Washington payroll tax due dates fall on the last day of the month after each calendar quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. The same schedule applies to unemployment insurance, Paid Family and Medical Leave, the WA Cares Fund, and workers’ compensation, though each program has its own portal and premium rate. When a due date lands on a weekend or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day. Reports and payments sent by mail are treated as filed on the postmark date.
The Quarterly Schedule
- Q1 (January–March): due April 30
- Q2 (April–June): due July 31
- Q3 (July–September): due October 31
- Q4 (October–December): due January 31 of the following year
The Employment Security Department (ESD) sets these deadlines for unemployment insurance in WAC 192-310-010, and Paid Leave and WA Cares follow the same calendar.1Washington State Register. WAC 192-310-010 Due Dates The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) uses the identical schedule for workers’ compensation.2Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. File Quarterly Reports
Federal Form 941 happens to share these dates.3Internal Revenue Service. Employment Tax Due Dates If you deposit all federal taxes on time, the IRS gives you an extra 10 calendar days to file the return itself. No equivalent grace period exists on the state side. When the state deadline is Monday morning, that is the deadline.
What You Owe in 2026
Four programs, four rate structures. Knowing the deadline only helps if the check is the right size.
Unemployment Insurance
Unemployment insurance is paid entirely by the employer. You cannot deduct any portion from an employee’s paycheck.4Washington State Legislature. RCW 50.24.010 Payment of Contributions The 2026 taxable wage base is $78,200 per employee. Once a worker’s year-to-date wages cross that line, UI stops accruing on them.5Employment Security Department. How We Determine Tax Rates
Your rate combines an experience rating with a shared social cost tax. The experience portion caps at 5.4 percent, the social tax at 1.22 percent, and the combined total cannot exceed 6 percent.5Employment Security Department. How We Determine Tax Rates New employers pay 115 percent of their industry average, with a 1 percent floor. Employers behind on taxes face delinquent rates from 1.25 percent to 8.15 percent in 2026.
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Beginning January 1, 2026, the Paid Leave premium is 1.13 percent of gross wages. Employers cover 28.57 percent of that premium; employees cover 71.43 percent through payroll deduction.6Paid Family and Medical Leave. Updates On $1,000 of wages, the total is $11.30, with roughly $3.23 from the employer and $8.07 from the employee. Employers with fewer than 50 employees don’t owe the employer share, but they still must collect and remit the employee portion.
WA Cares Fund
WA Cares is 0.58 percent of wages, paid entirely by the employee, with no wage cap. Some workers are exempt, including federal employees working in Washington, employees of tribal businesses that haven’t opted in, self-employed people who haven’t opted in, and workers on non-immigrant visas. Others may apply for a voluntary exemption (out-of-state residents, military spouses, veterans with a 70 percent or higher service-connected disability, and a few other categories).7WA Cares Fund. How the Fund Works If a worker gives you an approved exemption letter, stop withholding and stop reporting their wages for that program. WA Cares wages go on the same quarterly report as Paid Leave, but the premium payments route to a separate program account.8Paid Family and Medical Leave. File Your Quarterly Report and Pay Premiums
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ comp works differently. L&I sets rates by the risk classification of the work performed and the hours worked, not as a percentage of wages. Employer and employee share the cost, with the split varying by risk class.9Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. How to File and Pay Your Workers’ Compensation You still file every quarter, even in quarters with zero hours. The report just shows zero.2Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. File Quarterly Reports
Where To File
Washington splits payroll tax filing across two agencies with two separate portals. Every quarter you’ll file at least two reports.
ESD: Unemployment, Paid Leave, and WA Cares
These three programs report together through ESD. Access is through SecureAccess Washington, the state’s single sign-on. Paid Leave and WA Cares wages appear on one report, though the premium payments split into separate program accounts.8Paid Family and Medical Leave. File Your Quarterly Report and Pay Premiums After you upload the data, the system validates it and issues a confirmation receipt with a transaction number and timestamp. Keep that receipt. It is your proof of on-time filing.
You can pay electronically at filing. If you pay by mail, the payment must be postmarked by the deadline.
L&I: Workers’ Compensation
L&I runs its own system. QuickFile requires no login: enter your account ID and UBI, report hours by risk class, and pay by eCheck or card. The Claim and Account Center requires a login but shows your account balance, past reports, and supplemental tools.9Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. How to File and Pay Your Workers’ Compensation Self-insured employers file by mail.2Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. File Quarterly Reports
Information To Have Ready
Pull everything together before you start. The portals will time out while you go hunting for a number.
- Your nine-digit Unified Business Identifier (UBI) and the specific account numbers assigned by ESD and L&I.10Washington Department of Revenue. Business Licensing and Renewals FAQs
- Full legal name and Social Security number for each worker on payroll during the quarter.
- Total gross wages for each employee.
- Actual hours worked, tracked daily. L&I requires hours broken down by risk classification.11Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Workers’ Compensation Recordkeeping and Reporting Guides
Hours tracking is where employers slip. L&I wants actual hours by risk class, not just totals. If one employee splits time between office work and warehouse duties, those hours must be reported under different classifications. Get this wrong and you’ll either overpay or face an adjustment during an audit. Washington also requires payroll records to be kept for at least three years, covering hours, pay rates, wages, tips, and deductions.12Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Payroll and Personnel Records
What Happens if You Miss a Deadline
Each agency runs its own penalty schedule, and they do not coordinate. Miss a deadline by a single day and both ESD and L&I will assess penalties independently.
ESD Penalties
A late quarterly report triggers a flat $25 penalty per report. Late premium payments accrue 1 percent interest per month plus an escalating penalty:13Cornell Law Institute. Washington Administrative Code 192-310-030 – What Are the Report and Tax Payment Penalties and Charges
- First month late: 5 percent of taxes due or $10, whichever is greater
- Second month: an additional 5 percent or $10
- Third month: an additional 10 percent or $10
An incomplete or incorrectly formatted report gets a warning the first time. After that, penalties escalate: $75 for a second occurrence within five years, $150 for a third, and $250 for a fourth and beyond. The penalty can also be calculated as 10 percent of that quarter’s contributions, capped at $250.13Cornell Law Institute. Washington Administrative Code 192-310-030 – What Are the Report and Tax Payment Penalties and Charges
L&I Penalties
L&I’s minimum penalty is $10, and a zero-hours report filed late will cost you that much. For late premium payments:14Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Employers’ Guide to Workers’ Compensation Insurance in Washington
- One month late: 5 percent of premium due plus 1 percent interest
- Two months: 10 percent plus 2 percent interest
- Three months: 20 percent plus 3 percent interest
- Four months and beyond: an additional 1 percent interest for each month until paid
Operating without workers’ compensation coverage carries far steeper consequences. The minimum penalty for failing to register is $1,301 or twice the premiums owed, whichever is greater. Continuing to operate after L&I issues a stop-work order adds $1,301 per day of noncompliance.
When the Clock Starts for New and Remote Workers
Physical location of the work controls, not the employee’s home address or where your company is headquartered. A remote worker at a home office in Washington creates Washington payroll tax obligations even if your business sits in another state. Traveling employees performing work inside Washington and workers on short-term in-state assignments count the same way.
Register with ESD before issuing the first paycheck to a Washington-based worker. The ESD registration threshold is $1,500 in wages during any calendar quarter or employing workers for 20 different weeks. L&I registration is required as soon as you have one employee, part-time included. New hires must also be reported to the Department of Social and Health Services within 20 days of their start date. Once you’re registered, the quarterly clock runs whether or not anyone worked that quarter.