Director's Rule 5-277
Clearing land, moving earth, cleaning, fumigating, razing or moving existing buildings, and janitorial services
Clearing land, moving earth, cleaning, fumigating, razing or moving existing buildings, and janitorial services
(1) Introduction. This rule provides City of Seattle B&O tax reporting guidance for the preparation of business tax returns for the following:
(a) Persons engaged in performing well drilling, or engaged in performing contracts for the grading or clearing of land or the moving of earth if such activities do not involve the building, repairing or improving of any streets, roads, etc. which are owned by a municipal corporation or political sub division of the state or by the United States (See SR 5-279);
(b) Persons engaged in installing, repairing, altering, improving, constructing or decorating new or existing real property;
(c) Persons engaged in performing contracts which involve the cleaning, fumigating, razing, or moving of existing buildings or structures; and persons performing janitorial services.
(2) Retailing classification. The definition of "retail sale" includes, but is not limited to, the sale of or charge made for labor and services consisting of the following activities:
(a) Installing, repairing, altering, imprinting, improving, constructing, or decorating new or existing buildings or other such structures under, upon, or above real property of or for consumers.
(b) The clearing of land, grading of land, well drilling, and the moving of earth except for the mere leveling of land used in commercial farming or agriculture.
(c) The cleaning, fumigating, razing, or moving of existing buildings or structures, but not the charge made for janitorial services (gross proceeds derived from janitorial services shall be reported under the service and other business classification. See paragraph (4), below).
(d) The cleaning of exterior walls of buildings, the cleaning of septic tanks, special clean up jobs required by construction, fires, floods, etc., painting, papering, repairing, furnace, or chimney cleaning, snow removal, sandblasting, or the cleaning of plant or industrial machinery or fixtures.
The gross receipts derived from such retail sales shall be reported under the retailing classification. Persons contracting to perform the activities in this section (2) for municipal corporations or political subdivisions of the state or the federal government shall also report the gross receipts from such activities under the retailing classification.
(3) Wholesaling classification. Persons engaging in the activities listed in (2) above as a subcontractor and not for a consumer or governmental entity shall report the gross receipts from such activities under the wholesaling classification.
(4) Service and other business classification. Gross receipts from contracts to perform janitorial services, the mere core drilling and testing of soil samples, the mere leveling of land for agriculture purposes, and labor or services rendered in connection with environmental remedial action shall be reported under the service and other business classification.
(5) Janitorial services defined. The term "janitorial services" includes activities performed regularly and normally by commercial janitorial service businesses. Generally, these activities include the washing of interior and exterior window surfaces, floor cleaning and waxing, the cleaning of interior walls and woodwork, the cleaning in place of rugs, drapes and upholstery, dusting, disposal of trash, and cleaning and sanitizing bathroom fixtures.
Effective: January 31, 2008
DIRECTOR'S CERTIFICATION
I, Dwight D. Dively, Director of the Department of Finance of the City of Seattle, do hereby certify under penalty of perjury of law, that the within and foregoing is a true and correct copy as adopted by the City of Seattle, Department of Finance.