It is a willful failure to pay if the bank does exercise its right of set off which results in insufficient funds to pay the corporate retail sales tax that was collected and deposited in the account. To avoid personal liability in such a case, the responsible party can set aside the collected retail sales tax and not commingle it with other funds that are subject to attachment or set off.
(ii) If the failure to pay the trust funds to the state was due to reasons beyond that person's control, the failure to pay is not willful. For example, if the person responsible for remitting the tax provides evidence that the trust funds were unknowingly stolen or embezzled by another employee, the failure to pay is not considered willful. To find that a failure to pay the trust funds to the state was due to reasons beyond that person's control, the facts must show both that the circumstances caused the failure to pay the tax and that the circumstances were beyond the person's control.
(iii) If a responsible person instructs an employee or hires a third party to remit the collected sales tax, the responsible person is not relieved of personal liability for the tax if the tax is not paid.
(d) Extent of liability. Trust fund liability includes the collected but unpaid retail sales tax as well as the interest and penalties due on the tax.
(i) An individual is only liable for trust funds collected during the period he or she had the requisite control, supervision, responsibility, or duty to remit the tax, plus interest and penalties on those taxes. RCW 82.32.145(2).
(ii) Any retail sales taxes that were paid to the department but not collected may be deducted from the retail sales taxes collected but not paid.
(e) No reasonable means of collection. The department has "no reasonable means of collection" if the costs of collection would be more than the amount that could be collected; if the amount that might be recovered through a levy, foreclosure or other collection action would be negligible; or if the only means of collection is against a successor corporation.
(f) Appeal of personal liability assessment. Any person who receives a personal liability assessment is encouraged to request a supervisory conference if the person disagrees with the assessment. The request for the conference should be made to the department representative that issued the assessment or the representative's supervisor at the department's field office. A supervisory conference provides an opportunity to resolve issues with the assessment without further action. If unable to resolve the issue, the person receiving the assessment is entitled to administrative and judicial appeal procedures. RCW 82.32.145(4). See also RCW 82.32.160, 82.32.170, 82.32.180, 82.32.190, and 82.32.200.
While encouraged to request a supervisory conference, any person receiving a personal liability assessment may elect to forego the supervisory conference and proceed directly with an appeal of the assessment. Refer to WAC 458-20-100 for information about the department's administrative appeal procedures, including how to timely file a petition for appeal.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 82.32.300. 02-15-158, § 458-20-217, filed 7/23/02, effective 8/23/02; 00-16-016, § 458-20-217, filed 7/21/00, effective 8/21/00; 88-01-050 (Order 87-9), § 458-20-217, filed 12/15/87; Order ET 71-1, § 458-20-217, filed 7/22/71; Order ET 70-3, § 458-20-217 (Rule 217), filed 5/29/70, effective 7/1/70.]