How do Washington sales-tax destination and nexus rules apply to online precious-metal purchases shipped from out-of-state vendors?

1. What changed for bullion sales and why it matters

Legislative action in 2025 removed precious-metals items from the statutory exclusions that previously treated bullion like a non-taxable category, so beginning January 1, 2026 gross income from retail sales of precious metal bullion and monetized bullion is taxable as tangible personal property under Washington law and must be treated like any other retail sale for sales-tax purposes ^{[2] [3] [4]}.

2. Online purchases shipped to Washington: the state’s instruction

Washington’s official guidance explicitly includes online sales to Washington residents in the taxable universe, meaning an out‑of‑state vendor shipping gold, silver, coins or rounds into Washington for a Washington buyer is subject to the new sales-tax collection requirement unless another statutory exemption applies ^{[1] [2]}. The Department of Revenue guidance directs sellers to collect retail sales tax on gross receipts from sales to end consumers and to report B&O tax under the Retailing classification ^[2].

3. B&O tax and reseller treatment — a second layer sellers must handle

Beyond collection of state and local retail sales tax, sellers’ gross income from retail bullion sales is reportable under Washington’s Retailing B&O rate (0.471% cited by state summaries), while wholesale transactions documented by a valid reseller permit are taxed under Wholesaling B&O and generally exempt from retail sales tax — a distinction that matters for dealers, marketplaces and consignors who sell to resellers versus final consumers ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

4. Local taxes, multiple charges, and dealer concern about “friction”

Practical cost to buyers will be state sales tax plus applicable local rates, which commentators and dealers say can push total tax liability as high as roughly 10% in some jurisdictions; industry coverage warns of a combined “triplex” effect when retail sales tax, local taxes, and dealer B&O tax pass-throughs are counted by sellers and buyers ^{[5] [6] [7]}. Dealers and trade groups quoted in reporting argue this raises transaction costs, impacts dealer margins, and could change buyer behavior such as out‑of‑state purchases or timing purchases before the effective date ^{[5] [8] [9]}.

5. What the provided reporting does not (yet) establish about nexus and sourcing rules

The documents supplied and the Department of Revenue notices in this packet make clear that sales shipped to Washington residents are taxable and outline B&O classifications, but they do not set out the state’s economic‑nexus thresholds, marketplace facilitator rules, or destination‑sourcing mechanics for remote sellers; those critical operational details (when an out‑of‑state vendor is required to register and collect, and how tax is sourced to a particular local taxing jurisdiction) are not included in the provided sources and therefore cannot be asserted from this reporting alone ^{[1] [2] [4]}.

6. Practical next steps implied by the reporting

Sellers who ship precious metals into Washington should assume they must collect retail sales tax on sales to Washington consumers and must account for retailing B&O tax unless the buyer is a documented reseller; buyers should expect state and local sales tax on bullion purchases shipped into Washington after Jan. 1, 2026; for unresolved questions about registration thresholds, marketplace facilitator obligations, and destination sourcing, the Department of Revenue’s web pages and formal publications are the next authoritative source ^{[1] [2] [3]}.