Sales Tax on a Kitchen Remodel in Washington

Homeowners who have only ever paid sales tax at a store are often surprised to see it on a remodeling estimate. In Washington it belongs there. The tax applies to the whole job, not just the materials, and on a kitchen it is one of the larger lines in the budget.

Why a remodel is taxed

Washington law treats remodeling for a homeowner as a retail sale. RCW 82.04.050 defines a "sale at retail" to include the constructing, repairing, decorating or improving of new or existing buildings for consumers, including installing or attaching anything to them.

The Department of Revenue's rule, WAC 458-20-170, then says how the tax is measured: prime contractors are required to collect retail sales tax from consumers "measured by the full contract price." A prime contractor is the person who does the work directly for you. In practice that means:

• Labor is taxed. There is no split between a taxable materials portion and an untaxed labor portion.
• Materials are taxed once. Materials the contractor buys that become part of your house are purchases for resale, so the contractor does not pay sales tax on them. You pay the tax once, on the contract price.
• The contractor collects it. The rule places the duty to collect the tax on the prime contractor, so it appears on your estimate and invoices.

Current rates in Vancouver and Clark County

The combined rate is the 6.5% state rate plus a local rate that depends on the location. These are the figures in the Department of Revenue's local sales and use tax rate flyer for October 1 to December 31, 2026.

Effective date. These rates have applied since April 1, 2026. On that date, according to the Department of Revenue's notice, local sales and use tax within Clark County increased by one-tenth of one percent for housing and related services and by another one-tenth of one percent for local law enforcement programs. Vancouver rose by one-tenth of one percent only, because the housing tax was already imposed in the city.

Which rate applies to your project

Use the lookup tool for the address of the house being remodeled, then ask your contractor which location code the estimate uses and confirm the two match. If you have any doubt about which location's rate governs a construction contract, the Department of Revenue is the office to ask. If the house is in another city in the county, the same tool shows the code and rate for that address.

A worked example

Because kitchen costs are ranges, the tax is a range too. This example applies each current rate to JDI Construction's published planning range for a medium kitchen (120 to 200 sq ft) at the Signature tier, which is $78,000-$125,000 before tax. It is an illustration of the arithmetic, not a quote.

Two things stand out. The tax on a kitchen is the size of a significant upgrade, so it has to be in the budget from the first day. And the difference between locations is small next to the difference between the low and high end of the range. The planning ranges for other sizes and tiers are on the kitchen remodel cost page, and the kitchen cost calculator gives a pre-tax range for your own combination.

How sales tax appears on an estimate

You will usually see one of two layouts:

• a subtotal for the work, a sales tax line stating the rate, and a total, or
• a single contract price, with a sentence saying whether tax is included.

Either is workable as long as it is explicit. The Washington Department of Labor & Industries advises that a written contract include the price, including sales tax. If an estimate is silent on tax, ask before you compare it with another one. A bid that looks lower may simply be a pre-tax figure next to a tax-included one. The page on comparing kitchen remodel estimates covers the other places bids differ.

Change orders and allowances

Because the tax is measured by the contract price, anything that raises the contract price raises the tax with it. A change order that adds work, or a selection that exceeds its allowance, carries sales tax on the added amount. When you approve a change, check whether the figure quoted includes tax, as described in contracts, deposits and change orders.

Rates are reviewed every quarter

The Department of Revenue updates local rates quarterly. The rates above are published for the fourth quarter of 2026. If your contract will be signed or billed after January 1, 2027, check the current flyer or the lookup tool again.

Planning with tax included

Put sales tax into your budget as its own layer, alongside the contingency, as described in how to budget a kitchen remodel. JDI Construction's published planning ranges are stated before sales tax, so add the rate for your address when you use them, and ask for the tax to be shown on any written estimate.