How much does employer have to pay for unemployment in Washington?

Thanks! So if I have 3 employees making $45k each, I'd pay roughly $3,645 total per year in unemployment taxes?

That's about right for a new employer rate. Your rate will adjust after a few years based on how many former employees file claims.

What's considered misconduct though? I had to let someone go for repeatedly showing up late.

That could qualify as misconduct if you documented it properly. Keep good records of attendance issues and warnings.

That's actually not too bad then. I was worried it would be on the full salary amount.

Yeah the wage base cap helps a lot with higher paid employees. Some states don't cap it at all.

How often do they recalculate the rates? Is it annual?

Yes, you get a new rate notice every January. They look at your claims experience from the previous 3-4 years.

Good point. The administrative assessment is currently 0.0175% of taxable wages. Helps fund Washington ESD operations.

So many little fees and taxes to keep track of as a new business owner!

Late payments incur penalties and interest. Washington ESD is pretty strict about collection. Set up automatic payments if possible.

I missed a payment once and got hit with a 10% penalty. Not worth it - just pay on time.

Yeah the wage base increases with inflation. It was only $52,700 a few years ago.

At least the rate percentages haven't increased as much. The wage base doing most of the heavy lifting.

Contest fraudulent claims aggressively. If someone quits and files anyway, make sure Washington ESD knows they quit voluntarily.

This is huge. I've saved thousands by properly contesting bad claims over the years.

I'll check that out. Is it under the employer section?

Yeah, it's in the employer toolkit area. You can plug in your payroll numbers and get estimates.

Construction companies deal with this a lot. The seasonal nature really hurts the experience rating.

Yeah we do landscaping and our rate is way higher than my friend's accounting firm.

Good point. I assume that's part of the general business registration process?

You can do it online through the Washington ESD website. Pretty straightforward process.

Agreed. The quarterly wage reports are due pretty quickly after each quarter ends.

I use payroll software that handles all the Washington ESD reporting automatically. Worth the cost.

Only W-2 employees. Independent contractors are responsible for their own unemployment insurance situation.

But be careful about misclassifying employees as contractors. Washington ESD will audit that.

Religious organizations, some agricultural operations, and businesses with very few employees may qualify for exemptions. Check with Washington ESD directly.

I'll definitely look into that. Every bit of savings helps when you're starting out.

Yeah, unemployment is separate from Social Security, Medicare, and state income tax withholding.

Don't forget about the new WA Cares Act tax too if you have employees. Another payroll deduction to track.

It's based on the 'benefit ratio' - total benefits paid to your former employees divided by your total taxable wages over the experience period.

The formula is complicated but basically more claims = higher rates. Keep good employees and your rate stays low.

That's a great point I never would have thought of. Could save or cost a lot of money.

Yeah we got burned by that. Bought a business with a terrible claims history and got stuck with their 5.9% rate.

I'll download that tonight. Better to understand it all upfront than get surprised later.

Smart approach. Unemployment insurance is just one of many employer responsibilities but it's an important one.

That's perfect - exactly the kind of simple answer I was looking for. Thanks everyone for all the detailed info!

You're welcome! This forum is great for getting real-world business advice from people who've been there.