February 2025 | Issue 58
Voluntary Contribution program: Sign up by March 31
This program allows some employers to lower their unemployment tax rate.
The Voluntary Contribution program allows you to make a one-time payment for either part or all of the unemployment benefits paid to former (or current) employees during the past 2 fiscal years. We subtract those benefit charges from your account, which reduces your tax rate for the current tax period.
Go to the Employment Security Department (ESD) website to learn more about:
Avoid these common mistakes when you pay Paid Leave and WA Cares premiums, unemployment taxes
Paid Leave and WA Cares premiums
After you submit your report and pay premiums, we may need several days to post your payment to your account. Processing time partly depends on your payment method. But here are some other reasons why your balance might not be updated.
You might have:
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Enclosed the wrong program payment coupon when mailing your payment.
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Postdated your payment.
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Failed to include your customer ID or UBI number on your payment.
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Sent your payment to the wrong program. Remember: WA Cares and Paid Leave have separate accounts, so payments can’t be combined.
New to reporting or not sure what to report? Go to the Paid Leave website to learn about filing your report. You can download our reporting checklist, file specifications and employer toolkits.
Unemployment taxes
Two common mistakes could cause you to overpay your unemployment taxes:
- Reporting at the incorrect tax rate.
- Reporting the wages and hours of employees exempt under the law.
What you can do
Update your tax software
Make sure you correctly enter anyone in your company exempt from wage reporting. Also be sure to program your correct 2025 tax rate. We send you a letter every December noting your tax rate for the coming year. Reach out to your software’s technical support if you need help updating it.
Check with your third-party company, if you use one
If you use a third party to report taxes for you, make sure they have:
- Your 2025 tax rate.
- A current list of people in your company exempt from wage reporting.
Review our quarterly letters
Each quarter, we send you letters if you report wages for an exempt person. If employees are no longer exempt, please let us know. You can fill out an Owner/Officer Change Form 5208C-2 (PDF, 748KB), then mail or fax it to us. The address and fax number are on the form.
What you pay unemployment taxes on
You pay unemployment taxes on your employees’ gross wages up to the taxable wage base. Learn more about the taxable wage base on ESD's website. Wages include:
- The amount each employee was paid for working, whether by a fixed salary, hourly or overtime.
- Vacation or holiday pay.
- Tips reported by the employee.
- Bonuses or prizes.
- Noncash payments, such as meals and lodging.
- Sick leave under the employer’s nonqualified plan.
Wages do not include jury duty pay, death benefits or sick leave under the employer’s qualified plan.
Visit the Washington State Legislature website to read state laws that apply: RCW 50.04.330 and WAC 192-310-040.
Review tax and premium rates for 2025
Unemployment tax rates for employers change every year, and they have been updated for 2025. See our 2025 tax rate table for employers (PDF, 103 KB). It applies for this entire calendar year.
You can also use our 2025 tax rate calculator (CSV, 763KB) to determine your tax rate. You will need your taxable wages and benefit charges for the last 4 fiscal years to use the calculator. Find your taxable wages on the quarterly reports you file. Find your benefit charges on your quarterly Statement of Benefit Charges.
Read more on the ESD website about how we determine unemployment tax rates.
Paid Leave premium rates also change annually. Find 2025 rates on the Paid Leave website.
Join us for a webinar to learn what your workers should know about WA Cares
The webinar is called “WA Cares Basics: what near retirees need to know.” Tune in from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 19.
In January 2022, the Washington State Legislature added a new pathway for near-retirees to meet WA Cares contribution requirements. This new pathway will ensure that people born before 1968 and near retirement when WA Cares launches can get access to some long-term care benefits.
The webinar will cover:
- What long-term care includes.
- Who contributes to the fund.
- Contribution requirements for near retirees, and more.
Register today on Zoom.
Learn how one company built a new registered apprenticeship
If your company is looking for skilled, diverse talent, investigate Career Connect Washington (CCW).
The CCW is a statewide initiative that creates talent solutions for employers and work-based learning for students. It brings together business, labor, education and community members to support the state’s workforce needs.
For an example, go to the CCW website to read about the Cascade Veterinary Clinics’ Veterinary Technician Registered Apprenticeship program. It tackles a workforce shortage of veterinarians in rural north central Washington. This area also has minimal access to training programs.
The apprenticeship provides a reliable pipeline of well-trained veterinary professionals. It also offers apprentices a direct pathway to a rewarding career.
If you think your company could benefit from this holistic approach to workforce development, check out CCW.
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