Overview
Washington State mandates employers to provide specific employee data. Use this article as a guide for additional tax requirements when setting up Payroll.
Check out the Payroll Implementation Guide for more information about the rest of the Payroll implementation.
If an employee changes positions, let When I Work know so we can send you an onboarding link to update the code/rate for the employee.
Required company-defined employee attributes
Washington long-term care
Washington state requires all employers to calculate and withhold a 0.58% premium from employees for this tax. It is possible for some employees to apply for an exemption from the tax via the WA Cares Fund exemptions webpage. It is the employee’s responsibility to apply and, if approved, notify their employer, providing a copy of their approval letter from the Employment Security Department (ESD) as proof of exemption.
This tax requires both a value and an effective date starting at the beginning of a quarter. Existing WA employees will automatically have their exemption set to `no,` meaning they are not exempt.
Workers’ compensation codes
Every job in Washington state is assigned a risk class code by Washington Labor & Industries (L&I), reflecting the job’s injury risk level for workers’ compensation purposes. These codes help calculate insurance rates. Higher-risk jobs usually require more costly coverage.
For Washington L&I, Check requires:
- The employee risk class code.
- The employee total WA L&I hourly rate.
- The WA L&I employee hourly withholding rate.
Identifying corporate officers for unemployment tax
During employee onboarding, it’s essential for the employer to identify corporate officers. Corporate officers are not reported on returns unless they opt into coverage. Those officers who wish to opt into coverage and have the tax withheld should not be labeled as officers.
Tax setup parameters
Washington state employee security reference number
This is a 9- or 12-digit account number the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries assigns. You can find it on your state/local tax agency documents.
Help links:
Washington state Labor & Industries account identification number
This is typically an 8-digit (example: ######## or ###-###-##) account number the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries assigns.
Washington Employment Administration Fund (EAF) tax rate
This rate does not include any surcharges in the employer’s unemployment insurance rate.
Washington unemployment insurance tax rate
This rate is dependent on various factors specific to your company. It includes the Social Cost Apportionment but excludes the EAF Appportionment.
Washington employer family and medical leave contribution
If your company has 50 or more employees or benefits from small business grants, you must pay the employer share of paid family and medical leave and select “True” for this parameter.
Washington state L&I participant activation code (PAC) number
This number is essential for providers to e-file returns issued by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.
Washington state unified business identifier
This is a 9- or 12-digit account number assigned by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.
Washington voluntary plan PFML exemption
The rate of mandatory premium deductions of gross wages (excluding tips) might change annually. Premiums are split between the employer (%) and the employee (%) for employers with 50+ employees. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees are not required to pay the employer portion of the premium, but they still must collect employee premiums, or pay employee premiums on their behalf.
During the onboarding process, there’s an indicator to select when an employer is liable for the employer portion of the tax. If your company has an approved private paid leave plan, it is exempt from the employee and employer portions of this tax. Ensure to indicate this during the onboarding process once the plan is approved.
Select “True” if your company has an agency-approved voluntary plan and is exempt from Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave.
Unsupported items
The following is a list of taxes that Check does not currently support for Washington state:
| Seattle Payroll Expense Tax |
| Employers in Seattle with payroll expenses of $7 million or more in the previous year are responsible for this tax on wages paid to employees earning $150,000 annually or more. |
| PFML Optional Employer Coverage |
|
Our system only calculates and remits the employer portion of PFML when required. Therefore, we can’t support situations where an employer wishes to cover all or a portion of the employee’s PFML tax obligation. |
| PFML Contributions for non-covered employees |
| We also can’t support non-covered individuals who have opted into the employer’s PFML coverage. |
| Self-employed opt-in |
| Self-employed individuals will be subject to taxation for both PFML and WA LTC. To request an exemption from this tax, self-employed individuals must submit a Zendesk ticket. The exemption is not automatic. If the exemption is not requested, the individual will be withheld for the applicable taxes. The agency website has a self-employed opt-in page where those who fall under this category can be found. Note that corporate officers are NOT considered self-employed. For more information, visit the agency website’s self-employed opt-in page or their help center page. |
| Unsupported Item | Description |
| Seattle Payroll Expense Tax | Employers in Seattle with payroll expenses of $7 million or more in the previous year are responsible for this tax on wages paid to employees earning $150,000 annually or more. |
| PFML Optional Employer Coverage |
Our system only calculates and remits the employer portion of PFML when required. Therefore, we can’t support situations where an employer wishes to cover all or a portion of the employee’s PFML tax obligation. |
| PFML Contributions for non-covered employees | We also can’t support non-covered individuals who have opted into the employer’s PFML coverage. |
| Self-employed opt-in | Self-employed individuals will be subject to taxation for both PFML and WA LTC. To request an exemption from this tax, self-employed individuals must submit a Zendesk ticket. The exemption is not automatic. If the exemption is not requested, the individual will be withheld for the applicable taxes. The agency website has a self-employed opt-in page where those who fall under this category can be found. Note that corporate officers are NOT considered self-employed. For more information, visit the agency website’s self-employed opt-in page or their help center page. |
You can mark this field as “Applied For” if you don’t currently have this number and are applying for it.