Washington Long Term Care (WA CARES)

Do you have employees in the state of Washington? If so, take note of an upcoming payroll tax deduction requirement that might come with an action item!

The?Washington Long Term Care?program (WA Cares), originally effective on January 1, 2022, will resume payroll deductions at a rate of 0.58% on July 1, 2023, following legislative delays. Per the Washington Employment Security Division, WALTC is the code that will be used for WA Cares deductions. However, this may vary slightly between processing systems. This code will be made available in June to ensure adequate time to apply the code to covered employees prior to applicable pay runs in July.

Possible Actions to Take Prior to July 2023 Pay Runs:

• Ensure that the WA Cares tax code has been added to your payroll processing system and that it has the correct rate of 0.58% attached for withholding.
• Add this code to all applicable Washington state employees.
• If this code was already in your payroll processing system, be sure to reactivate the code and start deducting as intended effective July 1, 2023.
• If the WA Cares tax code was not already set up in your payroll processing system and you must complete the setup now, you should use the same tax ID that is used for the Washington Paid Family Medical Leave tax code.
• Determine if any employees are eligible for or have applied for an exemption to the deduction. More information can be found?here?regarding exemptions.

Have questions, need help,?just ask us!