Fractional CFO Services in Seattle

The prime contractor. Construction for a customer is a retail sale, so the prime charges sales tax on the full contract price and pays retailing B&O, while its subcontractors pay wholesaling B&O; both rates rise to 0.5% on January 1, 2027. A speculative builder pays sales tax on its materials and subcontractor charges instead, and the sale of the finished real estate is exempt from B&O and sales tax. More on fractional controllers for construction companies.

Retainage on a private project is capped at 5% of the contract price of completed work, a limit that has bound owners, contractors and subcontractors since July 23, 2023, and suppliers since 2024. A retainage bond of up to 5% must be accepted in place of cash retainage. The cap does not apply to single-family residential construction under 12 units. On the final payment, interest of 1% a month runs from 30 days after the work is completed and accepted.

A lien claim must be recorded within 90 days after the last labor or materials were furnished, and the suit to foreclose it filed within eight months of recording. Suppliers, equipment lessors and professionals who don't contract with the owner must first send a notice of the right to claim a lien, which protects only what they furnished in the 60 days before it. Laborers and subcontractors hired directly by the prime don't need that notice, except on owner-occupied residential remodels.

Yes, unless part of the price is held back. When a seller disposes of more than 50% of its assets, its B&O, sales and other excise taxes are due within 10 days, and the buyer must withhold enough of the price to cover them until the seller produces a Department of Revenue receipt or a certificate that no tax is due. A buyer who skips the holdback is liable for those taxes, and the same rule covers workers' compensation premiums owed to the Department of Labor and Industries. The buyer is released if the Department of Revenue issues no assessment within six months of written notice of the acquisition.

The capital gains tax takes 7% of long-term gains up to $1 million and 9.9% above that, after a standard deduction, and its return is due with the federal return. Gains on real estate and depreciable business assets are exempt. Real estate is taxed separately: selling 50% or more of a company that owns Washington real property, counted over 36 months, is a taxable sale of the property at its true and fair value under the real estate excise tax, at state rates from 1.1% to 3.0% with local tax on top. See how we help owners prepare a business for sale.

Not from June 30, 2027, when every non-compete becomes void regardless of when it was signed; employers must make reasonable efforts to notify current and former workers by October 1, 2027. Until then, one is void unless the employee earns more than $126,858.83 in 2026, or $131,326.59 from January to June 2027. Covenants made in the sale of a business survive only when the signer buys or sells 1% or more of it. Non-solicitation agreements are limited to 18 months and to customers the employee dealt with directly.

It depends on who manages the business. Washington is a community property state: property acquired during a marriage or domestic partnership is community property, and either spouse may manage it alone, with exceptions. If both spouses take part in managing a business, neither may buy, sell or encumber its assets or goodwill without the other's consent; if only one does, that spouse may act alone in the ordinary course of business. Both must sign to sell or encumber community real property.

Reports and payments are due by October 31 and cover the 12 months before July 1; they are filed electronically with the Department of Revenue. Most property is presumed abandoned after three years, and wages, commissions, bonuses and payroll cards after one. Only a business holding reportable property files, and Washington has no negative report.