- ESD's 2026 Paid Family and Medical Leave premium on wages (1.2% in 2027)
- 1.13%
- WA Cares long term care premium employees pay in 2026, with no wage cap
- 0.58%
- ESD's 2026 unemployment tax range for qualified employers, social cost and administration fund included
- 0.27% to 6.03%
- Federal unemployment tax employers pay in 2026 on each employee's first $7,000, after the state credit
- 0.6%
Sources: ESD, WA Cares Fund, IRS Publication 15 (2026).
Washington payroll taxes for employers
| Tax | Who pays | Where you report |
|---|---|---|
| Paid Family and Medical Leave | Who paysEmployees 71.43% in 2026 and 70.7% in 2027, which you withhold; employers with 50 or more staff pay the rest | Where you reportESD Paid Leave quarterly report |
| WA Cares Fund | Who paysEmployees; you withhold it from pay | Where you reportESD Paid Leave quarterly report |
| Unemployment insurance | Who paysYou, the employer | Where you reportESD quarterly tax and wage report |
| Workers' compensation | Who paysYou; you may deduct the employee share from pay | Where you reportL&I quarterly report |
Payroll tax Everett deposit and filing dates
The IRS sets your 2026 deposit schedule from the tax you reported in your lookback period, July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025:
Monthly.If you reported $50,000 or less, you deposit by the 15th of the next month.
Semiweekly.Above $50,000, you deposit by the following Wednesday for Wednesday to Friday paydays, and by the following Friday for Saturday to Tuesday paydays.
Next day.If you accumulate $100,000 or more in tax on any day, you deposit it the next business day.
You file Form 941, the quarterly federal payroll return, and your ESD and L&I reports by April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. You send W-2s and Form 940 by January 31, per IRS Publication 15.
How we set up and run payroll in Washington
Register
We register you as an employer on the Department of Revenue business license application
Configure
You send W-4s and bank details; we set up payroll software and direct deposit
Run and deposit
We run each payroll and deposit federal tax on your IRS schedule
File
We file Form 941 and ESD, Paid Leave and L&I reports each quarter, and your contractors' Forms 1099-NEC in January
Paying employees through Venmo or Zelle
You need state employer accounts even when you pay wages by app. We open the state accounts and bring your filings current.
Register me as an employer"I have been using Maris for many years now and love my accounting team. Prem is my senior accountant and he is very responsive to all my questions."
Missed payroll filings
We file the missing quarters and match them to your W-2s.
Quarters with no payroll. ESD requires its unemployment and Paid Leave reports each quarter, even in a quarter with no payroll.
Paid Leave charges. From August 1, 2026, ESD charges 1% monthly interest on overdue Paid Leave premiums and penalties on late reports, back to the second quarter of 2026.
Trust fund taxes. You hold withheld income tax and the employee share of Social Security and Medicare for the IRS, which calls them trust fund taxes.
100%
The IRS can hold a responsible owner or officer personally liable for the full unpaid trust fund tax if they willfully fail to collect or pay it.
Source: IRS, Trust Fund Recovery Penalty.
Payroll service pricing
We price setup and the monthly service from these factors:
State accounts.The Washington employer accounts you still need.
Employees.The number of people we onboard at setup.
New hires.Each person you add after setup.
An employer with accounts already open and one employee is the lightest case.
These are the factors, not a quote. You see the fee in writing before we start.
Hand off payroll to an Everett CPA
Send your EIN letter and your last two Forms 941, and we list the accounts and filings you still need.
Start payroll setup