How Washington's 6% rate is built
A single district-wide rate with no local add-on — but special rates apply: restaurant meals and rental cars 10%, hotels 14.95%, commercial parking 18%. Groceries are exempt.
What you pay in Washington — worked examples
| Purchase | Tax at 6% | Total |
|---|---|---|
| $25 | $1.50 | $26.50 |
| $100 | $6.00 | $106.00 |
| $500 | $30.00 | $530.00 |
| $1,000 | $60.00 | $1060.00 |
| $10,000 | $600.00 | $10600.00 |
Washington vs the District of Columbia average
The average combined rate across District of Columbia is about 6%, so Washington at 6% is at the state norm. On a $30,000 car (where vehicle tax rules allow the general rate), that gap alone is about $0 — one reason big purchases are planned around exact addresses, not state averages.
Washington vs other major US cities
Washington is the District of Columbia city we track in detail. Against the extremes of the 30-city dataset:
| City | Combined rate | Tax on $1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Washington (this page) | 6% | $60.00 |
| Seattle — among the highest | 10.35% | $103.50 |
| Chicago — among the highest | 10.25% | $102.50 |
| Portland — among the lowest | 0% | $0.00 |
| Louisville — among the lowest | 6% | $60.00 |
| Average of the 30 tracked cities | 7.93% | $79.30 |
What this means in Washington
The rate bites hardest on large, planned purchases. At 6%, a $10,000 purchase carries $600.00 of tax — $0.00 more than the same purchase at the District of Columbia average rate of 6%, and $61.00 less than at the all-state average of 6.61%. On everyday spending the difference is cents; on vehicles, appliances and furniture it decides where people choose to buy.
Day-to-day, the grocery exemption keeps the weekly food shop outside this rate in District of Columbia — the 6% applies to general merchandise, electronics and prepared food. Budget the rate into non-food spending, not the food bill.
Calculate with your exact rate
District boundaries inside Washington can shift the rate street by street. For an exact figure — or to extract tax from a tax-inclusive total — use the full calculator with your precise local rate: