Submitted by San Juan County.
San Juan County’s Treasurer’s Office is providing notice to local businesses of an upcoming change to sales and use tax in San Juan County. Effective July 1, local sales and use tax within San Juan County will decrease 15 one-hundredths of 1% (0.0015) to comply with initial imposition of the Emergency Communication Tax. The remaining five one-hundredth of 1% (0.0005) of tax will be used for emergency communication systems and facilities.
Background
During a 2020 special election, San Juan County voters approved a measure for two taxes: five one-hundredths of 1% without an expiration date and fifteen one-hundredths of 1% that would expire after 60 months/five years. These funds are used for the design and construction of a communications system, used by the County Sheriff, emergency medical services and fire districts to provide lifesaving public safety response in a timely, reliable, consistent and effective manner.
Now, at the end of five years, the 15 one-hundredths of 1% (0.0015) tax is expiring, and businesses should adjust their collection rate. In advance of this change, the Treasurer’s Office encourages businesses to update any sales tax automation systems or point-of-sale software to ensure accurate calculations.
For Businesses
Washington State’s Department of Revenue has provided information regarding the new rates of sales tax for Friday Harbor and unincorporated areas of San Juan County.
Washington State’s Department of Revenue no longer sends notifications regarding changes to taxes, but there are other ways to be proactive and stay up to date:
• Sign up for notifications from DOR at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WADOR/signup/17806.
• Determine the proper codes and rates of local sales tax via the Tax Rate Lookup Tool: dor.wa.gov/TaxRateLookup.
• Visit the DOR website to see the change notices, find collection schedules and more: https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/sales-use-tax-rates.
Questions about sales tax? Contact San Juan County Treasurer Rhonda Pederson at rhondap@sanjuancountywa.gov or 360-370-7463, or visit dor.wa.gov or call the Department of Revenue at 360-705-6705.
