Washington CARES Fund

Washington State has introduced a Long-Term Care Tax that is effective July 1st, 2023. For more information see https://wacaresfund.wa.gov.

For further information regarding the WA Cares Act, check with your Tax Accountant or https://wacaresfund.wa.gov/employers/

Employees contribute 0.58% of each paycheck to the program. Unlike Paid Leave, the income to which WA Cares premiums are applied is not capped at the taxable maximum for Social Security. The Employment Security Department (ESD) has a premium calculator to calculate premium amounts for both WA Cares and Paid Leave.

Create a deduction for the Washington Cares Fund:

• Select PR, Utilities, Maintain Deductions
• Click the 'New' button on the toolbar and define a deduction for the WA Cares
• Method (of calculation): Check with your tax advisor or Plan Administrator for the plan's specific calculation method
• Category: Select 'System' if the rate will be the same for each employee. If each employee is to have their own rate select 'Individual'
• Credit account: Specify the liability account defined for WA Cares
• In the 'Amount' field enter the rate. For example, if the rate is 0.58% enter .58 as the rate
• Limit, if any: Enter a limit, if applicable
• Active: Always
• Taxable boxes: Check with your tax advisor or Plan Administrator for the plan's specific tax requirements
• Tax category: Select Local Note: If local is not selected, the information will not populate on any future reports that may be available.
• Consult with your tax advisor to determine if these wages should be included in a box of your W-2

Add the deduction to each employee under Payroll, Employees, Maintain Employees, and click on Deductions... 

For more information on setting up deductions see How do I set up payroll deductions?

If you began collecting this premium before July 1st, 2023 you must reimburse employees for WA Cares premiums within 120 days of the date premiums were collected. If you created a deduction for this tax and now need to reverse it, see How to reverse a deduction.