How Does the Washington Long-Term Care Tax Work?

The Washington long-term care tax, officially the WA Cares Fund premium, is a 0.58% payroll deduction on wages earned in Washington that funds a lifetime long-term care benefit of up to $36,500 per worker.¹ Deductions began in July 2023, and the benefit becomes available to claim starting July 1, 2026.

What Comes Out of Your Paycheck

The rate is 0.58% of gross wages, or $0.58 for every $100 earned.¹ There is no wage cap. Unlike Social Security, every dollar of covered wages is assessed, no matter how high your salary climbs.²

Wages are defined the same way as under Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program: base salary, commissions, bonuses, and the cash value of other compensation count. Tips do not.³

What that looks like at common income levels:

$50,000 per year: $290 annually, about $24 per month
$75,000 per year: $435 annually, about $36 per month
$150,000 per year: $870 annually, about $73 per month

Your employer calculates, withholds, and remits the premium to the Employment Security Department. You do not file anything separately.¹

Who Pays and Who Doesn’t

Almost every W-2 employee working in Washington contributes, whether the job is full-time, part-time, or seasonal.⁴ A few groups fall outside the program entirely:

Federal employees, because the state cannot tax them.⁵
Employees of federally recognized tribes, unless the tribe opts in.⁵
Workers under a collective bargaining agreement that existed on October 19, 2017, and has not been reopened or renegotiated since.⁶

Self-employed workers are not required to contribute but can voluntarily opt in through SecureAccess Washington. The window closes on June 30, 2026, or three years after you first become self-employed, whichever is later.⁷ Opting in is permanent. Once you elect coverage, you cannot reverse it.⁴

Who Can Still Claim an Exemption

The private long-term care insurance opt-out that received so much attention closed on December 31, 2022. If you did not apply then, that door is permanently shut.⁸ Four other exemption categories remain open:

Veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 70% or higher qualify for a permanent exemption.⁸
Spouses and registered domestic partners of active-duty U.S. service members qualify for a conditional exemption that lasts as long as the service member remains on active duty.⁹
Workers who live outside Washington but earn wages in the state qualify for a conditional exemption.⁸
As of January 1, 2026, workers holding a non-immigrant visa for temporary workers are automatically exempt and no longer need to apply unless they want to opt in.⁸

Conditional exemptions only last as long as the qualifying circumstances do. If your situation changes, you must notify both your employer and the Employment Security Department within 90 days, or you can be hit with back premiums plus penalties.²

Applications go through the Employment Security Department’s online portal with a SecureAccess Washington login. Veterans submit a DD214 or VA benefits summary showing the 70% rating. Military spouses provide proof of active-duty status and documentation of the marriage or partnership. Out-of-state residents show evidence of a primary residence in another state, such as a driver’s license or utility bill.¹⁰

One procedural detail trips people up. An approval letter from the state does not stop your paycheck deductions on its own. You have to hand that letter to your employer’s payroll department. Premiums collected before you deliver the letter will not count toward benefit eligibility, and your employer has no obligation to refund them. Premiums collected after you deliver the letter must be refunded.¹⁰

What You Get Back

The lifetime benefit is capped at $36,500, with inflation adjustments over time.¹¹ This is not health insurance. It pays for long-term care services and supports that help you manage daily life when age, illness, or disability makes that difficult. Covered uses include:

Professional in-home caregivers
Payment to a family member who provides your care
Home modifications such as grab bars and ramps
Assistive devices for mobility or daily tasks
Respite care for your primary caregiver
Home-delivered meals and transportation

You can combine services rather than being locked into one type of facility care.¹²

How You Qualify to Collect

Paying the tax is not the same as being eligible for benefits. You have to meet both a contribution requirement and a care-need requirement.⁶

Three contribution pathways exist:

Permanent pathway: contribute at least 10 years total for lifetime access to the full $36,500 benefit.
Temporary pathway: contribute at least 3 of the past 6 years at the time you apply for full benefit access.
Transition pathway: workers born before January 1, 1968 earn 10% of the full benefit, currently $3,650, for each year of contributions.

On the care side, you must need help with at least three activities of daily living. Qualifying activities include bathing, eating, bed mobility, medication management, transferring, toileting, and general mobility.¹³

If You Leave Washington

Starting in July 2026, workers who move out of state can keep their benefit instead of forfeiting what they paid in. You qualify for portable coverage if you have contributed for at least three years with 500 or more hours worked per year, and you must opt in within one year of leaving.¹⁴

Out-of-state participants have to keep paying premiums during their working years, and benefits for this group do not become available until July 2030. The care-need test is also slightly different: at least two activities of daily living for 90 days or longer, or substantial supervision because of severe cognitive impairment.¹⁴ If you have paid in for years and are thinking about relocating, skipping the portability election means walking away from everything you have contributed.

1
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 50B.04.080 – Premium Assessment
2
WA Cares Fund. Employer Information
3
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 50A.05.010 – Definitions
4
Washington State Legislature. Washington State Code 50B.04 – Long-Term Care Services and Supports
5
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 50B.04.050 – Employee Exemptions
6
WA Cares Fund. How the Fund Works
7
WA Cares Fund. Self-Employed Elective Coverage
8
WA Cares Fund. Exemptions
9
WA Cares Fund. Workers: 4 Things You Need to Know
10
WA Cares Fund. Apply for an Exemption
11
WA Cares Fund. Benefit Coverage
12
WA Cares Fund. WA Cares Fund
13
WA Cares Fund. Applying for Benefits
14
WA Cares Fund. Portable Benefits: Taking Your WA Cares Benefit Out of State