Due to the WA State Sales 2025 Update (ESSB 5814), the reimbursement procedure for live presentation expenses within Washington State has been changed (See Conference Expenses). These expenses include registration, membership, and abstract fees for conferences, seminars, workshops, lectures, etc. In-Person live presentations should be taxed using the sales tax rate of the location of the presentation. Virtually attended live presentations should be taxed based on the attendee's location. If no information is provided about the attendee's location, the billing address will be used.
For expense reports, those selecting the Business Travel business purpose are to select the expense item, "Registration/Conf. Fees - Washington State". If you use the Non-Travel Business Purpose, please continue to use the expense item, "Training and Conference Fees". For miscellaneous payments, users may select the spend category, “Training and Conference Fees (SC1046).”
If departments are reimbursing these expenses as non-travel, please note that the Training and Conference Fees expense item and spend category (SC1046) are identified as taxable sales. Users must comment on the reimbursement request that the expense is not taxable and the reason why (i.e. Out of State, Foreign).
For assistance, contact Procurement Customer Service at pcshelp@uw.edu