WA LTC Tax Calculator: Premium Rates, Benefits, and Exemptions

Washington’s long-term care tax, funded through the WA Cares program, is 0.58% of your gross wages with no earnings cap. To use this as a WA long-term care tax calculator, multiply your annual gross pay by 0.0058. At $50,000 you pay $290 a year. At $100,000, $580. At $200,000, $1,160. In exchange, workers who meet the vesting rules can draw up to $36,500 in lifetime long-term care benefits starting in July 2026, with that ceiling adjusted for inflation each year.¹

How the Premium Is Calculated

The rate is 0.58%, or 58 cents per $100 of gross wages.² Unlike Social Security, there is no wage ceiling. Every dollar you earn in the year is assessed, so the premium scales linearly with income.³ By law, the rate cannot exceed 0.58% without new legislation.⁴

A few reference points for common income levels:

$50,000 gross wages: $290 per year, about $24.17 per month
$75,000 gross wages: $435 per year, about $36.25 per month
$100,000 gross wages: $580 per year, about $48.33 per month
$150,000 gross wages: $870 per year, about $72.50 per month
$200,000 gross wages: $1,160 per year, about $96.67 per month

Because there is no cap, a worker earning $300,000 pays $1,740 and a worker earning $500,000 pays $2,900.⁵

What Counts as Taxable Wages

The premium applies to the cash value of all pay for work, not just base salary. Bonuses, commissions, sick pay, and overtime are included. For workers with equity compensation, the fair market value of restricted stock units is taxable at vesting, which can produce a much larger premium hit in the quarter shares vest.⁶

Tips are excluded.⁷ Also excluded: employer contributions to retirement plans such as 401(k)s, 403(b) annuities, SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and 457 plans, and benefits your employer pays on your behalf that would be excludable from income under the Internal Revenue Code, like employer-paid health insurance premiums.³

For a quick estimate, look at gross pay on your stub before any deductions, subtract tips, and multiply by 0.0058.

What You Get in Return

Eligible workers can access up to $36,500 in lifetime long-term care benefits beginning July 2026. The ceiling grows at an estimated 2.5% per year for inflation, and those adjustments continue after you stop working.¹ The amount is a lifetime cap you draw against, not an annual allowance.

Covered services include in-home caregivers, adult family homes, assisted living or nursing home care, home modifications such as ramps and grab bars, home-delivered meals, medical and errand transportation, assistive equipment, incontinence and hygiene supplies, and caregiver training and respite for family members.⁸

To claim benefits, you also have to need help with at least three activities of daily living, such as bathing, eating, medication management, or transferring in and out of bed.¹

How You Qualify for Benefits

Paying the premium does not automatically give you benefits. A year counts toward vesting only if you worked at least 500 hours in it. There are three pathways:¹

Contribute for at least 10 years total for lifetime access to the full benefit.
Contribute for at least 3 of the last 6 years when you apply, also for the full benefit.
If you were born before January 1, 1968, earn 10% of the full benefit for each qualifying year you contribute. Three years produces roughly $10,950 in benefits.⁹

Who Does Not Pay the Premium

Some workers are automatically exempt. Civilian federal employees working in Washington do not pay, and employees of federally recognized tribes do not pay unless their tribe has elected to participate.¹⁰

Others can apply for an exemption through the Employment Security Department: veterans with a VA-rated service-connected disability of 70% or greater, spouses or registered domestic partners of active-duty service members, and workers on H-2A temporary agricultural visas.¹⁰

The private long-term care insurance exemption is closed. It ran from October 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022, and no new applications are being accepted. If you missed that window, you pay the premium regardless of any private policy you carry.¹¹

Once your exemption is approved, give your employer a copy of the approval letter. They must stop withholding going forward, but they are not required to refund premiums already collected.⁷

Self-Employed Workers

If you are self-employed, you are not automatically enrolled and you do not owe the premium unless you choose to participate. You can elect coverage by June 30, 2026, or within three years of first becoming self-employed. Once you opt in, you pay the same 0.58% on your earnings, and you can discontinue participation at any time.¹²¹⁰

If You Leave Washington

Starting July 2026, workers who move out of state can keep participating if they contributed for at least three years (with 500 hours worked in each) and opt in within one year of leaving. Out-of-state participants continue paying premiums during their working years through a state-administered process.¹³

Benefits for out-of-state participants begin in July 2030, four years after in-state benefits. The care-need test is also different: help needed with at least two activities of daily living for at least 90 days, or severe cognitive impairment requiring substantial supervision.¹³

If you leave and do not opt in within a year, your past contributions are not refunded, but you can still claim in-state benefits later if you return to Washington and meet the eligibility rules.

1
WA Cares Fund. How the Fund Works
2
Washington State Legislature. RCW 50B.04.080 – Premium Assessment
3
Washington State Legislature. RCW 50B.04 – Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program
4
WA Cares Fund. Frequently Asked Questions
5
WA Cares Fund. Employer Information
6
Washington State Legislature. RCW 50B.04.010 – Definitions
7
WA Cares Fund. The Employer’s Role in WA Cares
8
WA Cares Fund. Benefit Coverage
9
WA Cares Fund. Benefits for Near-Retirees
10
Washington State Legislature. RCW 50B.04.085 – Premium Assessment Exemptions
11
WA Cares Fund. Exemptions
12
WA Cares Fund. Self-Employed Elective Coverage
13
WA Cares Fund. Portable Benefits: Taking Your WA Cares Benefit Out of State