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Explains that Washington has no personal income tax to withhold and what employers must handle instead, including unemployment insurance, Paid Family and Medical Leave premiums and WA Cares contributions. Also touches on state and local minimum wage rules.
No. Washington has no personal income tax, so employers do not withhold state income tax. Employers must still pay state unemployment insurance and collect Paid Family and Medical Leave premiums and WA Cares contributions.
Last updated in source: 11/05/2025.
Washington does not levy a state individual income tax, but employers must comply with several payroll-related programs and state laws that affect withholding, reporting and benefits. These include the state minimum wage (and many higher city and local minimums), Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML), the WA Cares long-term care payroll deduction, state Unemployment Insurance (UI/SUI), paid sick leave under Initiative 1433, and state wage and hour laws administered by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I).
Unemployment insurance: Employers must register with the Employment Security Department (ESD) and submit quarterly wage reports and contributions.
PFML: Premiums are collected via payroll reporting, and employers must report wages and remit premiums quarterly. Check paidleave.wa.gov for employer reporting setup and the annual premium announcement.
WA Cares: This is a public long-term care program funded by a payroll deduction. Employers must collect employee contributions and remit them per ESD rules.
Minor wage rules: Washington permits employers to pay 14- and 15-year-olds up to 85% of the adult minimum wage. For example, with a 2025 state minimum wage of $16.66, 85% is $14.16 for 14- to 15-year-olds.
Tips and tipped employees: Washington does not allow a tip credit toward the state minimum wage. Tips, gratuities and service charges are in addition to the state minimum wage and must be paid to employees, with narrow exceptions for disclosed service charge retention. Employers cannot use tips to satisfy the minimum-wage obligation.
Several cities and counties in Washington have local minimum wages that exceed the state rate, including Seattle, SeaTac, King County and Everett. Employers must apply the highest applicable local or state minimum wage for each work location. Consult L&I and local ordinance pages for city-specific rates and schedules.
Eligible employees may take job-protected, paid PFML leave per statute. Employers are required to withhold and remit premiums, report wages quarterly, and follow the PFML employer notice and posting requirements. Premium rates are recalculated annually – see paidleave.wa.gov for current rates and the employer contribution share.
Employers must collect employee WA Cares premiums of 0.58% and remit them per ESD instructions. Employers must also track employees who have approved exemptions – for example, workers who purchased private long-term care coverage prior to the program's opt-out window – and maintain documentation for audits.
Washington generally follows the state overtime rules administered by L&I: nonexempt employees are entitled to time-and-a-half for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Special rules apply to certain classifications, such as maritime, some healthcare codings, commissioned sales and computer professionals, which have special salary and hour thresholds. L&I has updated exemption salary thresholds and industry-specific guidance, so review L&I's overtime page for current thresholds and changes.
Employers must provide paid rest breaks of at least 10 minutes for every 4 hours worked, and unpaid meal periods of typically 30 minutes for shifts longer than 5 hours, per L&I guidance and WAC/RCW rules. Rest breaks count as hours worked for overtime and leave accruals. Healthcare settings and certain staffing situations have special rules and recent administrative policy updates – consult L&I for sector specifics.
Wages, including final wages, must be paid by the next regularly scheduled payday, subject to RCW and WAC details. Washington's wage statutes and the WAC set minimum pay frequency rules and timelines for paying overtime and final wages. Employers must follow their established pay schedule and the WAC examples for semi-monthly and monthly schedules.
Washington does not have a universal private-sector mandatory retirement plan and employers are not broadly required to offer one, but WA Cares is a state-mandated long-term care payroll program. Public-sector employees have state retirement systems such as LEOFF, PERS and TRS. Employers should monitor state policy developments for any future retirement or auto-enrollment programs.
Employers must comply with RCW and federal laws for lawful deductions, wage assignments and garnishments including child support and court orders. Voluntary deductions need proper written authorization, and employers must follow state garnishment limits and procedures.
Employers must maintain payroll, time and tax records per L&I and federal FLSA standards. Post required notices – minimum wage, paid leave, WA Cares and PFML notices – and retain documentation for audits or claims.
No. Washington has no personal income tax, so employers do not withhold state income tax from wages. Employers must still comply with other payroll programs such as unemployment insurance, Paid Family and Medical Leave, and WA Cares.
The 2025 taxable wage base is $72,800 per employee. Employer tax rates vary by employer experience and the state schedule, and employers must register with the Employment Security Department and submit quarterly wage reports and contributions.
For 2025 the total PFML premium is 0.92% of gross wages up to the Social Security wage base, with employers paying 28.48% of that premium and employees paying 71.52%. The rate rises to 1.13% in 2026, split as 0.3228% employer and 0.8072% employee.
WA Cares is a public long-term care program funded by an employee payroll deduction of 0.58% of wages. Employers must collect and remit the contribution per Employment Security Department rules and track employees who have approved exemptions.
Under Initiative 1433, employees accrue at least 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked, and employers may front-load instead. There is no state cap on accrual, and employees are generally eligible to use accrued sick leave after their 90th day of employment.