The King County sales tax increase that most shoppers are now feeling came in two steps: a 0.1% cultural access tax that took effect April 1, 2024, and a 0.1% law enforcement tax that took effect January 1, 2026. Combined rates across the county now run from roughly 9% in some areas to 10.55% in Seattle, depending on which local levies apply at the address where you take delivery.1Washington Department of Revenue. Local Sales and Use Tax Rate Table
What Changed on January 1, 2026
A county-wide 0.1% sales and use tax for local law enforcement programs took effect on the first of the year.2Washington Department of Revenue. King County Local Law Enforcement Programs The state legislature authorized this type of tax under RCW 82.14.450, which permits counties to impose up to 0.3% for law enforcement and related purposes with voter approval.3Washington State Legislature. RCW 82.14.450
Nine cities inside King County imposed their own additional 0.1% law enforcement tax on the same day: Algona, Black Diamond, Des Moines, Duvall, Issaquah, Kent, Renton, SeaTac, and Seattle.2Washington Department of Revenue. King County Local Law Enforcement Programs Shoppers in those nine cities saw a combined 0.2% jump, not 0.1%. Seattle moved from 10.35% to 10.55%, now the highest rate in the county.4Washington Department of Revenue. City of Seattle Local Law Enforcement Programs
What Changed on April 1, 2024
The earlier increase was the 0.1% cultural access sales tax that funds King County’s “Doors Open” program for arts, science, and heritage organizations.5Washington State Legislature. RCW 82.14.048 – Sales and Use Tax for Cultural Access Programs The King County Council approved it through Ordinance 19710, which imposes the tax for seven years, from 2024 through 2031.6Metropolitan King County Council. Ordinance 19710 Unless the Council acts to extend or replace it, the cultural access portion of your bill will come off automatically at the end of 2031.
Current Combined Rates by City
Every rate in the county starts with Washington’s 6.5% state base. Local transit, public safety, cultural access, and city levies sit on top, and the totals differ because not every jurisdiction has adopted the same local taxes. Parts of King County also fall outside the Regional Transit Authority boundary, which trims the rate. Representative combined rates for the first quarter of 2026:1Washington Department of Revenue. Local Sales and Use Tax Rate Table
- Seattle: 10.55%
- Algona, Auburn, Des Moines: 10.40%
- Bellevue, Bothell (King County portion), Burien: 10.30%
- Covington, Duvall: 9.20%
- Black Diamond, Carnation: 8.90%–9.00%
Rates are republished quarterly, so a figure that applies in January may shift by April if a new local tax takes effect or an existing one expires.
What Is Not Taxed
Neither new levy created a new taxable category. Both apply to the same base of goods and services already covered by Washington’s general sales tax, which leaves the existing exemptions intact.
Groceries bought for home consumption are exempt from all Washington sales tax, including the two King County increases.7Washington State Legislature. RCW 82.08.0293 The exemption covers food and food ingredients in any form, whether fresh, frozen, dried, or canned. It does not cover prepared food (anything sold heated, or sold with utensils like plates and forks), soft drinks, bottled water, or dietary supplements. Bakery items sold without utensils are generally exempt even when bought at a bakery. Prescription drugs dispensed under a doctor’s authority are also exempt from retail sales tax.
Purchases made on tribal land by enrolled tribal members qualify for a separate federal exemption, provided the goods are delivered to or the sale occurs within the buyer’s Indian country, and the buyer provides documentation of tribal membership.8Washington Department of Revenue. Native Americans
Online Orders and Out-of-State Sellers
Washington uses destination-based sales tax, so the rate is set by where you receive the merchandise, not where the seller ships it from.9Washington Department of Revenue. Destination-Based Sales Tax Order a laptop from a warehouse in Spokane and have it delivered to a home in Bellevue, and the seller charges Bellevue’s 10.30% rate. Pick the same item up in person at a store, and the store’s local rate applies instead.
That rule means you can’t dodge the King County increases by ordering from a seller outside the county. Any retailer delivering to a King County address must charge the full local rate for that delivery address.10Washington Department of Revenue. Reporting Destination-Based Sales Tax The same logic cuts between cities inside the county: two neighbors on opposite sides of a city line can see different totals on the same online order.
When an out-of-state seller or a private party doesn’t collect Washington sales tax, you owe use tax at the same combined rate you would have paid locally.11Washington Department of Revenue. Use Tax Use tax isn’t an extra charge on top of sales tax. It fills the gap when sales tax was never collected, at an identical rate: 6.5% state plus whatever local rate applies at the address where you first use the item. Individuals can report it through the Department of Revenue’s online portal (My DOR) or by mailing a paper Consumer Use Tax Return, with an annual due date of April 15. If you already paid sales or use tax to another state on the same purchase, you can take a dollar-for-dollar credit against Washington’s use tax for that amount.12Washington Department of Revenue. Use Tax This comes up most often with vehicles bought across state lines and large online orders from sellers that charge their home state’s tax instead of Washington’s.
How to Confirm the Rate at Your Address
Because rates vary by address and change quarterly, the most reliable check is the Department of Revenue’s Tax Rate Lookup Tool, which accepts a street address, a ZIP+4, or a point on an interactive map.13Washington Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Rates The department also publishes a mobile app that returns the rate for your current GPS location, a downloadable database for business billing systems, and a free spreadsheet conversion service that returns the rate for each address you submit. All of these refresh at the start of each calendar quarter.