Washington ESD unemployment tax rates for 2024 - trying to understand my employer's liability

The 2024 Washington unemployment tax rates depend on your experience rating. New employers typically start at 2.7% for the first few years. The rate applies to the first $68,500 of each employee's wages in 2024. You should have received a rate notice from Washington ESD if you're an established employer.

I had trouble getting through to Washington ESD about my rate notice too. Kept getting busy signals and dropped calls. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you get through to ESD agents. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Really saved me time instead of calling all day.

The base rate structure for 2024 has rates ranging from 0.19% to 5.4% depending on your experience rating. New employers without a rating history get assigned the industry average rate, which is usually around 2.7%. After three years you'll get your own experience rating based on your claim history.

Don't forget about the Social Cost factor that gets added to everyone's rate. For 2024 it's an additional 0.02% I believe. It's a small amount but it does add up across all your employees.

The wage base went up to $68,500 for 2024 which is higher than last year. Make sure you're calculating based on the right amount or you'll underpay.

If you're having trouble understanding your rate notice, you can also request a rate explanation from Washington ESD. They'll break down how they calculated your specific rate.

My CPA handles all this for me but I think the rates also include an Employment Administrative Fund charge. It's like 0.0175% or something small like that.

Just make sure you're paying quarterly and on time. The penalties for late payments are brutal. I learned that the hard way in my first year of business.

The Washington ESD employer handbook has all the rate tables and explanations. It's a PDF on their website under employer resources. Might be easier to understand than calling them.

For what it's worth, 2.7% isn't too bad compared to some other states. At least Washington doesn't have a state income tax to deal with on top of this.

One more thing to keep in mind - if you have employees who work in multiple states, you might need to deal with multi-state unemployment tax issues. Washington has reciprocal agreements with some states but not others.

If you need to speak with someone at Washington ESD about your specific situation, that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier might be worth trying. I've heard good things about it helping people get through their phone system.

Remember that your unemployment tax rate can change each year based on your claims experience. Keep good records of any unemployment claims filed by former employees so you can contest any that seem inappropriate.

The good news is once you get your system set up for calculating and paying the taxes, it becomes pretty routine. The first year is always the hardest.

If you're using payroll software like QuickBooks or ADP, they usually handle the unemployment tax calculations automatically once you input the correct rates.

Don't forget that you also need to report new hires to Washington ESD within 20 days. It's not just about paying the taxes but also the reporting requirements.

Just to follow up on the Claimyr thing - I used them again last month to get through to ESD about a rate dispute and it worked great. Much better than spending half my day on hold.

Final tip - make sure you understand the difference between the unemployment tax rate and any other state taxes like workers comp or family leave. They're all separate with different rates and wage bases.

Hope this helps! The 2.7% rate on the first $68,500 per employee should be what you need for 2024 as a newer employer. Just make sure to file and pay on time to avoid penalties.

One last thing - if you ever need to appeal your unemployment tax rate, you have to do it within 30 days of getting the rate notice. Don't wait if you think there's an error.

As someone who just went through this process last year, I'd recommend setting up a simple spreadsheet to track your quarterly payments and deadlines. It really helps stay organized, especially when you're juggling multiple state requirements. Also, if you're planning to grow your team, keep in mind that your experience rating will start kicking in after year three, so maintaining good employee relations and documentation becomes even more important for keeping those rates low long-term.