How to pay unemployment tax to Washington ESD - employer requirements?

You need to register with Washington ESD as an employer first through their business portal at esd.wa.gov. Once registered, you'll get quarterly reports to file and pay unemployment taxes. The rate depends on your industry and experience rating.

the employer portal is totally separate from where employees file claims, just so you know. its called Employer Account Services or something like that

I had the same issue when I started my landscaping business. Couldn't get through to Washington ESD on the phone for weeks. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual ESD agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me so much frustration.

For a small business with 3 employees, you're looking at quarterly reporting and payments. Your unemployment tax rate will start at the new employer rate, which is currently around 2.7% for most industries. You'll pay on the first $62,500 of each employee's wages per year.

ugh the washington esd system is such a pain for employers too, not just employees. took me forever to figure out the quarterly reports when i started my shop

Make sure you also understand the difference between unemployment insurance tax and the employment security tax. You'll owe both to Washington ESD. The employment security tax is 0.3% on wages up to $62,500 per employee.

If you miss the registration deadline or pay late, Washington ESD will hit you with penalties and interest. They're not forgiving about employer obligations. Get registered NOW.

Just to follow up on the Claimyr thing - I've used it twice now for different Washington ESD issues and it's legit. Much easier than the endless hold times.

One more thing - make sure you're classifying your workers correctly. If Washington ESD determines someone you called an independent contractor should have been an employee, you'll owe back taxes plus penalties.

the online employer portal is actually pretty user friendly once you get set up. way better than their employee side in my opinion

Don't forget you'll also need workers comp insurance if you don't already have it. That's through Labor & Industries, not Washington ESD, but another requirement once you have employees.

I tried that Claimyr service someone mentioned and it actually worked! Got through to Washington ESD in about 20 minutes instead of the usual hours of busy signals.

For your quarterly payments, Washington ESD will send you a report form about 2 weeks before the due date. You can pay online, by phone, or mail a check. Online is fastest and you get immediate confirmation.

just a heads up that your first year rates might be higher than 2.7% depending on your industry. construction and restaurants get hit with higher new employer rates

The Washington ESD website has a pretty good employer handbook that walks through all this stuff. Worth downloading and keeping handy.

Also remember that if any of your employees quit or get fired and file for unemployment, Washington ESD might contact you for information about their separation. Be ready to respond quickly or it could affect your tax rate.

been running my business for 5 years now and dealing with washington esd gets easier over time. first year is always the hardest

Final plug for Claimyr since it really helped me - if you need to talk to Washington ESD about your employer account setup or have questions about your tax obligations, it's worth trying. Beats spending your whole day on hold.

good luck with your business! paying unemployment tax is just part of the cost of having employees, but at least washington's system works better than some other states

one last tip - keep good records of everything. wages paid, hours worked, tax payments made, correspondence with washington esd. makes everything easier come audit time

Just wanted to add that Washington ESD also has a really helpful online chat feature during business hours if you can't get through by phone. I used it when I first registered my bakery and the agent walked me through the whole process step by step. It's usually faster than calling and you get a transcript of the conversation afterwards which is nice for keeping records. The chat is available on their employer services page - look for the little chat bubble icon.

As someone who just went through this process last month for my tech consulting business, I can confirm that the online chat feature mentioned by Fatima is a game changer! I was able to get all my questions answered in about 15 minutes and the agent even sent me direct links to the forms I needed. One thing I'd add is that when you do register, make sure to set up email notifications for quarterly reports - Washington ESD will email you reminders before each deadline which really helps with staying on top of payments. Also, if you're using payroll software like QuickBooks or ADP, most of them can automatically calculate and file your unemployment taxes, which saves a ton of time once you get past the initial registration hurdle.