Exclusion
Custom computer software
Retail Sales & Use Tax exclusion · RCW 82.04.050(6)(a)(i)-(ii) · enacted 1998
Before ESSB 5814
Custom computer software and customization of prewritten software were excluded from the definition of "retail sale" and taxed under the service & other activities B&O classification only, not retail sales tax (RCW 82.04.050; 2024 DOR Tax Exemption Study baseline).
Source: 2024 DOR Tax Exemption Study · RCW 82.04.050(6)(a)(i)-(ii)
After
Effective October 1, 2025, ESSB 5814 amended RCW 82.04.050 to make custom software and customization of prewritten software a retail sale subject to retail sales/use tax and retailing B&O. The exclusion is retained only for sales between members of an affiliated group. Confirm against ESSB 5814 and DOR's custom-software interim guidance.
Source: ESSB 5814 (2025)
Details
- Citation
- RCW 82.04.050(6)(a)(i)-(ii)
- Study reference
- E1548-1
- Tax type
- Retail Sales & Use Tax
- Preference type
- Exclusion
- Category
- Other
- Year enacted
- 1998
- End date
- None scheduled
Fiscal impact (2024 study estimates)
- Revenue if repealed — local ($M)
- FY 2024: 0 · FY 2025: 57.9 · FY 2026: 66 · FY 2027: 69.1
- Revenue if repealed — state ($M)
- FY 2024: 0 · FY 2025: 89.91 · FY 2026: 146.44 · FY 2027: 153.35
- Taxpayer savings — local ($M)
- FY 2024: 60.8 · FY 2025: 63.1 · FY 2026: 66 · FY 2027: 69.1
- Taxpayer savings — state ($M)
- FY 2024: 135.02 · FY 2025: 140.23 · FY 2026: 146.44 · FY 2027: 153.35
CTI = confidential taxpayer information · D = unable to disclose
From the 2024 DOR Tax Exemption Study
Exclusions from the definition of digital good are: (a) Telecommunications and ancillary services as defined in RCW 82.04.065. These services may be used to distribute digital goods, digital automated services, and digital codes, but are not themselves any of these products. (b) Computer software as defined in RCW 82.04.215 and WAC 458-20-15502. These are coded instructions designed to cause a comput- er or automatic data processing equipment to perform a task. (c) The internet and internet access as defined in RCW 82.04.297. (d) Professional or personal services represented in electronic form are not a digital good. This exclusion applies where the service primarily involves the application of human effort by the service pro- vider, and the human effort originated after the customer requested the service. For example, an electronic engineering report created at the customer's request that reflects an engineer's professional analy- sis, calculations, and judgment, which is sent to the customer elec- tronically, is considered evidence of a professional service and not a digital good. Photography. This exclusion for professional or personal services does not apply to photographers i
Does this apply to you?
This is reference data from the 2024 study — not advice, and 2025–26 legislation may have changed it. Three ways to go deeper: