Lo sentimos. Aún no hemos traducido esta página al español. Avísenos si desea que esto sea una prioridad y traduciremos la página lo antes posible.


We're sorry. We have not yet translated this page into Spanish. Please let us know if you want us to make it a priority and we will work to translate it as soon as possible.


Solicitar traducción Request translation

Gracias, su solicitud ha sido presentada. Thank you, your request has been submitted.

Governor lowers 2021-2025 tax rates

 

On Feb. 8, 2021, Gov. Inslee signed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5061. This bill provides unemployment tax relief for Washington businesses, enhances unemployment support for Washington workers and more. These measures will enhance the state’s ability to respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Resources:

Tax rate recalculation insert sent to employers in February 2021

Estimated UI tax per employee

Rate class comparisons table

Commissioner Feek's statement on employer tax relief bill signing

State UI tax relief

  • The bill was projected to prevent nearly $1.5 billion in tax increases in 2021 and 2022 with approximately $1.7 billion in tax savings for employers over the 2021-2025 period.

  • Under the bill, the average 2021 unemployment tax rate was 1.36%, a 20% tax cut from what it was projected to be without the legislation. The average 2022 unemployment tax rate was 1.45%, a 37% tax cut from what it was projected to be without the legislation.

  • The bill provided over $1.2 billion in relief of benefit charges for all employers for benefits paid to employees from March 22 through May 30, 2020, during the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order.

  • Without the bill, the flat social tax would have been 1.22% of taxable wages in 2021 and 1.13% of taxable wages in 2022. The bill reduced the flat social tax cap from 1.22% to .50% in 2021. It reduced the cap to .75% in 2022 before increasing it annually until it reaches .90% in 2025. 

  • The bill suspends the solvency tax through 2025. The solvency tax can be as much as .20% of taxable wages per year if the Unemployment Insurance trust fund does not have enough reserves on Sept. 30 of any given year to pay 7 months of benefits. With the solvency tax freeze, employers did not pay that tax in 2021 and 2022, resulting in $446 million in tax savings.

Increased UI minimum weekly benefit amount

  • The bill increased the weekly minimum benefit amount from 15% of the average weekly wage to 20% of the average weekly wage beginning July 1, 2021. You can check your current benefit amount here.
  • Accordingly, the minimum benefit amount increased from $201 to $295 in July 2021.
  • Under the bill, Washington will maintain the highest minimum weekly benefit amount in the nation.
  • Starting in January 2022, the minimum weekly benefit amount cannot be higher than the average weekly wage the individual was earning while they were still employed. 

 

Voluntary Contributions Program enhancement

  • In 1995, Washington adopted a “voluntary contribution” provision in state law that was explicitly adopted to help small businesses that saw large increases in their experience rate. The program allows employers to reimburse the Employment Security Department (ESD) for benefits paid up front, in exchange for subtracting those benefit charges from the employer’s account, which reduces the employer’s experience tax rate.
  • The bill provides further incentives for businesses to use the program by removing the 10% surcharge, opening the program up to employers that have moved 8, rather than 12, rate classes, allowing employers to buy down enough benefit charges to move down at least 2, rather than 4, rate classes, and extending the deadline to apply from Feb. 15 to March 31. 
  • Example: A business has annual taxable payroll of $200,000 every year. The business had $0 in benefit charges before 2020 placing it in Rate Class 1 with a 0% experience tax rate. The business incurs $15,000 in benefit charges in 2020. For 2021-2024, the business would jump to Rate Class 40 with a 5.40% experience rate tax and $10,800 in taxes owed annually for 4 years ($43,200 from 2021-2024). Under the program, if the business pays $15,000 to offset the benefit charges, it goes back to Rate Class 1 saving $28,200 from 2021-2024.

Unemployment benefits for high-risk individuals

  • The bill allows high-risk individuals, or those who live with high-risk individuals, to voluntarily quit their job with good cause if they cannot work from home for that employer but are otherwise able and available to work from home for other employers. Benefits will not be charged to the individual’s separating employer.
  • The bill allows high-risk individuals, and those who live with high-risk individuals, are considered available for work if they can work from home.
  • The bill requires the Department, when deciding whether work is “suitable” for claimants, to account for any potential health risks to high-risk individuals living with the claimants.

 

Public health emergency benefit charge relief

  • The bill amends state law so employers that must close or severely curtail operations are relieved of benefit charges when the resulting layoffs are directly attributable to the presence of any dangerous, contagious, or infectious disease that is the subject of a public health emergency at the employer’s plant, building, worksite or other facility. For example, if an employee or customer comes to an employer’s office space while they are infected with COVID-19, the employer can close the office space in order to disinfect the area and take other safety precautions without fear of being charged for unemployment benefits. 

 

Eliminate lump sum retirement benefit deductions

  • The bill amended state law so that lump sum retirement payments are no longer required to be deducted from the individual’s weekly unemployment check.
  • The requirement set over 3,300 issues on claims requiring over 5,000 hours of work in 2020 holding up payment and slowing adjudication on unemployment claims. 

Emergency waiting week waiver

  • The bill amended state law to waive the waiting week and to not charge those benefits to employers when they are fully financed by the federal government. This change will allow claimants to receive unemployment benefits sooner and provide employers one less week of benefit charges during economic crises. 
  • Currently, the federal government is only partially financing these benefits, so claimants still need to serve a waiting week. However, if full federal financing is restored, claimants will not have to serve a waiting week.

SharedWork charging

  • The bill amended state law so that SharedWork benefits are not charged to employers when they are fully financed by the federal government.
  • SharedWork benefits were fully financed by the federal government through the week ending Sept 4, 2021. 

 

Technical corrections

  • SharedWork: The bill amended state statute so that employers are required to have at least two employees enrolled in the SharedWork program to participate (state statute currently requires one) and makes clear that employees in the SharedWork program can participate in approved training. The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) identified conformity issues with the current state statute.
  • Trade Adjustment Assistance: The bill made minor technical corrections to state statute related to TAA training to reflect new federal rules recently finalized by USDOL.

 

Federal trust fund loan

  • The tax measures are projected to necessitate that the state take out federal loans of roughly $507 million beginning in the 4th quarter of 2021 and $156 million in 2022, with those loans paid back by November 2023 and therefore not triggering an increase in employers’ federal unemployment taxes.
  • Under the bill, the UI trust fund balance was projected to be roughly $805 million at the end of 2023, $1.9 billion at the end of 2024 and $3.2 billion at the end of 2025.