Unemployment taxes

In most cases, if you have employees working in Washington, you must pay unemployment taxes on their wages in this state.  Tax reports or tax and wage reports are due quarterly. Liable employers must submit a tax report every quarter, even if there are no paid employees that quarter and/or  taxes are unable to be paid.

 

IMPORTANT UPDATE for UIWeb Tax users: UIWeb Tax will no longer be available after February 2020. We are replacing UIWeb Tax with a new version of EAMS for single filers. Businesses that currently use UIWeb Tax to submit tax and wage reports should submit their 2020 first quarter report in the new EAMS. If you have questions, contact the Account Management Center.     ***READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT HERE***

 

  

To access required unemployment tax forms, please visit our Unemployment taxes forms and publications library.
 

  

Filing wage reports and paying unemployment taxes | Who and what to report | Unemployment tax rates | Audits | Penalties

 

Employer tips and information

Register your business/hire employees | Unemployment tax handbook (pdf) | Law and regulations | Frequently asked questions | Contact information by topic | Reporting fraud

 

Taxable employers:
You might be eligible to apply to offset some of your 2020 benefit charges, which could lower your 2021 tax rate

The Washington State Legislature passed a law in March 2020. It allows you to apply if we paid unemployment benefits in the first two quarters of 2020 to your employees who:

• Were temporarily laid off as a direct or indirect consequence of COVID-19, and
• Returned to work for you after the layoff. 

Find out more

 

 

Tax reports or tax and wage reports, and unemployment tax payments can be filed and paid through our free and efficient online systems, or by submitting our original paper forms.

• For filing tax reports or tax and wage reports online: Use Employer Account Management Services (EAMS) or EAMS for Single Filers to file your tax reports or tax and wage reports online.
• For paying unemployment taxes: You may use either EAMS or ePay to pay your taxes. 

To use EAMS or EAMS for Single Filers you will need to be sure to set up your online account in advance. If you choose ePay, become familiar with it before you need to use it to avoid last-minute set-up or compatibility issues.

 

Please use the latest revision (11/18/15) of the Quarterly Unemployment Insurance – Tax Summary (5208A) and Quarterly Unemployment Insurance – Wage Detail (5208B) forms.  Failure to use these revised forms usually results in reporting format penalties being charged to your ESD Account.  To request the latest forms, please call the Account Management Center at 855-829-9243.  Select Option 4.

 

 

 

Learn about audits | Working with us during an audit | Common findings | What happens after an audit (pdf) | Appealing audit findings

 

 

Penalties for late reports | Penalties for late tax payments | Penalties for incomplete reports | Penalties for not registering | Request a tax-penalty waiver | Can't pay your unemployment insurance tax?