Washington Payroll Compliance
Every rate, wage base, and local override Washington employers need for 2026 — sourced from L&I, ESD, and the Paid Leave and WA Cares programs — including the nation’s first payroll-funded long-term care tax.
Minimum Wage & Hours
Washington’s statewide minimum wage is already the highest of any state floor in the country, and it rose again to $17.13/hour on January 1, 2026 — a 2.8% CPI-W adjustment that L&I calculates every September for the following year. Washington bans tip credits entirely: tips and service charges can never count toward the minimum wage.
| Item | 2026 Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide minimum wage | $17.13/hr | +2.8% CPI-W adjustment, effective Jan 1, 2026 |
| Tip credit | Not permitted | Tips/service charges never count toward minimum wage |
| Youth wage (ages 14–15) | $14.56/hr | 85% of the state minimum wage |
| Exempt salary threshold | $1,541.70/wk ($80,168.40/yr) | 2.25× state minimum wage; rises to 2.5× by 2028 |
| Computer professional (hourly) | $59.96/hr | 3.5× state minimum wage, regardless of employer size |
| Overtime rule | 40 hrs/week | Federal FLSA; no separate state daily overtime trigger |
| Statute | RCW 49.46 | Minimum Wage Act; annual adjustment via L&I rulemaking |
Local Minimum Wage Ordinances
Eight Washington jurisdictions set their own minimum wage above the state floor — more local wage complexity than almost any state besides California. Several use employer-size tiers with different effective dates mid-year, and Burien has two competing ordinances in active legal dispute.
| Jurisdiction | 2026 Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tukwila | $21.65/hr | 15+ employees worldwide or $2M+ revenue in Tukwila |
| Burien (large employers) | $21.63/hr | 500+ full-time employees; smaller tiers contested, verify with city |
| Renton (from Jul 1) | $21.57/hr | All employers with 15+ employees; $20.57 for 15–500 tier Jan–Jun |
| Seattle | $21.30/hr | All employers, regardless of size — no tiers |
| SeaTac | $20.74/hr | Hospitality & transportation industry employees only |
| Bellingham | $19.13/hr | Fixed at exactly $2.00 above the state minimum wage |
| Everett, King County (unincorp.) | Verify directly | Rates not fully confirmed at time of writing — some tiers adjust mid-year |
State Income Tax Withholding
Washington has no state income tax on wages — but don’t mistake that for payroll simplicity. Washington offsets the lack of income tax with three separate payroll-funded programs (PFML, WA Cares, and SUI) each administered by a different process, making Washington one of the more operationally complex no-income-tax states.
| Item | 2026 Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax | None | No wage withholding required or possible |
| Capital gains excise tax | Individual-level only | 7%/9.9% tiers on large capital gains; not a payroll withholding |
| State withholding certificate | None | Employees complete only the federal Form W-4 |
Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) & WA Cares Fund
Washington runs two separate payroll-tax-funded benefit programs. PFML provides paid leave for family care, bonding, and personal medical events. WA Cares, the nation’s first state-run long-term care insurance program, is a completely separate 0.58% deduction with no wage cap — unlike PFML, which stops at the Social Security wage base.
| Item | 2026 Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PFML total premium rate | 1.13% | Up from 0.92% in 2025; recalculated annually each October |
| PFML employer share | 28.57% | Only employers with 50+ employees; smaller employers exempt from employer share |
| PFML employee share | 71.43% | Withheld from all covered employees regardless of employer size |
| PFML wage cap | $184,500 | Aligned to the 2026 Social Security (OASDI) wage base |
| PFML job protection | 25+ employees | Expanded threshold effective 2026; can stack with FMLA up to 16–18 weeks |
| WA Cares premium rate | 0.58% | Employee-paid only; employer withholds and remits, no employer contribution |
| WA Cares wage cap | None | Applies to every dollar of gross wages, unlike PFML |
| WA Cares benefits available | Since July 2026 | Premium collection began July 2023; three-year gap before benefits activated |
Unemployment Insurance (SUI)
Washington’s SUI wage base is the highest of any state in the country — more than ten times some Southern states’ $7,000 floor. The Employment Security Department (ESD) assigns new employers an industry-classification rate, then moves them to an experience rating after several reporting periods.
| Item | 2026 Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SUI taxable wage base | $78,200 | Highest wage base of any U.S. state |
| New employer rate | ~1.0% – 1.3% | Varies by NAICS industry classification — confirm exact rate via ESD |
| Experienced employer range | ~0.1% – 6.2% | Assigned after several reporting quarters based on claims history |
| Employment Administrative Fund | +0.02% | Small additional surcharge on top of the base UI rate |
| Filing portal | ESD EAMS | Combined quarterly report covers SUI, PFML, and WA Cares together |
| Quarterly deadlines | Apr 30 / Jul 31 / Oct 31 / Jan 31 | Monthly filers: due the 25th of the following month |
Official Washington .gov Resources
Verify every figure and register for accounts at the source. Washington employers coordinate across three separate agencies for a single payroll run.