Washington, D.C. raises sales tax rate on goods and services
Washington, D.C. is raising its sales tax rate from 6% to 6.5% soon on tangible goods and a wide list of taxable services (like data processing, information services, landscaping, and health clubs). If you sell into the District, this means higher effective costs for customers today—and another jump to 7% is coming in 2026.
Written by Alex Lamachenka
Head of DemandGen
Published
TL;DR:
If you sell goods or taxable services into Washington, D.C., your compliance exposure just went up. The sales tax rate increases to 6.5% on Oct 1, 2025, and to 7% on Oct 1, 2026.
What changed
- Current rule (through Sept 30, 2025): Sales tax in D.C. is 6% on tangible personal property and most taxable services.
- New rule (effective Oct 1, 2025): Rate rises to 6.5%.
- Future rule (effective Oct 1, 2026): Rate rises again to 7%.
D.C. applies sales tax to both goods and a wide range of services, including:
- Data processing
- Information services
- Health clubs and gyms
- Landscaping
- Real property maintenance
- Car wash services
- Security monitoring services
Who this affects
- Ecommerce sellers shipping to D.C.: All taxable sales into the District are now subject to the 6.5% rate.
- Service providers: If you provide taxable services into D.C. and exceed nexus thresholds, your compliance requirements increase.
- CPAs, controllers, finance teams: Budgets and forecasts should account for both the 2025 increase and the scheduled 2026 bump to 7%.
Why this matters
- Margins shrink: A 0.5% increase seems small but compounds for high-volume sellers.
- Taxable services hit harder: Many service categories that aren’t taxable elsewhere are taxable in D.C.
- Another increase is coming: Businesses must plan ahead for the second jump to 7% in 2026.
Next steps for sellers
- Review your product and service exposure in D.C.
- Update checkout systems and POS to reflect the 6.5% rate effective Oct 1, 2025.
- For taxable services, confirm whether your offerings fall under D.C.’s definitions.
- Factor in the 2026 jump to 7% when forecasting pricing and margins.
Official Source:
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