You're in Business

Congratulations! By all means celebrate your new business, but don't forget your ongoing business obligations: filing reports, paying taxes and renewing licenses and permits. And be prepared for announced or unannounced inspections by some public health and safety agencies. Use the following lists to keep track of what to expect.

Ongoing Reporting, Filing, and Inspections

Reports on Employees

Topic Contact Reports & Payments
State Unemployment Insurance Washington State Employment Security Dept. Quarterly
State Workers' Compensation Insurance Washington State Dept. of Labor and Industries Quarterly
State New Hire Reporting Program Washington State Dept. of Social and Health Services Within 20 days of hire
Federal Income Tax, Social Security & Medicare (Form 941) Internal Revenue Service Report quarterly with monthly or semi-weekly payments
Federal Unemployment (Form 940) Internal Revenue Service Report annually with quarterly payments
Federal Income Tax (W-2/W-3) Social Security Administration Annually

Business Taxes

Topic Contact Reports & Payments
Seattle B&O Seattle Dept. of Finance and Administrative Services Agency determination
Seattle Regulatory Taxes Other Seattle Taxes Agency determination
King Co. Property Tax King County Treasury Semiannually
King Co. Personal Property Tax King County Treasury Semiannually
State B&O Tax Washington State Dept. of Revenue Agency determination
State Retail Sales Tax Washington State Dept. of Revenue Agency determination
State Use Tax Washington State Dept. of Revenue Agency determination
Federal Business Income Taxes Internal Revenue Service Agency determination

blue check mark

GET EXPERT ADVICE

Need an overview of state business taxes? Check out the New Business Tax Basics Guide.

License and Permit Renewals

Topic Contact Reports & Payments Inspections
Corporation and Limited Liability Corporations Annual Reports Business Licensing Service of Washington State Annually
State Business License(s) and select localities Business Licensing Service of Washington State Annually
Seattle Business License Seattle Dept. of Finance and Administrative Services Annually
Seattle Street Use Permits Seattle Dept. of Transportation Annually
Seattle Assembly Permit Seattle Fire Department Annually
Fire Protection Confidence Testing Seattle Fire Department Semiannually and every 5 years
Health Dept. Food Service Business Permit Public Health-Seattle & King County Annually Unannounced inspections
State Liquor License Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board Annually New license technical support visit; annual inspection; compliance visits at any time
L&I Safety and Health Washington State Dept. of Labor and Industries Possible inspection at any time

Small Business Support

Check out the additional resources our Small Business Development team can connect you with - see our Business Owners page.

Economic Development

Markham McIntyre, Director
Address: 700 5th Ave, Suite 5752, Seattle, WA, 98104
Mailing Address: PO Box 94708, Seattle, WA, 98124-4708
Phone: (206) 684-8090
Phone Alt: (206) 684-0379
Fax: (206) 684-0379
oed@seattle.gov

Newsletter Updates

Subscribe

Sign up for the latest updates from Economic Development

The mission of the Office of Economic Development (OED) is to help create healthy businesses, thriving neighborhoods, and community organizations to contribute to a robust economy that will benefit all Seattle residents and future generations.